What’s Average?
One of the most common questions in email marketing is “what’s an average response?”, or what’s a “good” open, click, bounce rate? Everyone wants to compare their results to the average and validate if their campaign results are “good”. There are benchmark metrics for all email stats, but they vary widely by industry, list size, etc. You need to compare apples to apples and not get caught up in the comparison game.
As a general guideline, I tell customers their open and click rates should reflect the depth of relationship you have with your list members. For example, if you are a CPA and your list contains 15-20 active customers with whom you are on a first name basis, chances are your open rates are greater than 50% (especially around tax time). Conversely, if you’re an online retailer and you have several thousand site visitors that you’ve never met, success may be a 15-25% open rate. These are two extreme scenarios but you get the idea, the more personal the relationship with your list members, the higher the expected open rate. The VerticalResponse Customer Marketing team also suggests focusing your energy on a few other factors to improve results:
Grow a Great List – create an opt-in form today and start using it. Take the time to build your list the right way, mail to it regularly and provide relevant content. A great list doesn’t happen overnight, but the results from one will provide you a solid ROI time and time again.
Put it to the Test – test your subject lines, test your offers, test the time of day you send your campaigns. A simple tweak in your email campaign could squeeze in some additional clicks, opens or even added revenue.
Make it Personal – If you have an opt-in form requiring a first name then you can use personalization to include items like your clients name in the email. “Hello Kim” is so much nicer than “Hello Valued Customer”. And you can kick it up a notch by adding in other info you’ve collected, like birthdays or last item purchased. It’s a great way to build the relationship with your customers and relevancy in the messages you are sending.
