Online Retailers
Explore New Strategies To Reach Success
The first impression counts! The saying seems to have worked as
a beacon light for the online retailers off late. The Direct Marketing
Association’s Email Experience Council recently signed up
for the email newsletters of 118 top online retailers and tracked
them. The finding showed a clear trend toward subscription
processes that are quick and easy, and increasingly transparent.
Here is a brief glance of the survey results that will help you
craft your marketing strategies in future.
Easy Opt-ins
The purpose is to create a good opt-in experience as it determines
the future scene of online communication between the company and
customers. Instead of asking the customers to fill long subscrption
forms, they are just asked to subscribe with their email address.
The survey results revealed that 92% of retailers have an email
sign-up form or link on their homepage. The customers are later
asked about their delivery and content prefernce on the subsciption
confirmation page.
Sample Newsletters
Besides this, the study found some other approaches adopted by
the online retailers in the recent past to enhance their customer
relationship. Around 50% retailers are addressing the privacy concern
of the customers. A good approach is to provide sample newsletters,
this will bring down the optout rates. 12% retailers have adopted
this practice.
Content Options
On the content front too, some innovations have been taken up. There
are retailers who are offering more than one content option. Some
of them offer up to 50 content options. Around 6% retailers offer
a local store update.
Attractive Format
Many retailers offered plain-text versions of their newsletters during
the sign-up process. But as HTML formats bring in better response,
most of them are now keen to offer the later than the former.
Double Opt-in
The study found that around 3% of major online retailers have adopted
double opt-in subscription process. This eliminates the chance of
abuse where somebody submits somebody else's email address without
knowledge and against the will of the subscribers.
The take home lessons are obvious. Implement these lessons and you
are sure to reap success.
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