Transaction eMails

Transactional emails - messages that confirm an order, provide delivery details or perform other post-order functions – are underutilised as marketing vehicles by online retailers, according to global email service provider Silverpop.

The study of 84 top, online retailers showed that transactional emails are only used to promote additional products by 20% of the companies surveyed. It sounds like many companies are missing a trick here, but realistically how often are standard letters and emails revised - or even thought about? Maybe it’s time that they were.

Press release follows:

“The power of transactional emails should not be underestimated,” said Mike Weston, Managing Director of SIlverpop UK. “Ultimately, transactional emails can be an excellent communication channel for marketers. By taking advantage of the high open rates of transactional emails and establishing brand loyalty at the time customers are most likely thinking about the company, top online retailers strengthen relationships with customers and drive revenue growth.

“Far too many companies allow their companies’ IT departments to send static, text-only messages. When control over transactional messaging resides outside of the marketing function, the emails often lack cross-sell and up sell promotional content that can boost revenue.”

Weston cautioned that there are certain legal complexities to take into account when adding promotional content to transactional messages and said that it’s best to consult with legal counsel before incorporating such messages.

Deliverability issues also caused problems for some retailers - 6% of the transactional emails in the test landed in recipients’ junk folders. “Perhaps more retailers would take the time to ask recipients to white list their addresses if they realised how many of their messages, including critical transactional emails, were landing in junk folders,” Weston says.

Further, more companies asked customers to sign up for their email programs than offered additional merchandise. 68% of companies that offer emails as part of their marketing programs included a link in the transactional email to opt-in to their programs.

Another issue uncovered was that only 60% of transactional emails were in HTML format. “Utilizing HTML formatting that includes essential branding elements is a strong way to enhance customer loyalty and even increase revenue,” Weston said. “Not only do HTML emails look better, they are measurable.”

from: InternetRetailing.net
Wednesday January 17 2007

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 24th, 2007 at 4:57 pm and is filed under E-commerce News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.