New research from StrongMail (as reported by eMarketer) provides proof that automated lifecycle email campaigns really do work. Currently, 46% of companies around the world use lifecycle email marketing. Does your brand?
In case the term “lifecycle email campaign” is new to you, let me explain. These are the email messages that consumers automatically receive from a company after they submit an inquiry, make a purchase, or perform another action. For example, if you’ve ever registered a technical product online, you may have received a series of automated messages afterwards welcoming you as a customer, offering other products, and so on. Those automated messages are intended to keep the brand in the consumer’s mind and generate brand loyalty and additional sales.
StrongMail’s research provides the following breakdown of how companies are currently using lifecycle email campaigns:
- Welcome program = 76%
- Post-purchase program such as product reviews, customer service survey, etc. = 45%
- Cross-sell or up-sell program = 44%
- Win back program = 33%
- Website action program (browsed items, visits, etc.) = 28%
- Cart abandonment program = 24%
- Event countdown program (message series leading up to an event) = 24%
- Price-drop alerts = 9%
- In-stock notifications = 6%
- Other = 9%
- Don’t know = 2%
Of the surveyed companies, 57% claimed that automating lifecycle email campaigns increases open rates, clicks, purchases, and registrations, and 3 out of 4 companies believed that automated email campaigns perform better than email blasts and other outbound marketing initiatives.
Specifically, respondents reported that automated lifecycle email campaigns improve the overall customer experience which leads to better brand perception and loyalty. 67% claimed these programs increase subscriber engagement and 54% believe they increase customer satisfaction and retention. 46% of companies cite increased revenue, and 45% cite higher ROI from automated lifecycle email campaigns.
If you ever wondered if automated email campaigns work, let this survey provide your answer. There is no doubt that these campaigns can drive positive results for brands. However, the emails must be useful and meaningful to recipients and the timing has to be right. This is about real-time (or as close to real-time as possible) engagement with customers based on actions they performed. Sending irrelevant information or delayed information won’t help customers or your brand.
What do you think? Are you using lifecycle email campaigns to market your brand? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
Image: stock.xchng
Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
