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Response rates- the facts
Factors affecting response rates
Each year the DMA surveys response rates to direct and interactive
marketing campaigns and the 2000/2001 survey, published earlier
this year, asserts that the following all have an effect on
the response rates:
* Relevance
* Existing relationship
* Timing
* Competitiveness/attractiveness
* Medium or combination of media
* Creative presentation
The DMA focus is very much on what the marketer does in order to encourage a response, rather than what the consumer must do in order to respond. Therefore Wired-Up suggests that marketers should also consider:
* Media available for response
* How well the response is handled
* Effort required to make response
Download the Wired-Up response rates fact sheet now to see the stats on
* Bought-in vs. proprietory data
* Response rates by sector
* Response rates by medium
With world-class examples of generating a good response from Kodak and Dunkin Donuts.
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The Benefits of list rental
Wired-Up chats to Sean Kelleher, Partner at Acumen, media planning and buying specialists, about how rented lists enable companies to throw their marketing nets a little wider...
Wired-Up: What is the prime benefit of list rental?
SK:
Using third party lists gives marketers access to new and untapped markets, providing companies with the essential lifeblood - new business.
Wired-Up: How can the digital marketer ensure the quality of the data they rent?
SK: One of the first questions a digital marketer should ask a list vendor is how old the list is and does it have 'FBC's (Fresh Blood Consumers)? i.e. what percentage of the list is less than twelve months old? The age of a list is particularly important in the new media sphere as people change their email address and mobile phone number far more frequently than their postal address and home telephone numbers.
They should also look at and evaluate the manner in which the data was collected. Double opt-in - whereby consumers agree that their data can be used for marketing purposes and then confirm their permission by replying to a second email - although beyond the minimum legal requirements, generally means better quality data. Identifying and assessing the opt in wording will help to identify the validity and potential of data collection.
Finally, they should consider how closely the lifestyle aspects of the list relate to the product or service they are promoting. A good list broker will have far more than names and email addresses or mobile phone numbers. It will also have an appropriate mix of socio-demographic and attitudinal data on which to base the marketer's purchase decision.
Wired-Up: Will the list broker provide client testimonials and case studies for specific lists as a guide to response rates?
SK: Much as they would love to, this is a tricky one. The chances are that the companies already renting a given list are direct competitors of those planning to use it and releasing precise campaign response rates is imparting market sensitive information.
Wired-Up: How much should you expect to pay for a list?
SK: On standalone email prices could be as low as £50 per thousand and as high as £300.
Obviously broader targeting with less specific focus will deliver greater list numbers and volumes. As you would expect, volume secures a lower cost per unit.
Unsurprisingly the more tightly targeted and finely tuned bespoke lists are, the greater the price premium. Realistically you would expect to pay upwards of £100 for tightly targeted addresses, subject to market conditions.
What matters is not simply what you spend, but how your marketing budget may be best deployed against your marketing objectives. The best way to calculate this is to rent a portion of the list and run a series of tests. Base your response rates and your breakeven on that and you should be able to determine whether you're getting good value.
And if your breakeven seems too high, don't let that put you off entirely. It is short sighted to think about ROI on a single campaign basis. Your test results will allow you to assess the response and customer delivery rates. However the benefit is that identified customers deliver long-term yields, often with lifetime value. It only takes a small percentage going on to become long term to deliver steady returns at low recruitment costs over time. This component can make the campaign more profitable than it first appears.
Wired-Up: Are list-brokers prepared to share a portion of the risk and charge on a performance-related basis?
SK: Like every business, list brokers are open to negotiation but response rates are not just down to data quality, there are many external factors that influence campaign success. Would, for instance, you be comfortable giving a list broker power of input and creative veto over your copy?
Wired-Up: Now that so many companies have their own databases and are well versed in list-building exercises, is there a real future for list brokers?
SK: As I mentioned earlier new business is the lifeblood of every company. Sole reliance on an existing customer database to supply long-term growth is a business strategy likely to be fraught with danger. In today's mobile and fast-changing society with its varied portfolio of lifestyle choices, access to regularly updated and reliable potential customer data will be of paramount importance to anyone involved in consumer marketing.
