A Guide on How to Measure Email Marketing Performance With Tips
Introduction
The previous two blog posts have defined what an audit is and how to create an audit for a large company, and in this case ASOS the online retailer was used as an example.
Following this, there was a proposed strategy regarding how ASOS can become more engaging with their customers, through the means of Email Marketing. In reference to the second lecture, Butler (2009) describes Email Marketing as, “you are essentially opening a dialogue with your consumer. You are giving them the opportunity to let them get to know you, not just your product.” This gives an understanding of what Email Marketing is and what it can mean to a company in regards to creating a relationship with potential consumers by creating a personal email to the receiver. Furthermore, Net Atlantic (2017) suggested four steps for large companies to follow; “Building Lists, Managing Segments, Creating Content and Sending Emails.”
The second blog post was researching if Email Marketing is genuinely useful for clothing companies in terms of reaching out to the subscribers on their mailing list. A number of sources were used to back these views up. Also, there was an example of a personal email I had received from an online retailer, which had no personal attachment. The email was only trying to sell me items that I had previously searched and was not necessarily personal or engaging in terms of creating a relationship between company and consumer.
In this blog post, we will look into the potential benefits and risks of Email Marketing as an initiative any tips and guides that are relevant and this will be summarised using an academic perspective.
Potential Benefits and Risks of Email Marketing
Email Marketing has many benefits for companies that choose to use it as a strategy initiative, however like most strategies that have support potential benefits they come with several risks. Sterling (2015) states, “Increasing conversion rates is not always as farfetched as most entrepreneurs think, Email Marketing is the perfect catalyst to help businesses aspire to even bigger heights in lead conversion.” This indicates that Email Marketing helps firms create more sales by increasing their chance of converting a sale through the means of their online store. Another potential advantage is stated by Jenkins (2008) and he insists that Email Marketing for companies has four main plus sides which are, “Email is cost-effective, email can be easy to execute, effective email marketing is targeted marketing and email is measurable.” These two potential advantages sound good in theory, however it will be an important to measure these factors in order to prove that they are creating a positive impact for your business. A way that Email Marketing could be measured is to see if your sales are increasing, especially for products or services that you have been specifically trying to market via your email system. This would be the most simple indication that your Email Marketing system is working. Other ways of monitoring the performance is by checking the levels of interaction that your subscribers are having with your emails, to see whether they or opening the hyperlinks and clicking on images.
However, as previously mentioned with most strategies for business there are some disadvantages that can come with the positives aspects. For Email Marketing and pushing it as a digital marketing plan a company can run the risk of; spam, engagement, appearance and some costs. In terms of spam, if you are not careful enough then the emails you are sending can end up in someone’s spam folder and may never be read. Secondly, engagement is important because if the content you are sending out to your subscribers is not interactive or appealing enough then this will more than likely result in an unsubscription. Appearance is an important aspect because you need to make sure your email is functional on all platforms, such as computer, mobile and tablet. Costs can also be a risk, because if you need to start up an emailing strategy you will need a professional to make sure your plan is as good as it possibly can be. (Forneris, 2018)
Conclusion
To conclude everything that has been mentioned above in a nutshell, Email Marketing can increase a businesses conversion rate, meaning that they can sell more items if they successfully market them through their email. For a great guide, it is essential to look at the risks and how you make these advantageous for your business. If you make the emails that you send out to your subscribers visually appealing, do not send out senseless spam, become more engaging with your customers and keep costs down with regards to your email, you will stand a good chance of marketing your products correctly.
References
Butler, M.R. (2009). Email Marketing: A Guide to the Internet’s Most Effective Marketing Tool. USA: The Butler Publishing Book. p1.
Forneris, J. (2018). Advertising & Marketing» Email Marketing» The Disadvantages of Email Marketing. Available: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disadvantages-email-marketing-3472.html. Last accessed 13th February 2018.
Jenkins, S. (2008). The Truth About Email Marketing. New Jersey, USA: PT Press. p10.
Net Atlantic. (2017). Audit Your Email Marketing Strategy. Available: https://www.netatlantic.com/resources/articles/article25-audit-your-email-marketing-strategy. Last accessed 13th February 2018.