The From Line

Everyone knows that the key to any successful email program is subscriber engagement. The same goes for email monetization. The challenge lies in training your subscribers to engage, not just "skim" through your emails without any action. Ensuring your subscribers click is paramount to your monetization success. Subscribers should know exactly where to locate value quickly and click on it. 

When you do not provide constant and multiple ways to engage, you are leaving money on the table. There are four main components required to train your subscriber's to engage. It's easy to remember them, D.A.R.T. 

Last night while talking to my Dad about my daughter’s incredible ability to demolish sushi, he asked me about an email that he had sent me earlier today from Whole Foods (@WholeFoods on Twitter).  I hadn’t seen it yet so I looked while we were talking.  It was their “One Day Deals” email that my Mom received earlier in the day.  My Dad forwarded it to me because he knows how much my family loves Vitaminwater (@vitaminwater on twitter) and it looked like a great deal.  After reading the email, I disagreed, it wasn’t a great deal it was a FANTASTIC deal, 50 cents a bottle.  This is one third of the regular price per bottle.  Now I only buy Vitaminwater when it’s on sale for a dollar a bottle (I stopped buying it at Costco because although the price is a little less per bottle, the selection in the big packs were not what my family enjoyed) so this was something I would jump at.

A Lesson in Group Buying Programs
Marketing Pros in Niche Markets Warming up to the Craze
 
TREND:
Groupon, a leader in the group buying craze, recently rebuffed a $6 billion buyout offer from Google. This speaks to the relevance and growth potential of an integrated marketing tactic that incorporates email, local advertising and social media. And Groupon is just one of over 500 group-buying sites worldwide. Most of these sites offer easy-to-share discounts and reward subscribers whose friends make a purchase. The deals are almost always announced via daily emails and come with a small window of opportunity. This frequent sense of urgency no doubt feeds into the frenzy. Now Wal-Mart is even testing this model with their email program.

TAKEAWAY:
Deal of the Day emails are nothing new, and neither is buying in bulk. So what is it about the trend that has garnered so much attention lately? Group buying sites are popular because deals are either locally-based or fill a niche such as singles nightlife, organic baby products, home décor and travel deals. But despite the popularity, the increase in coupon sites is beginning to water down advertiser messages. Deals are either too generic or not well targeted. The increase in competing Groupon-like services highlights a need for relevancy, smart targeting and customer service best practices. They also mean that businesses need to be more savvy when evaluating the right strategy -- sometimes the service's commission limit potential profits.

HOW-TO:

To join the group buying phenomenon, businesses should look first at their existing email databases. Subscribers who already interact with communications are likely to remain loyal.

Start by creating a “daily deal” email campaign that integrates with social media sharing widgets such as AddThis. Target the most loyal subscribers – those who regularly click links and share messages.

They key is to then execute campaigns at the same time each day. Businesses should also highlight their customer service such as refunds, reliability, response time and transaction confirmations. Customer service offered by group-buying sites has taken a few hits in the media lately, so this can be a competitive edge for many businesses looking to start an email-based group coupon program.

We look forward to seeing yours!

We'd love to help any business looking to implement or test this kind of strategy. If you need assistance or just want to brainstorm we'd be happy to talk.