Progression of an eMail Customer Journey

This past week I focused on the progression of an eMail program from starting with the data, adding in the KPIs, starting simple, looking at the overall customer journey and then layering in programs.  eCRM today is not a set it and let it be, it needs to constantly evolve as your customers evolve.

Enjoy my post from Monday - Sunday!

This week I’m planning to progress through the setup of eMail programs and where to begin and to add additional elements each day.

Data should be the source of all your eMail programs. Look at the data you have on your customers - it can be email address, when they signed up for email, birthday dates, first and last order dates, when they enrolled in your programs and so on. Also look at where you are collecting data and how that data can be used to help power your eMail or communication programs.

Monday Closing Thought of the Day
The strategy and tactics for your eMail programs will include data (as I mentioned this morning) and the data touch points. I recommend looking at all areas where you are gathering customer data - in-store, POP material, website, social media etc - and let that help guide your strategy. This will also help with gap analysis and help with any data opportunities to make improvements or gather more data to help drive programs.

After you have looked at the data you have to build eMail programs, the next step is to define the KPIs that you want to measure. You can go more granular, but the basic KPIs to start with are the following; Open Rate, Click Rate, Bounce Rate, Sales, Conversion Rates, Unsubscribe/Complaint Rates and Landing Page/Site Traffic Changes

Starting off Simple!
After looking at your data and KPI’s, it is good to start off simple and get your feet wet. I always recommend the Welcome Series - this is the one program where customers have taken an action and they want something from your brand. This is also a very important program, since this may be your first chance to put your best foot forward. The Welcome Series is also a chance for your customers to learn more about your brand or to introduce other programs/tools to them. These communication series can include your rewards program, download your Apps, more about your social channels - this is were your data becomes smart and you deliver only the relevant messages.

You have your data & KPIs and the start of a simple Welcome Series ready to go. Now is the time to look at the overall eCRM customer journey and mapping of what communications a customer will receive - your welcome series now becomes part of the overall journey.

What is the customer journey? A customer journey is a simple diagram or map that illustrates all the steps or experiences your customer goes through when engaging with your company. The goal of the map is to teach your team about their customers and how you are communicating to those customers.

Who benefits from the customer journey? Your customers, your designers, your developers, your leadership and your customers all benefit from a detailed customer journey.

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Thursdays Published Post Article….Q&A

Question: Should you use an incentive for email signups?

Answer: It is good to grow your list, but it is also important in HOW you grow your list. I always want people within my programs that are engaged and want to willingly join our programs. With that said, I do like organic traffic over all other methods, but there are many incentives that are good for your business. Each business needs to be looked at differently and approached differently with a good solid plan on using incentives.

Before you start any incentive programs to get customer to join your eMail program, there are a couple questions you should ask yourself:
- What is the goal or the end result you are looking for?
- Is it engagement
- Immediate sales and transactions?
- List growth for short and long term?
- How are you going to analyze these new customers?
- What are you going to communicate to these customers?

Read More - http://b7design.com/b2the7/question-of-the-week-72716/

Are you currently using Customer Journey Mapping tools to better understand your customers eCRM experiences?

A) Yes
B) No

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Website Review

Do you have a favorite website or even your own that you would like featured and reviewed? 

Each week I want to highlight a website that people use as a resource and one that can be used as a source of information for daily tasks (or others as well). These can be large sites or even obscure smaller sites. It is in how ones uses and how they use the information that is important.
Message me with the website and I will talk about it on LinkedIn and on my blog.

You have your programs in place, you think your customers are enjoying a good experience - but are they? This is where the analysis of your programs come into play. Watch how people are interacting with your program, what devices they are using, where are they clicking, are the landing pages working, are you generating sales and transactions and so on. From the analytics, you can tweak your programs or make changes or additions. eCRM today is not a set it and let it be, it needs to constantly evolve as your customers evolve.

To wrap-up the week around the progression of an eMail customer journey, don’t let technology guide your programs, let your programs guide your technology.

About Bernie

With more than 23 years of experience in marketing, Bernie is the Director of Digital Marketing at Papa John’s International, based in Louisville, KY. His current focus is building and scaling a progressive digital marketing foundation that balances the needs of both consumers and national/local stakeholders —  all while delivering measurable ROI to the business.

Additionally, Bernie oversees brand representation for Papa John’s digital properties and manages direct-to-consumer channels including email, SMS and push messaging. Recent initiatives have centered around bringing together larger promotional efforts with targeted campaigns to engage the consumer at the precise moment of interest.

Follow Bernie on Twitter @B2the7 or @B7_Design & the B2The7 blog @ http://b7design.com/b2the7/