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Volume One | Issue Two | November 2008

On Email Marketing

Making Use of A/B Testing

Simply put, A/B testing is putting out two very similar or identical emails in a manner that allows us to check

• The effectiveness of the subject line on the open rate
  
  
• The effectiveness of content on a call to action
  
  
• The effectiveness of an offering on the rate of response or redemption
  

The first step is to split our mailing list into two equal sized lists and upload them labeled “A Test” and “B Test”.

If the data is available there is plenty of opportunity to get detailed with the split. We can split by gender, age, location or any other factor. For simplicity, I recommend a random split.

Testing the Subject Line for Open Rates is the easiest A/B test to perform. All we need to do is send each test list the same mailer with a different subject line.

If you are promoting a holiday special, one subject line may read “Holiday Special” and the other may be more specific and read, “Men’s Suits Special”.

Do this over the course of a few months of mailings and see if a pattern emerges. Does the more specific subject generate more openings or does it not seem to matter?

Testing the Content for Response requires sending the same themed email, only presented differently.

For example, a business consultant might send advice on structuring a partnership. One message may carry the tone of “things to think about” and the other may be more direct and include a link to a printed list of the “things to think about”.

Does the call to action (“print this”) generate more inquiries (phone calls) than the subtler “think about this”?

Testing An Offering on the Rate of Response or Redemption is also a fairly easy test to perform.

A simple example is to send two coupons, one with 10% off and the other with 25% off.

Do we see the same redemption rate of 10%’s as we do 25%’s or do we clearly need to up the ante and send everyone 25% off to get them in the store?

In general, if we take the time and lay out our testing with specific goals in mind we can increase the effectiveness of campaigns as we get to know our recipients.

Coming next month: "I can't write" and "What about content?" (moved out one month)

Customer Service (my other favorite subject)

You made it all the way down the page and now here is a section on Customer Service. - how odd is this?

Aside from email marketing, customer service is my biggest professional passion.

If customer service excellence is the goal, communication is the means.

Adopting these “Words To Avoid" in our communication with customers and clients will enhance our level of customer service excellence and distinguish us from the competition.

Word(s) of the Month: “No problem”

If I had the time, I would dedicate my life to eliminating this phrase from every customer service agents’ vocabulary.

When one is “thanked", the polite and professional response is a simple “You’re welcome”.

The response “No problem” sets into motion brain-fritzing activity counter-productive to the objective of customer service excellence.

How is that? As humans, we process words with internal visualization.

Read the sentence below (and keep your eyes from the next instruction), do it, and then open you eyes and read the next instruction – OK?

       Close your eyes - and visualize running outside without an umbrella or raincoat to your locked car in a rain storm.

Have that visualized?

OK – next instruction –

Read the sentence below (and keep your eyes from the next sentence), do it, and then open you eyes and read the next sentence – OK?

       Close your eyes - and don’t visualize running outside without an umbrella or raincoat to your locked car in a rain        storm.

What happened?

Can’t be done – there is no way to NOT visualize Not running out to your car. We must visualize doing it before we don't visualize doing it!

The same thing is true of “No problem”. When we (or your customers) hear “No problem” the first thing heard is “problem” and then, with luck, some mental gymnastics are applied and the “no” gets put in front of it.

Try it yourself –

The next time you say “thank you” for service or a product you just spent good money on and the response “No problem” comes back at you, see if you can refrain from an intense desire to respond, “What? Of course it's not a problem for you, you moron! I just spend good money on your goods or service! If anything, YOU should be thanking me!!!!”

Point made (I hope!)

For a fairly complete, suitable for framing, list of words to avoid, click here.

Next Month: "It's company policy"