123 eGuides

1 Minute Advice: Putting Email Stats to Good Use

Each year, Silverpop, an IBM company, does an Email Marketing Metrics Benchmark Study. The 2015 study examined email messages sent by nearly 750 companies and 3,000 brands globally in 2014.

These are some of the key observations from the study.

Open Rates

For mean unique open rates, five verticals stood above the others: Lodging, Travel Agencies & Services; Insurance; Consumer Products; Nonprofits, Associations & Government; and Schools & Education. Looking at the top quartile, five industries saw open rates greater than 50 percent.

Not surprisingly, the Retail & Ecommerce and Media & Publishing verticals have the lowest mean unique open rates. This is most likely a direct result of frequency, because many brands in these verticals send broadcast emails almost daily.

Transactional vs. Non-transactional Email Messages

One of the greatest selling points for sending transactional messages is that recipients value them, opening them in greater numbers than any other message type. These statistics bear out that assertion, with transactional messages even generating double-digit open rates among brands in the bottom quartile.

With transactional messages producing mean open rates of about 45 percent and the top quartile more than 72 percent, these emails can serve as excellent vehicles to include cross-sell/upsell content. An email receipt for a camera purchase, for example, might include a promotion for a camera bag and zoom lens based on like-minded purchases. 

Click-through Rates

Top-quartile performers had click-through rates that were more than six times higher than the median CTR of 1.4 percent. In contrast, bottom-quartile performers mustered CTRs of 0.2 percent. 

Top-quartile performers have click-through rates of nearly three times the mean and six times the median. This suggests that smart marketers are finding ways to add value through transactional messages and driving further engagement and action, such as purchasing a related product or service.

To take your emails up a notch, consider offering an incentive for a related purchase; inviting buyers to review their purchases or join your loyalty club or user community; or linking to user information, how-to videos and other information on your site. 

You can request a copy of the study here.

1 Minute Advice: Millennials vs. Boomers and the Battle for Marketing Dollars

If marketing is all about reaching the right audience, then some consumer brands are having an internal battle over whether to invest their marketing dollars on Millennials or Boomers. While Millennials are acknowledged to be the largest U.S. demographic with some 75.3 million, Boomers aren't far behind at around 74.9 million.

Perhaps the more important question for marketers, though, is who has the buying power? That's where Boomers take the edge: about 70 percent of the nation's disposable income remains in the hands of the Baby Boomer generation, and Boomers spend some $230 billion on consumer packaged goods. Still, a marketer needs to consider which of the two generational audiences is the more appropriate target for a particular product or service.

Online behaviors of the two generations are different, offering a clue for how marketers can best reach each audience. While the use of mobile devices is growing across both groups, Millennials are three times more likely to use social media on a mobile device than Boomers, according to data reported by MarketingSherpa. Millennials also research and purchase products online at a greater percentage of the time than Boomers, and over half of Millennials indicate that their mobile device is their "most important shopping research tool." Boomers, it seems, prefer to communicate with companies through email more than any other channel.

More about Millennials and Boomers from MarketingSherpa here.

1 Minute Advice: Trends from the "Best Global Brands 2015"

Each year, the international branding agency Interbrand publishes a list of the "Best Global Brands." Interbrand's methodology takes into account brand value and brand equity, so the list is more objective than a popularity contest.

It should probably come as no surprise that the leading brand in the world is Apple. For several years, however, Coca-Cola led all brands, so Apple's claim to the top spot is significant. Even more interesting to note this year is the fact that Apple is representative of a trend towards technology brands. Coca-Cola is the only consumer product in the top five; all of the others are technology brands (1-Apple, 2-Google, 3-Coca-Cola, 4-Microsoft, 5-IBM). According to Interbrand, technology brands dominate the list this year, making up more than one-third of the total value of the top 100 brands.

Appearing on the list for the first time this year are Lego (82), PayPal (97), MINI (98), Moet & Chandon (99) and Lenovo (100). Lenovo is the second Chinese brand to appear on the list; last year, Huawei (88 this year) joined the group.

“The Best Global Brands report examines what it takes for brands to succeed in today’s hyper-fragmented world. As people demand immediate, personalized and tailored experiences, business and brands need to move at the speed of life,” says Jez Frampton, Interbrand’s Global Chief Executive Officer. “Many of the brands in this year’s Top 100 are so intuitively aligned with people’s priorities, that they are able to seamlessly integrate into their everyday lives.”

Learn more about what great brands do to market themselves effectively in the  Second Edition of the eGuide, Branding 123. It follows a proven three-step process for building a breakthrough brand, provides lots of practical advice, and includes a wealth of additional resources... all for just $2.99.  Get the brand new Second Edition now at the Amazon Kindle Store or in any e-book format (including PDF) at Smashwords.

1 Minute Advice: Marketing a Brand Vision

An intriguing post on FastCompany.com by Sebastian Buck, co-founder of creative agency enso, makes the point that marketing a brand vision is a stronger long-term strategy than marketing a product.

Buck writes that "more visionary brands market something much more compelling than what they have to sell today: They champion a long-term vision for something meaningful that we can all get behind. Making this switch, from selling today’s products or services to selling a timeless, optimistic vision, can benefit us all—and drive business success in the short and long term."

Buck offers a number of examples of brands that do it right, such as Patagonia who "champions a sustainable planet" and Nike who "champions an athletic mindset." Read the post to learn more.

And to learn more about how visionary brands operate, consider ordering the Second Edition of the eGuide, Branding 123. This guide follows a proven three-step process for building a breakthrough brand, provides lots of practical advice, and includes a wealth of additional resources... all for just $2.99.  Get the Second Edition of Branding 123 now at the Amazon Kindle Store or in any e-book format (including PDF) at Smashwords.