Australian email marketing strategies

Mark Freidin

9th May 2010

Australian email marketing strategies lacking but on par with global standards

Silverpop study compares Australian retail marketing strategies with U.S. peers

SYDNEY, 6 May 2010—A Silverpop (www.silverpop.com) email marketing study involving many high profile Australian retailers such as the ABC Shop, Big W, Dick Smith and Myer, has found that local retailers are 25 percent more likely to offer email recipients choices during the opt-in stage than those in the United States, but lag behind in offering consumers compelling sale or discount incentives.

In conducting the study, “Retail Email Marketing in Australia” Silverpop, an on-demand provider of an email marketing and marketing automation platform serving the needs of sophisticated, self-service B2C and B2B marketers, evaluated the email marketing programs of 100 Australian retailers and compared them to the programs of top online retailers in the United States. For a period of 30 days, Silverpop reviewed the email programs of each of the local retailers, carefully noting the frequency of, and marketing strategies behind each email campaign.

Surprisingly, while 96 percent of the retailers in the United States communicate with their customers via email, only 86 percent of retailers surveyed in Australia follow suit. However, it seems local retailers are more savvy when it comes to conducting personalised email campaigns, with 35 percent of retailers offering registrants preference choices during the sign-up process. By comparison, only 28 percent of U.S. retailers tailored the opt-in process.

Jeff Clark, managing director of Engage Digital, Silverpop’s partner in Australia and New Zealand, elaborates, “Email marketing programs must be as relevant to consumers as possible. Retailers need to provide registrants with a preference centre that allows them to choose the types of emails they want to receive such as sales alerts, new product offerings and product categories. Along with this, they need to let them choose the frequency of communication such as whether they want daily alerts, weekly sales notices or monthly newsletters. This is the best way to ensure recipients remain engaged in, and not frustrated by, email campaigns.”

Interestingly however, 63 percent of local retailers that offered choices during registration failed to connect their opt-out process to a preference centre. In doing so, they unnecessarily cut ties with people who simply want to reduce or refine their communication with the business. By simply tailoring the opt-out process marketers’ can save their lists from shrinking and further personalise the customer experience, thus yielding greater results over the long term.

“Australian retailers are outpacing those in the United States in asking their recipients what they want at the beginning of the relationship, but should be offering similar options to those unsubscribing,” continued Jeff Clark. “With irrelevancy being the number one reason people unsubscribe from email programs, listening to your customers and delivering the information they specifically ask for, can have a tremendous impact on your program’s effectiveness.”

Australian retailers also differ from those in the U.S. when it comes to offering customers discounts. Just more than half (56 percent) incorporate special incentives such as sales and discounts into their email messages. By comparison, 68 percent of U.S. retailers enticed recipients with special offers.

“The local e-commerce industry continues to grow rapidly and so it has become increas­ingly important for Australian retailers to implement email marketing best practices to deepen relationships with customers and potential customers. When the messages are highly relevant, results can be profound,” Clark concluded.

To download a complimentary copy of the complete study, “Retail Email Marketing in Australia,” and to view a full list of survey participants visit: www.silverpop.com/marketing-resources/white-papers/download/austrailian-retail-email-trends.html