Zrinity Email Marketing Blog

Brand Reinforcement
Every time your customers open an email from you (or, let’s back up), every time your customers even see your name on an incoming email, you are building brand recognition. Then, when they open the email and see your logo, you are building brand recognition. Some firms spend millions on brand recognition activities. “But now, thanks to the Internet, companies also have the ability to build their brands with virtually every click. It’s important that your email marketing campaigns reinforce the brand values you began to setup while the customer was on your website. While your customers may not become brand loyal after just one email marketing message, over time your brand will become ingrained in the purchasing habits part of their psyche and that’s exactly what you are striving for.

More Transactional Email Marketing Sources: Transactional Email Server, Full Transactional Email Marketing White Paper (PDF), Email Marketing Best Practices

Improved Customer Loyalty 
When a company begins to build a relationship with a customer they do so based on the premise of being able to almost predict a need and then know how to fill it for that customer. Companies can do this best by first understanding their customer base through research and really listening to customer preferences as well as using the information gathered from past transactions to form profiles that are matched with future offers. Then, companies should honor the wishes of their customers. We can’t emphasize this enough. The great thing about transactional emails as we stated briefly above and will go into more detail further down, is that they do not have to provide an opt-out option. However, just because this isn’t the case with transactional emails does not mean those emails should automatically be inserted into your list for other promotions. This type of sneaky work might cost you a customer, so beware.On the other hand, by paying attention to customer needs and being responsive, you can benefit from increased loyalty. According to marketing expert, Claudia Bruemmer, “A major benefit of customer relationship campaigns is that they foster customer retention, which in turn results in increased profits for your business. Existing customers are known to spend more per sale, buy more frequently, refer other customers and cost less per sale. So priority one is to keep your existing customers happy.”

More Transactional Email Marketing Sources: Transactional Email Server, Full Transactional Email Marketing White Paper (PDF), Email Marketing Best Practices

There are so many benefits to transactional email, it is hard to know where to begin. First, we look at the basic benefits, which any marketing-directed email is going to provide. These include: increased communication, improved customer loyalty, brand reinforcement, cost effectiveness, and the ability to track returns. When considering transactional email, you get all these benefits plus: higher conversion rates, your receivers are customers, opportunity to cross-sell and up-sell, all resulting in an increase in revenue (and ROI). So, let’s take a look at each of these benefits in detail.

Increased Communication
As with any email marketing campaign, you are gaining more in-front of the customer time by communicating with them regarding the status of your relationship to and with them. As we look back to our section on Methodology, we see that two of the quotes dealt specifically with the act of relationship building through email: “The best way to prevent your customers from jumping ship is to build a relationship with them over time. What better way to do this than to provide useful information right to their email inbox?” – The Opt-in Email Resource Center

“Email, done well, creates the kind of relationship that drives incremental revenue, loyalty and word of mouth.” – Stephanie Miller

More Transactional Email Marketing Sources: Transactional Email Server, Full Transactional Email Marketing White Paper (PDF), Email Marketing Best Practices

A transactional email is a form of creative communication whereby a company uses operational forms of communication, such as an order confirmation or invoices and uses these emails to also deliver marketing information.

Examples provide just transaction data to Amy. To better utilize the communication opportunity the transactional email, if more dynamic, could present more useful transactional details, such as a method to approximate arrival dates, as well as providing more up-sell opportunities. With additional transactional details, there is more opportunity to provide marketing information, while keeping the sales to transaction info ratio lower. Many companies are beginning to use transactional emails to promote products that compliment the products purchased. An email from the company in the opening scenario to Amy, had they fully used transactional email, might look like as shown in the full Transactional White paper.

The first email had a small amount of information and no marketing purpose. The second had more useful information as well as a marketing purpose. The company is using the transaction confirmation to create a possibility whereby the customer might make another purchase while keeping the ratio between operational and sales information low. The key is to ensure that the customer can make the purchase from the email as opposed to returning to the site and mandating they go through the shopping cart experience all over again. Remember: simplicity is key - you want the customer to be able to click on your email, and place the order, seamlessly.

