• by Laurie Petersen , May 11, 2007

In a world of phishers, spammers and tension with ISPs over deliverability, the state of the email marketing industry is mixed. But marketers need look no further than their own practices to begin to change that.

"Just be relevant" was the message delivered from multiple perspectives during kickoff presentations yesterday at the Email Insider Summit in Bonita Springs, FL.

The two best ways email marketers can keep the channel strong is to focus on the consumer first and then measure, said John Stichweh, director of global interactive marketing for The Coca-Cola Co.

Stichweh, who joined Coca-Cola after 15 years at Procter & Gamble, offered two P&G campaigns as examples of how to use deep consumer insights to create relevant email that creates an emotional bond with consumers.

A U.K. campaign for Pampers involves sending informational emails to pregnant women at different stages of their pregnancy. One such email prompted a woman to seek hospital treatment because she realized the type of contractions she was experiencing were true signs of premature labor.

Another campaign for dog food delivers information to puppy owners before the period when dogs begin teething. Because their teeth hurt at this time, puppies stop eating, prompting owners to switch brands of pet food, Stichweh said. The educational campaign is designed to keep a dog owner in the franchise by telling them it is normal for the puppy to go off food at this stage of their development.

Surprisingly, more than 70% of email marketers surveyed by Jupiter Research pay no attention to whether people click through on their emails when they segment their messages and approaches. In other words, they just keep marketing to these people in the same way.

"We can do better," said email analyst David Daniels, vice president and research director for Jupiter Research. He noted that email marketers are competing for consumers' attention with a more diverse range of online pursuits. While email remains the leading reason people go online, the relative time they spend there is decreasing.

Daniels recommended treating consumers differently based on their length of relationship with a company. Warm newcomers up with a "welcome campaign," he suggested, as a way for a dialogue to begin.

While conversion rates average a mere 1.1%, email is a compelling sales tool and the trick is to capitalize on the "seducible moments," Daniels added. Of consumers surveyed by Jupiter, 60% who made an immediate purchase from an email did so because "it contained a product I was already considering."

Lack of centralization makes it hard to plan consumer exposure--just 38% of companies have a single department handling email communication, Jupiter found. In 19% of the cases studied, there are two departments; another 19% have three to five; and a full 24% of companies have six or more departments sending out emails.

Much remains to be understood about unopened email as well, said Coke's Stichweh. He called on the researchers in the room to study the cumulative effect of having an email show up regularly with a good subject line conveying that a brand is a trusted friend that's available whenever the consumer needs it.

Daniels said a beauty marketer discovered that emails it sent for Bobbi Brown cosmetics had a low conversion rate. But on further investigation, they had a very high pass-along rate to people who did purchase the product--and this viral aspect made them highly effective.