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NetDoctor builds online community through list rental
BACKGROUND
NetDoctor is an online health portal, offering information and advice on all manner of ailments. To build its online Smoking Community, NetDoctor decided to use a viral marketing campaign. As well as attracting smokers who had registered on the site in the past, NetDoctor wanted to attract a new audience to the Community using an 'email a friend' facility.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of the campaign was to raise awareness of NetDoctor's Smoking Community, an Internet destination where smokers can help both themselves and each other give up, as well as providing a forum and reference source for health professionals and other interested parties. Joining the Community is free and simple.
A secondary objective was to increase general traffic to the NetDoctor website.
SOLUTION
A campaign was designed to take in users, teasing them to take a simple 'spot the difference' test that would reflect their IQ. Users were challenged to compare two images and told find as many discrepancies as they could, with results varying from "below average" to "officially a genius".
The first image showed an enormous, uncountable pile of cigarettes; users were told to study it and take their time before proceeding. On clicking through to the second image, however, they were sucker-punched with a completely different picture - an idyllic vision of the archetypal 'dream holiday' - with the message "the equivalent of a twenty a day pack a year - can YOU spot the difference?"
Users were then prompted to enter a prize draw to win one of 80 Nicorette goody bags - including a guide to healthy eating and massage oil - by forwarding the email on to other smoker friends.
The overall creative reflected the interactive nature of the service and NetDoctor's authority on the subject without losing its sense of humour.
RESULTS
The email was sent out on 4th December to a list of 6,600 people sourced from an 'opt in' targeted list of smokers provided by Snipermail. A second email was sent on 9th January to 3,600 French recipients to catch the New Year's resolution quitters.
More than 43% of users sent the promotion in the UK clicked-through and took the 'IQ test', with over 500 users forwarding it on to a friend.
In terms of the French version, over 35% clicked-through to the IQ test, and nearly 200 additional people were sent the email virally.
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Download the Wired-Up response rates fact sheet now.
Email marketing pushes sales up by 59.8%
The latest research from the DMA (UK) found that two-thirds of companies said their sales had increased as a result of using email marketing. Actual rises varied between companies. By company size these breakdown as: large companies, 47.1% rise; medium companies 59.8% rise and small companies 42.6% rise.
Euro-cookie legislation crumbles
The on-going saga of cookie legislation. (Wired-Up issue 8) continues. Initial recommendations made by the European Parliament's committee have been changed following a campaign by the IAB. At time of writing the revised proposals are that companies will not have to gain prior consent before installing cookies in user browsers and that when using cookies that they will not have to be opt-in. For more on cookies download the Wired-Up Cookie factsheet.
Snapple uses net to find TV-ad stars
(US news) Soft drink Snapple is asking people to submit their real-life stories online for the chance to have it re-enacted by the bottles in a TV spot.
The "What's Your Story" promotion runs until the end of July 30. Four stories will be selected as finalists based on creativity, humour and appropriateness. The finalists will be posted on the Snapple Web site between 15 and 30 August and put to a public vote. The promotion was created by iDeutsch in New York.
IPA President highlights the importance of advertising
In his foreword to the IPA 2001 Annual Report published last week IPA President Bruce Haines, writes on the continuing importance of advertising and marketing communications to the media landscape and to business success. The report summarises the main activities and the key industry surveys undertaken by the IPA in 2001.
Frontwire appoints new Digital Marketing Consultant
Frontwire, publisher of Wired-Up, has appointed Stephen Pratley as Digital Marketing Consultant. Stephen joins Frontwire with over 10 years of international and interactive direct marketing experience that includes stints at Claritas and the Jigsaw Consortium and managing internet marketing projects for Debenhams, REED and EMAP Digital.
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About Wired-Up
Wired-Up! is published by Frontwire Ltd and edited by Orchid PR
Copyright 2002 Frontwire, All rights reserved. ISSN1477-5834
About Frontwire
Frontwire helps organisations acquire and retain customers in more cost effective ways using digital marketing solutions (with email, SMS and streaming video). Frontwire's core services include: Strategy & Planning, List Building and Rental, Data Management, Design & Editorial, Message Dispatch & Tracking, Response Management, Research & Analysis.
To find out more about our solutions, clients and case studies please visit our web site www.frontwire.com or call Jason Meads on 020 7368 9700.
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