To further explain the technicalities of transactional email and what exactly constitutes such a communication, we look to the definition provided under CAN-SPAM. We will get more into the specifics such as the potholes associated with CAN-SPAM in a later section, but as for the basic definition, we see that it means any email facilitating, completing or confirming a previously agreed upon transaction. Unlike commercial messages, transactional messages aren’t required to carry any of the following:

• An advertisement notation at the top
• A U.S. Postal Service address
• An unsubscribe link

More Transactional Email Marketing Sources: Transactional Email Server, Transactional Email Marketing White Paper (PDF), Email Marketing Best Practices

In order to ground our argument that transactional email is a fundamental and beneficial marketing and revenue tool for companies, we turn to several stats and survey results from top marketing analysts and email experts, as well as the experiences of various companies worldwide…

“Tough competition will attempt to draw your customer base away by undercutting your costs and doing whatever possible to switch your customers over. The best way to prevent your customers from jumping ship is to build a relationship with them over time. What better way to do this than to provide useful information right to their email inbox? – The Benefits of Email Marketing,” from the Opt-in Email Resource Center

It can be up to eight to ten times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to sell to an existing one. A good email marketing campaign will increase the frequency of repeat purchases from your existing customers. i – WebProNews.com

Only 24% of survey respondents reported the use of transactional email in 2006. Out of that same pool of respondents, 50% said they were only somewhat satisfied with their email marketing efforts. – Skylist, 2006 email Marketing Survey

“I find it inspiring because it means that email success and ROI is a direct result of our ability to build a relationship with our subscribers. Email, done well, creates the kind of relationship that drives incremental revenue, loyalty and word of mouth.” – Stephanie Miller, VP of Strategic Services

54% of transactional emails are very often or always read compared with only 21% who very often or always read opt-in emails. ii – Marketing Sherpa

And probably the most pointed to substantiate our argument is the following:

“Make it easy for potential customers to buy from you and more will buy. Look for ways you can make your buying process easier…and faster.” iii – Business Know-How

There are many more samples available. There is a wealth of information regarding the success companies experience through the use of transactional email including increased revenue, higher conversion rates and greater ROI, driven in large part due to the ease-of-use and functionality provided customers through these emails. There is also a myriad of evidence pointing to the fact that transactional email is highly valuable as a marketing tool when implemented efficiently.

More Transactional Email Marketing Sources: Transactional Email Server, Full Transactional Email Marketing White Paper (PDF), Transactional Email Definition

Problem Identification
According to a recent survey released by marketing software provider, Alterian, “Email marketing still apparently has a long way to go in terms of integration and analysis. Sixty-five percent of marketers surveyed said they don’t integrate email with their other sales channels.” i

However, by not utilizing such a tool, companies do not truly benefit from the direct communication and face-to-face time that such tools provide. It is through the absence of useful tools such as transactional email that companies are losing a significant amount of customers and, in turn, revenue.

Hypothesis
This paper will prove that through the utilization of transactional emails, as a marketing and communications tool, companies can position themselves to increase revenue, boost conversion rates and, as a direct result, receive a greater return on investment.

More Transactional Email Marketing Sources: Transactional Email Server, Full Transactional Email Marketing White Paper (PDF), Transactional Email Definition

Recently, Amy Day, Chief Marketing Officer for Cowtown Creative, went online to purchase a new printer from a Website she learned about through a friend. According to Amy, the site itself was very innovative. It had loads of interesting links, was able to make recommendations based on preferences she had defined, and the shopping basket/checkout experience was fairly seamless.

Amy has been ordering office supplies online for some time and knew that she could expect an email confirmation of her order once the checkout process was complete. True to form, the email appeared in her inbox within one hour of the transaction. However, when Amy opened the email, expecting to find a communication that was just as advanced as her online experience with the company, she was a little put off to find a rich text notification containing only a confirmation number, tracking information and her mailing address along with a vague disclaimer about returns.

She found this odd for the seemingly advanced online provider. In the recent past, after purchasing from other companies online, she had received a follow-up email that not only provided her with the details of each transaction, but also the opportunity to purchase products that may have been overlooked while placing the original order. In this case, the company would have received a positive response from Amy, who forgot to purchase toner for the printer.

Amy found that by continuing to do business with the site meant extra steps in the buying process, including loading the site, entering the search information, as well as re-entering all of her order detail again. As a result, she opted to go with a large name brand toner manufacturer who already has her account on file and required a simple one-step order method.

