LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With mobile commerce sales forecasted to reach $100 billion this year according to Forrester, Campaigner®, the email marketing brand of j2 Global, Inc. (NASDAQGS: JCOM), today urged marketers to establish mobile email marketing strategies early to ensure optimal revenue during the upcoming holiday shopping season. According to Campaigner’s annual Mobile Trends Survey of nationwide consumers, promotional emails incite purchases made on mobile devices. The data reveals a 22 percent increase in mobile device purchases as a result of email marketing in 2013 from 2012.
Despite this rise in mobile purchasing, the survey exposed that consumer irritation with respect to email marketing messages on mobile devices results most from irrelevant content in promotional emails. In light of this, Campaigner is advising retailers to plan ahead and utilize email marketing tools like responsive design, segmentation, and A/B split testing to capitalize on this growing opportunity and effectively target key audiences.
“Retailers have a significant opportunity to embrace the growing market for mobile shoppers this holiday season,” said EJ McGowan, general manager, Campaigner. “The results from our 2014 Mobile Trends Survey indicated that while consumers are more interactive with mobile content and purchasing, marketers are still providing a lackluster mobile experience. In particular, the survey revealed that some consumers feel content is not personalized, underscoring the importance of relevant content to increase sales and effectively engage with consumers.”
Additional key findings from the survey show that 51 percent of respondents purchased items from a mobile device, but only 28 percent did so as the result of a promotional email. This signifies that marketers have the ability to nearly double this number, potentially driving a substantial increase in mobile sales. The survey also identified key drivers in motivating consumers to open promotional emails on their mobile device:
- 45 percent of respondents are inspired to open mobile marketing emails due to both compelling text and graphics; only two percent are motivated solely by graphics, once again proving that content is still king
- 42 percent stick to what they know and will read promotional emails on their mobile devices primarily based on familiarity of sender name
- 21 percent say awareness of an ongoing deal/price promotion is the primary driver to read promotional emails on their mobile device
- 20 percent cite subject line as the main reason they decide to read marketing emails on their mobile device
While an influx of shoppers are embracing mobile interactions, marketers can still improve and increase their mobile sales with a best practices approach to mobile email marketing. Aside from issues related to content and personalization, the survey found that poor mobile design was also a major source of frustration (60 percent). The data highlight that poor user experiences don’t result in positive business outcomes. Marketers should take note of this feedback to implement necessary changes that will drive click throughs, opens, and ultimately, revenue generated from mobile interactions.
In order to fine-tune mobile email marketing strategies to better engage with customers, Campaigner has developed tips to kick-start pre-holiday planning this summer:
-
Schedule Summer Strategy Sessions
The summer months are the perfect time to create and test various messages, subject lines, mobile designs, and more. The 2014 Campaigner Mobile Trends Survey found that 56 percent of participants read promotional emails while relaxing or watching TV, and 28 percent do so at work. Given how different these two environments are, marketers should take the time to develop multiple messages to appeal to all segments of a given audience, especially before the busy holiday season. -
Launch Responsive Design 2.0
Marketers should take the summer to review their responsive design strategy and analytics around the success of mobile open rates. If opens are low on mobile, it’s time to review your history. If you’ve previously sent non-responsive emails, your customers are likely waiting to open them on their home or desktop computer. Encourage mobile interaction by using engaging subject lines to compel your audience to engage on the go. Reset expectations and show that your content is mobile-friendly. This will increase mobile activity and is incredibly important to establish prior to the holiday season. -
Streamline Content
When developing content it’s always key to consider your audience. In this case, mobile users will be expecting streamlined, easily accessed content within promotional emails. No one wants to read pages of text on a small screen – nearly 22 percent of survey respondents said that too much text or hard to read text irritates them most about marketing emails on mobile devices – so shorten and simplify your message. Use a responsive design template that allows for easy placement of key messages, calls to action, and links to social channels. Leverage collected data and analytics to help improve personalization to target various segments of your audience, which will improve mobile open rates and interactions. -
Conduct A/B Split Testing
Once you’ve crafted new content, subject lines, and various other experiments, test them. Create an A/B split test on multiple subject lines and then watch in real time as variations go head-to-head to quickly see which email campaign performs the best. Use A/B testing to validate new design, calls-to-action, limited time offers, etc., in order to provide more meaningful metrics, optimize reader communication, and improve conversion rates. -
Focus on Key Customers
Identify customers who are not responding to your communications and dial it back. This tactic is especially important since Internet Service Providers determine whether or not your emails are delivered. Keep the 80/20 rule in mind: Don’t waste your time and/or alienate the 80 percent who do not drive revenue for your company, but rather focus on the 20 percent who do and encourage a continued relationship by providing rewards, loyalty programs, and great deals.
For more information, Internet retailers can call 866-358-6388 or visit the Campaigner Email Marketing for Internet Retailers webpage. Or download Campaigner’s free Email Automation white paper.
An infographic of the survey results can be found at http://www.campaigner.com/solutions/infographics/pdf/June-Survey-Infographic-2014.pdf
#CampaignerEmail #HolidayMobileMktg #MobileEmailMtkg #MobileMtkgExperts #MobileMktgTips #MobileMktgSurvey
Twitter: @CampaignerEmail
Facebook:
CampaignerEmail.com
Google+:
Campaigner
Email Marketing
Instagram: Campaigneremail
Pinterest:
Campaigner.com
LinkedIn:
Campaigner
Email Marketing
Tweet this: “#MobileMktgSurvey Reveals Insights to Plan your #HolidayMobileMktg now w/@CampaignerEmail: http://ow.ly/y5654”
About the Mobile Trends Surveys
The online third party surveys (http://www.campaigner.com/survey/results/201306.pdf and http://www.campaigner.com/survey/results/201406.pdf) were commissioned by Campaigner between December 2012 and December 2013. Each question sampled at least 1,500 unique, randomly sampled Internet users across the publisher group, who identified themselves as consumers. The average margin of error is +/- 2.7%.
About Campaigner®
Campaigner is a robust email marketing solution built by marketers to help small, medium, and large businesses strengthen customer relationships and drive sales. Features include professional email campaign creation, industry-leading A/B split testing, advanced list management and segmentation tools, targeted email autoresponders and workflows, powerful API and CRM integration, and detailed campaign reporting. Campaigner is a brand and registered trademark of j2 Global® or its affiliates. Learn more at www.campaigner.com.
About j2 Global®
j2 Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: JCOM) and its affiliates provide Internet services through their two divisions: Business Cloud Services and Digital Media. The Business Cloud Services Division offers Internet fax, virtual phone, hosted email, email marketing, online backup, unified communications, and CRM solutions. It markets its services principally under the brand names eFax®, eVoice®, FuseMail®, Campaigner®, KeepItSafe®, and Onebox®, and operates a messaging network spanning 49 countries on six continents. The Digital Media Division, consists of Ziff Davis, Inc., which offers technology, gaming, and lifestyle content through its digital properties, which include PCMag.com, IGN.com, AskMen.com, Toolbox.com, and others. Ziff Davis also operates NetShelter Powered by BuyerBase®, an advanced digital and ad targeting platform, and Ziff Davis B2B, a leading provider of research to enterprise buyers and leads to IT vendors. As of December 31, 2013, j2 Global had achieved 18 consecutive fiscal years of revenue growth. For more information about j2 Global, please visit http://www.j2global.com.
