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The Most Common (but easily preventable) Mistake in Email Marketing Campaigns

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The most common mistake? Ignoring the 40-40-20 Rule.

Over many years, marketers have studied direct response results and have discovered a breakdown of what generally makes an e-campaign or any direct response campaign successful. The results are as follows:

40% is the quality of the LIST

40% is the quality of the OFFER

20% is the quality of the CREATIVE

Of course, every campaign is unique and there are variations of the rule, but 40-40-20 is easy to remember and serves the purpose.

Most marketers like to focus on the creative because that’s the fun part. But now we know creative is only 20% of what’s needed to be successful. The fact is too much time is often spent over-analyzing and revising the creative concept, images and copy.

If you’ve ever created a direct response campaign, you’ve seen this movie. Everyone wants to see the concepts. Then everyone wants to put their mark on it and then it gets reviewed again. The creative goes through endless rounds of revisions until it becomes sanitized and diluted by too many cooks spoiling the creative broth. In the end, everyone is equally unhappy.

To be clear, the creative is important – it needs to grab attention and trigger a response. But instead of so many revisions, make sure the creatives understand the audience/message. Then make sure they create very specific and targeted concepts. Finally, have one creative director who approves the creative.

Back to list. Before you even look for a list or start the creative, spend time creating your audience profile. Try to refine it down as far as possible. Remember your campaign can only get a response from prospects already interested in buying. Don’t try to sell to anyone else. THEY WILL NOT RESPOND. You can’t create demand – only satisfy it.

So, the list must be comprised of people who are most likely to buy your product. Seems obvious, but finding the optimal list requires a clear understanding of your best prospects. That may require some additional research and strategic thinking.

Even with the perfect list, it’s important to understand that only a small number of people will respond:those already interested in buying and can be motivated to buy NOW. Keep in mind, a successful campaign might generate just a 2% response.

With the time and budget limitations every marketing campaign faces, you need to focus on only the best prospects. Develop your own and/or buy one from a list company. If your list includes current customers, then you have an excellent list. But if you’re trying to grow beyond those audiences, you need to ensure that you’re talking to good prospects. Do some research and connect the dots. You’ll likely discover smaller customer segments that have even more reason to buy.

What about the offer?

In this context, the offer refers to more than just a promotional discount. It includes both the unique appeal of the product combined with any special discount to buy now. You need both and they must be quickly and clearly communicated. You could offer pet rocks at 70% off and not get any response (unless maybe you had the right list, of course!).

So remember the 40-40-20 Rule. It has decades of results to back it up. There are no guarantees in direct response marketing, but a successful email marketing campaign will require:

  1. Quality list (ONLY those prospects most interested in buying your widget)
  2. Must-have offer (e.g. this unique widget is half off, if you order today!)
  3. Powerful creative and Call To Action (on target message, not diluted!)

Good luck!

C-stores Feasting on Millennial Meal Opportunities

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Unlike other types of brick and mortar retail, the convenience store (C-store) industry has actually doubled in size over the past 30 years — and it’s still growing. Why? One reason: you can’t fill up your gas tank online and 80% of all auto fuel is purchased at C-stores.

But while gasoline drives about 60 percent of sales at a typical C-store, what customers buy inside the store accounts for most of the profits. However, some categories like cigarettes, once a key profit generator, are falling.

More Margin from Munchies

For C-store operators, foodservice success is essential as it represents 22% of sales and 34% of profits. To fatten their bottom line, C-stores have been adding higher margin, prepared foods.

Here’s a taste of what some C-store operators are doing:

  • LaCrosse, Wis.-based Kwik Trip’s Cheese Mountain pizza accounts for about 20% of the chain’s hot food sales which is available by the slice, whole baked in the store or refrigerated to take home and bake. Take-and-bake is the fastest growing segment for Kwik Trip, followed by whole pies baked to order.
  • Wawa Inc.’s build-to-order hoagies drew crowds to its new location in Washington last month. Many of Wawa’s quick-service items are built to order, so the food is made fresh by staff onsite. Wawa also offers a touchscreen ordering system so customers can easily create personalized meals.
  • Sheetz, headquartered in Altoona, Pa., offers made-to-order cappuccinos, lattes, espressos and mochas all made on the spot from Italian espresso machines. Customers can also order custom food options through touchscreens. On National Coffee Day Sheetz offered free cold brew to customers who ordered through their app.
  • Casey’s in-house bakeries serve cookies and donuts made fresh from scratch. Casey’s has also found success in its initial trial of a pizza delivery service and offers a discount on gas to customers who buy pizza.
  • Dash In’s new 5,600-square-foot store in Chesterfield County, Va., offers customers an open kitchen and bar with craft beer and free wi-fi.

