Blog #1

1.) What are some of the keys to developing successful email marketing campaigns?

• The main use of email marketing is for companies to contact customers and possible customers directly. In order for an email campaign to be effective, the campaign must include items that line up well with the customers' needs and wants. Our text book, by Clow & Baack touches on this a little bit. According to them, "E-mails are based on on the browsing history of an individual on a particular website. They identify those who made past purchases or items placed in the 'wish' list but never purchased."1 By taking into account the browsing history of an individual customer, the marketer can send them a personalized email, which if prepared correctly, will get the customer's attention, and force them to react. As mentioned in our lecture slides from class #3, email marketing is "particularly effective if combined with other types of marketing and used to deliver personalized content."2 So, sending a personalized email is not enough. Creating a tv ad to be broadcasted, in the same areas of the customers you are sending emails to, would be effective as well. Building a strong list of reachable customers to send the email campaign to is very important here. To build the list, I would suggest asking customers when they are checking out of the store if they would like to receive emails mentioning the release of deals on other products or products that will be released in the new future. I would also think about sending emails to customers who regularly order products from our company website, and from online shopping websites such as amazon. Another important key when it comes to effective email campaigns. If the customers do not like the subject of the email campaign, they will more than likely not read the email. Effective subject lines include sentences or phrases that would attract the potential customers' attention. It could be a short phrase, or it could be as simple as one word. A good subject line will make them open and read the email, which should be filled key selling points and a strong call to action. When you are selling a product, you are not selling features; you are selling benefits. So include a number of key benefits and why those benefits matter to the customer. After the benefits have been addressed, put in a good call to action. Here, ask the customer to make a decision. Something along the lines of "Do you want life to continue the way it has and never get better, or do you want to buy this product and make a step in the right direction for a better and happier life?" If your email includes these things, your open rate and click-through rate have a very good chance of increasing. 

2.)  What other types of marketing or marketing elements should be combined with email marketing to maximize response rates?

• As mentioned above, another form of marketing would be effectively placed tv ads. If ads air on stations in the same geographic areas of customers companies have sent emails to, it will ensure that the customer sees your ad. Another form of marketing that could maximize response rates is social media marketing. Here, customers can visit the company's Facebook and/or Instagram page and see ads for sales in certain locations or to buy something from the store at a certain time so customers can receive a coupon which can be used on their next purchase. Finally, another form of marketing that could be effective with email is direct mail. This could be a standard flyer advertisement being mailed to people within a certain area which line up well with the target demographic of the company. Or, it could even be coupons that could me mailed to the possible customer themselves. "Direct mail has a higher response rate than email. But note that direct mail cost about 100 times as much."3 As a marketer, this is where your budget comes into play. Know what you are able to spend, and spend it wisely if you are going to use this form of marketing. 

3.) How do response rates to email marketing differ by industry? What are some of the key metrics used to measure response rates?

• The fashion and beauty industry is one that gets a lot of response because it has incentives. If customers sign up for emails, they get a certain amount off their first purchases. Once customers get past that first purchase, they continue to receive incentives to shop. Apple also has a huge hand in email marketing. Customers that own their products receive email notifications about new updates coming, changes to the product, or changes of any sort made with your Apple Id. Metrics that could be used by the company are click through rates (used by pasting a direct link to the company website for online shopping), or embedding a coupon into an email, with a barcode that can be scanned in the store and stored in the company servers. Retail is an industry where the coupons being emailed to customers is a good example. Retailers like Target and Nordstrom have cards that act just like debit/credit cards and customers use to make purchases. Chances are, if you have one of those cards for those retailers, you get emails from them about sales and coupons that can be redeemed in the stores. 

4.) Do you believe email marketing will continue to be a key component to IMC campaigns in the next 5 years? Why or why not?

• I do see email marketing as a key component to IMC campaigns in the next five years. I say this because, it is still relatively young. Email was invented in 1985. Although most people communicate with their family and friends by phone (phone calls and/or text messaging), email is a tool that is used daily in all industries. Employees communicate with their coworkers, vendors, clients, etc. through email. Email marketing is also a relatively new form of marketing. Companies are still figuring out which types of emails get the most responses from consumers. In short, not only do I believe that email marketing will still be used in IMC campaigns in the next five years, but I also believe that in that time span companies will have a much better understanding of which email campaigns were the most effective. 

Sources Cited:

Clow & Baack, Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Communications, 2/4/2013 pg. 258

Podrabsky, Advertising Management Lecture Slides, 1/13/2016 Lecture #3 Slide 5

https://hbr.org/2012/08/why-email-marketing-is-king