At first glance it may seem as though the e-mail vendor marketplace is developmentally stagnant. E-mail marketing is still generally embraced as the most effective direct digital marketing tactic available, where linear metrics clearly define accountability.
But when one evaluates the service provider landscape with a more watchful eye, the myriad software platforms—complete with the basic, commoditized features—appear to blend together into a sluggish market standard. Each touts an emphasis on deliverability, promotes robust segmentation, and provides tactical detail on complex triggered programs that are, of course, very easy to set up and operate. Choosing an e-mail service provider in this more mature marketplace is a challenge because the points of differentiation between the software platforms are not as easy to identify as they were three years ago.
Fortunately there is an important aspect of e-mail software that marketers can zero in on when evaluating providers. It’s that old, familiar standby: data.
The standard service providers allow marketers to import and export data into the platform for any tactical e-mail program execution. The data recorded are helpful but basic, with clicks, opens, and attributed conversions as the primary benchmarks for success. But the time it takes to get data hooked into the e-mail environment makes real-time targeting and content relevance a challenge. E-mail marketing becomes far more effective when the data are not constantly slugged around and instead live within the platform that executes the campaigns. The closer the data are to the execution, the more successful the e-mail campaigns will be.
While the proximity of the data to the content matters, the type of data that are captured and stored by an ESP matters now more than ever. There are two primary data types that email marketers should be able to use to power campaigns: known customer attributes and anonymous behavioral data. Examples of known customer attributes are the standard data points such as enterprise customer data, purchase history, and customer responses to forms and surveys. Known attribute data are the cornerstone to market-standard e-mail campaigns.
But market-standard e-mail campaigns evolve into industry-leading campaigns when an ESP is able to capture consumer behavioral data natively—in other words, within the e-mail platform. A key differentiator for e-mail service providers now is having a platform that is capable of capturing native behavioral data such as keyword search and Website entry points.
Consider a scenario where an anonymous visitor is visiting an ecommerce site. He hits the site off an organic keyword search for “mp3 players.” His browsing pattern looks promising as he evaluates several mp3 players, but he leaves the site without making a purchase.
When an ESP natively captures behavioral data, the entire visit, including the keyword search, is recorded in the database. When that same visitor makes a return trip to the Website and signs up for the e-mail newsletter, he can immediately be bucketed into a segment to receive special offers on mp3 players. The once-anonymous behavior transforms into a known customer profile. The market-leading ESP is able to send a welcome message with a content module offering a discount on an mp3 player. The market-standard ESP would not have this crucial information. In fact, it could be weeks or months before the standard ESP is able to recognize this shopper’s desire to purchase an mp3 player. And by that time it may be too late.
Here is where this key ESP differentiator comes into play. E-mail programs are only as good as the data feeding them. Thus, the more data that can be captured, the better the e-mail will perform with great segmentation and smart targeting practices.
When an e-mail marketing software platform is able to capture behavioral data natively—not via a feed from another system—marketers have substantially more opportunities to engage the consumer and entice a purchase. Behavioral data that were once captured in an anonymous profile within the database become part of the overall known profile once that visitor authenticates with an e-mail subscription. It is targeting and relevance right out of the gate.
Many market-standard e-mail service providers have gotten away from aggressive software development cycles that continually push the industry forward. When evaluating the ESP options currently on the market, the number-one question to begin any conversation is “How does this e-mail software capture behavioral data natively?” It is a simple, straightforward question that will quickly separate the market-standard providers from the market leaders.
Modern consumers demand that marketers be relevant every time with e-mail marketing. Identifying ESPs that are able to capture behavioral data unlocks a new category of relevance for marketers and a host of new opportunities for consumers.
Josh Gordon is director of marketing at Knotice, a direct digital marketing solutions company.
