- June 9, 2015
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Revive Inactive Subscribers, Stat!
Don’t look now but an alarming number of opted-in customers aren’t opening, clicking or even looking at your emails — and haven’t been for some time. So, should you do a little triage to give your mailing list new life? Or pull the plug and find some better prospects?
The short answer is… it depends.
So Who are They?
Inactive subscribers are customers who are still opted-in to your list but “no longer read your email and have taken no action to stop receiving it,” according to marketing automation provider Act-On Software. Marketing Sherpa reports that up to 75% of subscribers may be inactive at any time, which means that the sooner you diagnose the reasons why, the sooner you can revive their interest in your company’s products and services.
Check these Vital Signs
Customers stop interacting with email for a variety of reasons, including problems related to:
- Frequency: You may be emailing customers so much that ignoring and deleting becomes their default response OR you’re not sending enough emails to pique their interest or earn their trust.
- Relevance: Nothing prompts people to hit ‘delete’ faster than messages that don’t apply to them. Customer interests may ebb, flow and even change over time. So you must objectively assess offers and subject lines, regularly monitor behavior with analytics, and adjust campaigns accordingly.
- Presentation: About half of a business’s subscriber base checks email via a mobile device, says Act-On, yet nearly six in ten companies aren’t formatting messages for mobile. The bad news: up to 80% of people will delete emails that don’t look good on their device.
- Deliverability: Customers can’t open messages they don’t receive. Email intelligence provider Return Path reports that nearly one quarter of all opted-in emails never make it to the inbox. Our previous post discusses technical issues that can impact deliverability, so remember to address this essential aspect of email outreach.
Good Hygiene Means Better Health
The best medicine for resuscitating inactives is a carefully planned email reactivation campaign based on the following steps:
- First, identify them: Segment customers to isolate the non-responders; work with marketing and sales teams to decide on meaningful measurements and label groups according to activity level, value or other relevant metrics.
- Create targeted messaging: Spend adequate time crafting enticing subject lines and irresistible offers; it’s the best chance you have of bringing customers back; try
using embedded video to help boost engagement and response. - Mail and monitor: All reputable email service providers supply analytics dashboards that let you keep a close eye on open rates, behaviors and bounces; use this tool to see what’s working and what isn’t.
- If all else fails, say goodbye–No company likes to cut ties with customers but sometimes it’s necessary to optimize resources and maintain your emailing reputation;
if they continue to ignore and resist your best offers, it’s probably time to bid them adieu.
Because email marketing is so effective, it has become the lifeblood of small business. In fact, 91 percent of those polled in one iContact survey called email marketing ‘helpful’ or ‘very helpful.’ An effective reactivation campaign can breathe new life in to your marketing and get open rates, CTRs and overall engagement back in the pink — where they belong.