Email Marketing Strategy:Service Provider Recommendation

Drew%Berman

Overview•Alan’s'Bakery• Target'Customers• Current'Marketing'Tacticts• Email'Marketing'Goals• Segmentation'Strategy•Analysis'of'Email'Service'Providers

• MailChimp or'Constant' Contact

• Based'on'chosen,' important'attributes

• Final'Decision

Alan’s BakeryCompany:• Reliable• Friendly

Atmosphere'of'Restaurant:• Upscale,'yet'Informal

Products:• High'quality• Infinite'options'for'specialty'items

While&choosing&an&email&provider,&looking&at&our&reputation&was&extremely&important.&These&are&the&qualities&people&think&of&when&they&hear&“Alan’s&Bakery”&and&we&want&to&maintain&these&values&when&we&start&sending&out&emails.&

Target Consumer Segments• Lunch'Crowd

• Customers' Per'Restaurant'Location

• Repeat'Customers' for'Specialty' Bakery'Items

• Brides• Company'Offices

• Other'Large'Groups'of'10+

Current Marketing Tactics • Menu'Specials'of'the'day• Online'Ordering• Discounted'catering'options'for'10+'people'• Special'event'catering'packages'for'offices• Wine/cake'tasting'parties'for'brides• VIP'only'“customer'events”

These&can&be&integrated&with&email&campaigns&as&part&of&our&email&marketing&strategy.&Our&service&provider&should&help&determine&where&our&attention&should&be&focused&in&the&beginning,&and&where&we&will&be&the&most&successful.&

Email Marketing Goals• Stay'in'touch'with'customers• Provide'Information• Create'awareness'for'potential'clients• Track'effectiveness'of'marketing'efforts• Further'segment'database'based'on'customer'behaviors

• Past'customers,'customers'of'specialtyUitems,'etc.

WE#WANT#REPEAT#BUSINESS!We&don’t&want&to&flood&or&spam&inboxes,&or&look&like&we&rushed&through&the&emails&without&any&thought&on&the&customers&needs&and&desires&in&mind.

Segmentation StrategyWe&have&collected&200,000&email&addresses&from&the&fishbowls&at&each&store&location&and&havee also&purchased&an&annual&mailing& list&of&local&bride’s&email&addresses.&(Great&Bridal&Expo)

• Send'emails'out'twice'weekly'to'the'lunch'crowd'(200k)'• Segment'brides'based'on'wedding'month

• 12'emails'per'campaign.'• For'example,'all'brides'getting'married'in'June'2017'would'be'in'the'same'segment.'

• Send'email'to'remind'past'specialtyUitem'customers'of'an'anniversary''• “and'Alan’s'is'ready'to'help'you'celebrate!”

Service ProvidersMailChimp

• Started'in'2001'“as'a'side'project'funded'by'various'webUdevelopment'jobs.”

• Now'used'by'more'than'10'million'people'and'businesses'around'the'world• Send'600'million'emails'a'day

• “We'love'seeing'businesses'start'small,'fund'themselves'with'paying'projects,'and'build'up'a'strong'API,'so'thatas'how'we'run'MailChimp.'We'create'products'and'features'that'empower'our'customers'to'grow.”

Constant-Contact• Founded'as'“Roving'Software”'in'1995• Currently'have'over'650,000'customers• “[Their]'Mission:'to'empower'small'businesses'and'nonprofits'to'grow'customer'relationships'and'succeed.”

AttributesLooking&at&our&email&marketing&goals,&I&was&able&to&narrow&down&six&core&attributes& to&focus&on&when&researching&MailChimp and&Constant&Contact.&These&were&the&deciding& factors&in&my&decision:

1. Price2. Segmentation'Capabilities3. Design'and'Template'Options4. Customer'Support5. Analytics6. Features

PriceMailChimp• $875'a'month

• 185,000U200,000'subscribers

• Up'to'2,400,000'emails'a'month

Constant-Contact• $895'a'month

• For'150,001U200,000'email'addresses

• Can'receive'10%'off'your'account' if'you'prepay'for'6'months'in'advance,'or'15%'off'for'a'year'in'advance.• 6'month'prepay:'$4,833

• Savings:'$537• 12'month'prepay:'$9,129

• Savings:'$1,611

Winner:#MailChimpMailChimp is#highly#affordable

Segmentation CapabilitiesMailChimp• Send'a'targeted'event'invitation'to'subscribers'inside'a'particular'radius'around'any'point'on'the'globe.

• Email'only'your'most'engaged'subscribers'about'special'offers'and'events.

• Segment'by'date'added'to'send'new'subscribers'a'welcome'email.'

• Send'to'subscribers'who'have'purchased'items'from'your'store'to'announce'new'products'or'updates.

Constant-Contact• Create'a'personalized'email'once,'and'set'it'to'send'automatically'for'triggers'like'birthdays'or'a'customer'milestone.

• Set'a'series'of'emails'for'your'contact'lists.• When'you'add'new'contacts' to'your'automated'

list,'they’ll'start'receiving'a'scheduled'series'of'emails.'

Winner:#MailChimpFrom#the#website,# it#seems# that#MailChimp has#more,#and#easierEtoEuse#segment#services

MailChimpDesign & Template Options

• PreUdesigned'templates

• BuiltUin'photo'editing

• Collaboration• Post'comments'and'send'test'emails'while'working'on'a'campaign

• Test'and'preview'for'mobile

• File'manager• Filter,'search,'and'organize'images'and'documents.

Constant-Contact

Design & Template Options

• Customize'any'template

• Drag'&'Drop'easily'into'template

• Social'media'integration

• Mobile'responsive-templates

• Expert-Help-' Design-&-Build-service:-$599• Professional-graphic-designers- will-create-a-one'of'a'kind-

template

Winner:#TIEBoth#have#a#wide#array#of#template#options#and#other#easyEtoEuse#features#for#customization.#Either#would#be#great

Customer SupportMailChimp Constant-Contact

• Phone,'chat,'and'email'support'offered'Monday'through'Friday'for'business'hours,'plus'weekend'email'support.'

• Online'Resources:• Community' forum• Video'tutorials'&'

Webinars• StepUbyUstep'guides' '

• Local'training'and'classes'available

• Chat'and'email'support'24/5'– weekends'limited'to'email'only

• Online'resources:• ‘Get'Started’'article• Glossary'of'terms• Video'tutorials

Winner:#Constant#ContactGreater#array#of#helpful#resources#and#better#support#– especially#with#phone#service.

Analytics ReportingMailChimp Constant-Contact

• No'simple'method'of'A/B'testing'emails'and'then'measuring'the'statistics

• All'split'test'emails'have'to'be'done'manually

• A/B'testing• Choose'up'to'3'testing'variables,'the'size'of'

your'test'audience,'and'the'metric' U open'rate,'click' rate,'manual'selection' U determines'winning' campaign.

• Reports• Track'how'many'people'opened' the'email'

campaigns'and'see'exactly'what'they'clicked• Interactive'graphs• Monitor' trends

• See'which'email'addresses'bounced'and'why

• Compare'to'other'MailChimp users'in'industry' U can'gauge'relative'effectiveness'with'competitors

• Subscriber'activity' reports• Revenue' reports

Winner:#Mail#ChimpAnalytics#are#so#essential,#and#their#extensive#A/B#testing#and#reports#will#really#help#improve#our#marketing#efforts

Features Comparison

Decision• Price&and&the&analytics&package&were&huge&determining& factors&in&my&decision.• We&are&spending&less&money&and&getting&a&service& that&will&make&the&money&spent&worthwhile&– knowing&what&is&working&and&not&working&in&our&marketing& efforts.