Will content ever top discounts in e-mail campaigns?


According to the DMA’s new “Marketer Email Tracking Study,” 47 percent of marketers believe exclusive content helps to achieve their e-mail marketing campaign objectives. Yet an accompanying survey of U.K. consumers found only four percent want exclusive content from e-mail pitches.
Not surprisingly, consumers are looking for deals. Fifty-one percent want money-off discounts; 50 percent, percent-off discounts; and 43 percent, free samples/gifts. Free delivery and loyalty program awards are each desired by 38 percent of respondents.
For marketers, percent discounts, cited by 39 percent, came in as the second most valuable tool to enhance e-mail marketing objectives, followed by notice of new products, 34 percent; user guides, 30 percent; and competitions, 27 percent.
Addressing the wide difference in content’s value, the U.K.-based marketing organization stated, “There may be inconsistencies in the language used — consumers may not understand ‘content’ in the same way as marketers, but such a huge disparity in the perception of ‘content’ must be significant. Rationally, consumers want ‘free’ offers or ‘discounts’, but practically, they respond to content, according to marketers.”
The DMA survey also found that 42 percent of marketers agree that some or none of their e-mail is actually relevant to the consumers they’re sending it to. Consumers have a lower view of how much marketing e-mail they receive is targeted and relevant.
Consumers may have grown used to discount-driven e-mail campaigns. According to a new survey from Coherent Path, 76 percent of retail marketers rely heavily on promotions in their e-mail marketing campaigns. Of the respondents, 55 percent feature a promotion or discount in about half or more of their e-mail campaigns.
E-mail marketing, with its apparent promotional slant, has also proven to be relatively inexpensive and effective. A June 2016 survey of U.S. marketers conducted by Data & Marketing Association and Demand Metric found that e-mail had a median ROI of 122 percent — four times higher than social media, direct mail and paid search.
- Marketer email tracker 2017 launch – DMA
- Coherent Path Survey Finds Retail Marketers Under Organizational Pressure to Send More Email – Coherent Path
- How Email Marketers Are Facing More Pressure Than Ever – Coherent Path
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Do you agree that although consumers say they want promotions from their e-mail marketing pitches, they will respond to content? Will retailers be able to deliver enough compelling content to reduce the lure of discount offers in e-mail campaigns?
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12 Comments on "Will content ever top discounts in e-mail campaigns?"
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CEO, Dabbl
ROI is a function of both cost and impact. As long as email is low-cost, there will always be spam and spam will continue to decrease consumer responsiveness to email as a tactic overall. As such, I am not optimistic that content can be compelling enough on its own. Great content is a pull tactic more than anything else, promotions are a push.
Retail Solutions Executive, Teradata
Good email campaigns should have BOTH. Discounts and promotions are short-cycle, immediate-interest opportunities, but adding in more custom content as a secondary method of engagement should never be discounted (no pun intended). Promos are immediate calls To action, but personalized, relevant custom content gains longer term “stickiness.” Good content ALWAYS helps to tie shoppers to brands if they do not have an immediate need for a promo to stick.
Founder and CEO, CrunchGrowth Revenue Acceleration Agency
Principal, Cathy Hotka & Associates
The constant barrage of discount-oriented emails — some daily — gets downright numbing. Lands’ End was successful, in part, because of compelling descriptions of its products. Retailers selling products at a similar investment level should consider providing more information. They should consider making this content available in stores as well.
Strategy Architect – Digital Place-based Media
The rise in “native” advertising as an alternative to mobile banner ads moves the exchange to an information-based relationship from simply a promotional one. By better informing, rather than just enticing the purchase, the value exchange is improved. Benefits-based selling works across all demographics.
Principal Writer & Content Strategist, Jasmine Glasheen & Associates
Great content leads to loyalty and engagement while discounts lead to instant traffic. Although both forms of marketing have their place, it is content, not sales, that creates lasting engagement. In today’s information economy it is more pivotal than ever to become a resource for customers, which can only happen through informative content.
EVP Thought Leadership, Marketing, WD Partners
Chief Amazement Officer, Shepard Presentations, LLC
Value comes in many different forms. Discounts and promotions — and content. If all you do is try to sell and promote, a customer may turn off from the retailer by opting out of an email list, deleting an app, etc. You must provide value at all levels. Content is a great way to engage and retain interest and relevancy with customers.
Co-founder, CART
This is right on. There’s no one thing that works for everyone, and what that thing is varies person to person and over time. Getting relevant content, discounts and offers in front of the customer at the right time (sometimes even in the right place) is key to how retailers look at reaching out to customers.
CEO, Fuse Inventory
At this point, consumers are certainly conditioned to expect discounts. If that’s part of a brand’s strategy, then email is likely the right medium to deliver the discount. Content, on the other hand, is a top-of-the-funnel activity. While sending out an email can help amplify content and draw your customers’ attention to the knowledge your brand has, content is instead more useful for SEO and for drawing in customers who are searching online. Content gives the opportunity to add value and answer questions beyond those that simply relate to your product. In general, I would treat content as a way to engage not as a way to convert which is the explicit purpose of discounts.
Retail-Tech Specialist Advisor
The results of these DMA studies are hardly a surprise. Consumers always say they want more discounts and generally to pay less and “don’t care about content.”
However, we all know that consumers respond to good content, and quality content supports engagement and stickiness.
A new angle to think about this topic is related to which retail vertical are we discussing. For food and grocery retailers, drugstores, and other high frequency multi category retailers, targeted and personalized discounts based on customer demographics and past purchases would be a highly effective tool. Quality content that is really relevant to their customers would be more difficult and costly to create.
Contrary, for specialty, vertical shops and sites with more engaged and homogeneous customers base, such as mountain bikes, hiking equipment, cooking accessories, baby accessories etc, quality content can be a much more significant part of their communication mix, so that should include occasional discounts as well.
Retail Transformation Thought Leader, Advisor, & Strategist
Non-stop, constant discounting is numbing to many shoppers. Yes, shoppers will say they want discounts, but it’s more relevant a question of *when* they want those discounts — when they are ready to buy. When they’re not ready to buy, they want content and information that helps them on their path to purchase, whatever path that may take (online, mobile, in-store, combination of all of the above). The key for retailers is not just to have the right mix, but to deliver the right message at the right time. Endless discounting only conditions shoppers to hold-off buying until they see a discount and is still a race to the bottom — one that most retailers shouldn’t want to win.