We’ve found that those “pesky” complaints generated when a subscriber clicks the “This is Spam” button are actually a great source of feedback data. Scour them for clues around type of subscriber—demographics, vintage (when they signed up), activity, customer status—as well as source and type of message. Then, adjust your program to correct any practices that drive disproportionate complaints. Do the same analysis on what drives response.
We always find actionable results from even simple analysis. If know that one source of new subscribers is driving a disproportionate number of complaints, you can adjust the permission or data capture process, renegotiate your prices, or even drop the source altogether. If you know that subscribers are more likely to complain about one type of message than another, you can test frequency, cadence and the template.
Sometimes hard business decisions are required. We must balance the two—as yes, sometimes the answer to both the deliverability and response question is the same. Recently, one of our clients found that the promotions that generated the highest revenue also drove the most complaints. So we tested the timing of that promotion, sent it to only those subscribers who were active clickers, and also made the link to the preference center more prominent. We were able to boost response slightly, but more importantly found that complaints dropped below the ISP threshold.
Another client found that complainers were not active at all—in fact, many had not opened or clicked in months. That prompted a win-back campaign earlier in the lifecycle, in order to reduce the number of non-active subscribers and improve brand equity.
There is no great secret to great email marketing. It really is all about the subscriber. When we send relevant, interesting and engaging messages, we reach the inbox and drive more revenue, too. I know it’s hard to think about doing something additional (like data analysis) when so many of us are sprinting each week just to get the messages out the door. Let me assure you, our experience shows that even a little bit of data analysis will be well worth the effort.
Let me know if we can help or if you’d like to brainstorm on where to start.
—Stephanie Miller of Return Path
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The Bright Side of ISP Complaints
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the voices of email
The Email Experience Council's membership includes many of the brightest and most committed email marketing experts. We're pleased to have some of them share their insights here on these pages. Our blog contributors include:Elie Ashery is the president and CEO of Gold Lasso, and is responsible for the company’s vision and strategy execution. Before joining Gold Lasso, he co-founded Newsletters.com in 1997, selling it to The Tribune Cos. in 2000. He then worked for IncenSoft, focusing on email marketing while there. Read more.
Amy Bills is the senior manager of field marketing at lead optimization company Bulldog Solutions. She is responsible for lead generation and the go-to-market execution of Bulldog's new products and initiatives. Amy was previously the editorial team leader of Freescale Semiconductor’s internal creative agency and a senior editor at Hoover’s Online. Read more.
Nicholas Einstein is director of strategic and analytic services at Datran Media. Specializing in email and CRM strategy, he helps some of America’s top brands leverage online channels to communicate more effectively with their customers and prospects.
Lisa Harmon is a principal at Smith-Harmon, a creative services consultancy dedicated to email marketing strategy and production. She works with marketers to increase clickthrough, maximize revenue, and infuse delight into their email creative. Lisa is also the blogger behind edm.smith-harmon.com, an ongoing commentary on the best (and worst!) in email marketing creative. Read more.
Chip House is ExactTarget's VP of marketing services, leading the teams responsible for client success. He was named to BtoB Magazine’s 2005 “Who’s Who in B-To-B,” for being a vocal proponent of legitimate commercial email and an active lobbyist regarding spam and privacy issues. Read more.
Stephanie Miller is VP of strategic services for Return Path, the leading email performance company. She works with marketers to earn a higher ROI and response from their acquisition and retention email programs—developing content, contact and segmentation strategies, along with testing, measurement and production programs. Read more.
Jeanniey Mullen is the eec’s founder and the global EVP and CMO of global online publishing company Zinio. She is a thought leader and visionary in the email and digital marketing field. A columnist for ClickZ, she has published numerous papers and is a frequent speaker. Read more.
Charles Stiles is the VP of worldwide business development at Goodmail Systems. In his role, Charles is focused on helping generate a better understanding of the email environment and potential solutions for a better consumer experience. He currently serves as the chairman for the Messaging Anti-Abuse Work Group. Read more.
DJ Waldow is an account manager at Bronto Software. He works with Bronto’s largest clients to help them achieve and surpass their marketing goals. An active member of the email marketing community, DJ posts regularly on the Email Marketer’s Club, publishes a bi-weekly email marketing best practices newsletter, and films BrontoFire. Read more.
Chad White is the EEC’s director of retail insights and editor-at-large. He founded and is the author of RetailEmail.Blogspot, a blog dedicated to tracking the email marketing practices of the largest online retailers. Chad regularly writes major research reports on email marketing and is an Email Insider columnist for MediaPost. Read more.