Advanced e-Mail Marketing Strategies

1. Advanced e-Mail Marketing Strategies eMarketing Association Conference Redondo Beach, California September 5, 2002 Gabriela Linares L-Soft international, Inc. www.lsoft.com Info@lsoft.com 301-731-0440 800-399-5449 ã2002 L-Soft

2. Steps for an e-Mail Marketing Plan • Defining e-Mail Marketing Objectives • Determining Effective Strategies • Reaching your Target Audience • Designing e-Mail Content • Evaluating Results • Selecting a Solution ã2002 L-Soft

3. Defining e-Mail Marketing Objectives Common e-Mail Marketing Objectives • Build brand awareness • Acquire new leads/ registrants/ customers/ clients • Drive immediate sales • Enhance customer retention • Build stronger relationships with existing customers/clients • Provide company or product information • Increase revenues by up-selling to existing customers/clients • Post-order targeted e-mails • As part of an integrated marketing strategy ã2002 L-Soft

4. e-Mail marketing campaign response rates by campaign objective Source: IMT Strategies, September 2001 ã2002 L-Soft

5. Conversion Costs for Retention and Acquisition Goals Acquisition versus retention Source: IMT Strategies, September 2001 ã2002 L-Soft

6. Determining Effective Strategies Popular e-Mail models • Sales Promotions • Transaction confirmations • Account status e-mails • Recommendations from friends (viral marketing) • Scheduled corporate newsletters • Customizable information updates • Time-based reminders • Rewards program • E-mail discussion groups • Product updates of interest • Independent media newsletters • Entertainment (humor, film clips) • E-Mail education series • Contests for address ã2002 L-Soft

7. Reaching your Target Audience E-mail overload: Number of e-mail marketing e-mail sent in the US ã2002 L-Soft Source: Forrester Research, August 2001

8. Response to permission e-mail versus unknown senders ã2002 L-Soft

9. Opt-in, opt-out, double opt-in, spam: Preferred e-mail marketing methods Source: Opt-In News, May 2002 ã2002 L-Soft

10. CTR and Conversion rate of US e-mail marketing campaigns – for permission based lists Source: IMT Strategies, Sept. 2001 ã2002 L-Soft

11. US Consumers’ Privacy concerns Source: Harris Interactive, February 2002 ã2002 L-Soft

12. US E-Mail users’ preferred e-mail marketing privacy and customer-support practices • Unsubscribe option in all e-mails • Explicit no-share-address policy • 48-hour e-mail support answers • Editable personal preferences page • Provide phone numbers in e-mail • Explicit privacy policy • Double opt-in confirmation • Unchecked default opt-in box • Third-party privacy seal in e-mail ã2002 L-Soft

13. Most Important e-Mail Marketing trust-building factors among US users • Secure sign-up form • Trustworthy reputation • Loyal customer • Well-known brand • Friend recommendation • Trusted site referral • Relevant offers ã2002 L-Soft

14. Why customers would give personal info • Guarantee that the information will not be misused • Eligibility to win a prize in a sweepstakes • Regular e-mail updates on products they are interested in • Access to more or better content or information • Affinity points • Receive targeted ads they’re likely to be interested in ã2002 L-Soft

15. Building Customer Intelligence • Harness your Customer Database • Effective personalization and targeting • Common Segmentation Factors: • Purchase history • Location/zip code • Demographics • Lifestyle/hobbies/interests ã2002 L-Soft

16. Building your lists • Subscriber form on web site • Sponsor lists of sites with a similar demographic • Send to a friend button – viral marketing • Ask for permission to customer base • Maintain list hygiene • E-mail appending… ã2002 L-Soft

17. Creating the Content E-Mail Message Content • Subject Line – getting recipients to open mail is half the battle • Creativity • Personality and dynamic content • Keep it short and use links to draw reader to your web site • Keep it fresh – don’t re-use the same content • Relevance – the more you understand your customers, the more targeted and relevant messages will be • Frequency • Test messages ã2002 L-Soft

18. Email users’ preferred e-mail marketing personalization models • Communication Control • Self-select content • Name recognition • Personal events & reminders • Geography • Account History • Lifestyle • Purchasing Behavior ã2002 L-Soft

19. How to measure the effectiveness of e-mail marketing campaigns Evaluating results • Click-through rates • unique and sum of events & comparisons • Unsubscribe rates • Open rates • Conversion rates (website tracking) • Click-stream analyses • E-mail pass along rates –viral marketing • Coupon codes • Unanimous tracking to respect privacy ã2002 L-Soft

20. Response time and cost per unit, e-mail vs. direct mail • Be prepared to handle responses Source: DMA, Forrester Research, Gartner Group, 2002 ã2002 L-Soft

21. Maintain your server Hardware/computer network Dedicated Internet Connection Software for e-mail management and delivery Best for large loads and those with experience More cost-effective Flexibility to create campaigns on the fly Outsource your list hosting Reliability and experience Redundant servers and delivery capacity Flexibility to maintain company Internet presence Ability to move from hosting to in-house when ready More expensive Rely on company’s schedule To Outsource or not to Outsource VS. ã2002 L-Soft

22. Evaluate Options • Evaluate software product or hosting service before purchasing • Determine if solution provides appropriate features • Decide what reporting features you need • online real-time reporting, compatibility with other software you employ • Differentiating levels of privacy tracking • Campaign manager to organize jobs • Integration with your database and other applications • Handle bounces ã2002 L-Soft