“The truth is, the service that I received from the online experience from this company was superb, but the fact that their back office process seemed to lag far behind that of its online presence has made me think twice about ordering from them again,” says Amy. “I’m not a fan of spam mail, but I don’t think of this type of transactional email that way – I think about it as an extension of the business transaction. I am familiar with them, I’ve placed an order with them, and I only expect they’ll want my business. Therefore, I also expect that they’ll remind me of potential cross-sells or complimentary products of that which I just ordered. Had the experience been more user-friendly on the back-end, they probably would have captured my ongoing business.”

It’s a simple scenario, but it’s easy to see how the absence of such a tool from a company’s arsenal of marketing activities could equate to lost revenue from future and ongoing purchases. This is in addition to the failure to turn one-time customers into long-term customers due to the inability to capture their continued business when competing against other companies that simplify their shopping experience through the use of transactional email.

It is this and similar experiences as the result of the disconnect between businesses and this form of marketing that this paper will address.

More Transactional Email Marketing Sources: Transactional Email Server, Full Transactional Email Marketing White Paper (PDF) , Transactional Email Definition

A recent study pointed out that most email list managers fail to send any welcome message to those who sign onto their list. Most fail to utilize basic email design standards that should apply FIRST AND FOREMOST to your very “First Impression” on your new list recipients. Proper utilization of transactional email messages dictates that welcome messages be immediate and designed well. In addition, the welcome message should include numerous action items just like any other transactional message. Any and every opportunity to place an offer in front of readers should be of utmost importance to any serious email marketing professional. The rule of thumb is about 25% to 33% of any transactional message should be some type of offering as an action item. Welcome messages should conform to both the transactional email messaging rules as pointed out in this blog as well as all email design guide parameters as pointed out in the Ultimate Email Design Guide in this blog also. Here’s the list of offenses with the most ludicrous being first on the list:

• NO welcome message at all.
• A Welcome message two days later.
• A poorly designed Welcome Message.
• A poorly design welcome message two days later.
• NO design for the welcome message such as a text only email.
• A nicely designed welcome message with no offers or action items.

This follows another rule we have pointed out in the past also. This isn’t a new concept, just another spin on a new delivery method. Welcome messages are a well-known opportunity as a general rule of marketing, but somehow are overlooked when signing people up to receive emails. If every marketer, business manager and owner just stuck with the same old rules for this new delivery method, then all would be well.

More Resources: Email Design Best Practices Handbook, Email Marketing Server

Zrinity Inc., a Utica, New York-based email marketing server provider, produced a white paper titled, “Improving the Buyer Experience (and ROI) Through Transactional Email Marketing” in which it addressed the mandatory presence of six components in every transactional email. While the components individually are not earth-shaking, the necessary combination of all six in each email may come as a surprise to many.

A transactional email, in short, is a company’s opportunity to utilize a communication that must already be distributed to a customer (i.e. order confirmation) to further promote the company, sell additional products or services, or build brand loyalty. Zrinity, however, is raising the bar by announcing that businesses must be especially careful when constructing transactional emails to ensure that they are meeting the goal of building rapport without burning bridges, which can occur if any of the six components Zrinity has found to be crucial, are not present.

The six components are divided amongst two categories: Content and Delivery.

Content

1. Relevance—Content must speak to the relevance of the transaction. For instance, you do not want to send a promotion of a fur coat in a transaction email confirming the purchase of an “I love PETA” t-shirt. Customization options, such as those offered through Zrinity’s Campaign Intelligence allow businesses to access the type of profile information that makes these more customized emails possible.

2. HTML Formatting—Research shows that recipients are more receptive to HTML formatting than standard text. This allows for improved visibility, appearance and usability through links. It also provides more tracking options for the sender.

 3. Urgency—Use of phrases such as, “Purchase now and for the next 20 minutes, you’ll also get XX for free,” implies that the recipient must act now before losing the opportunity.

4. Brand Consistency—Ensure that you are using your brand consistently in every message. Not only should your email communications match each other, but they too should match other communications where brand is represented including Websites, brochures, etc.

Delivery

5. Real-time—Timing is everything, so companies must ensure that relevant messages are also timely, which usually means less than a 24 hour time frame from the original transaction time.

6. Testing and Tracking—test, test, test, and then track everything.

More Sources: Email Marketing Server, Transactional Email Marketing