Increase size of basket with impulse sales of snacks and candy

Obviously, impulse sales are highest at checkout. Alan Tobin, senior manager, c-store category strategy and insights for The Hershey Co., noted; “Retailers have a huge opportunity to increase basket sizes through maximizing merchandising in this space … About 75 percent of candy sales from a counter unit are incremental. With 47 percent of purchases being unplanned, and more than 80 percent of purchases consumed within an hour, a candy and snacks consumer is in the market for these products on pretty much every trip.”

To take advantage, Twice Daily, located in Kentucky and Tennessee, also displays candy and snacks on the way to and from destination zones, such as the beverage cooler and fresh food area.

What’s driving new foodservice concepts?

Millennials. C-stores appeal to Millennials (ages 22 -36).  And that’s good news because this group is now the largest segment of the workforce and their buying power is growing rapidly. These younger customers love the convenience of a one-stop shop. Bankrate data shows that 54% of Millennials eat out at least three times or more each week. As a percentage of expenditure, Millennials spend more than Generation X and Baby Boomers on food away from home.

What do Millennials want?

  • Have it their way – made to order meals as noted in the examples above.
  • Buy local – natural and locally grown including fresh prepared foods, like meal kits, sandwiches, pizza and chicken.
  • Spice is nice – they want to taste more extreme flavors. Some C-stores are offering spicy new dishes with Sriracha, as well as habaneros, ghost peppers, harissa and sambal.
  • Single serving size – Millennials prefer single-serving options, such as a mini pie or slice of cake slice rather than a whole, full-size dessert.
  • Quality is key and will bring them back – e.g. beverages can be enhanced by filtering the water used to make coffee, iced tea fountain drinks, and in the ice machine.
  • Early bird – focus on breakfast and coffee. Remember, most Millennials are now in the work force so get ‘em early!

“C-stores are in a great position to really capture that breakfast crowd by looking beyond just doughnuts … to having a robust coffee program and really robust breakfast sandwich program made to order.” – Eric Richard, education coordinator, for the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA).

What Online Retailers Can Do to Stop Porch Pirates

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As online purchasing continues to rapidly grow, so does the theft of packages sitting on doorsteps and porches. It happens year-round, but thefts really spike during the holidays.

Not a big deal? Nearly 20% of American homeowners have been a victim of package theft in the last year and the median value of a stolen package was $250, according to a recent survey by Ring, a home security firm.

Another survey by Shorr Packaging found that 61% of consumers feel online retailers are not doing enough to prevent package theft. Online retailers may feel it’s out of their control, but there are some things they can do:

Offer theft insurance – 53% of respondents in the Shorr survey said they would pay more for a product if offered theft insurance.

Ship in discreet packaging – 37% said they would pay more if the package were more discreet. That is, the packaging hides the more enticing brands or products from thieves.

Ship to a secure location – 71% of the respondents said they would be open to having their packages sent to a secure address such as a U.S. Post Office, UPS store, or Amazon locker or their workplace.

The above options will take some time to implement. What can online retailers do now? You can alert customers to the growing package theft problem on your website (at checkout and/or in a blog?) and offer some suggestions such as:

  • Provide delivery instructions to leave the package at the back door or hide behind a plant on the porch. However, thieves may follow delivery trucks and see the where the package is hidden.
  • Provide security code – If your customer has a key-pad front door lock or garage door opener, they can provide the door opening code to the delivery service. But some customers may not want delivery people entering their home and like having to change their entry code after every delivery.
  • Advertise a security system real or imagined by placing security stickers, yard signs and security cameras where thieves will see them. Thieves can be easily deterred and will move on to another house if they fear triggering an alarm. Just remember, some thieves disguise themselves and may not fear video surveillance.
  • Ask a neighbor to hold it for you. A neighbor can pick up a package at your door or have it delivered directly to them. This may not be a practical option for many.
  • Secure containers/alarms. There are plenty of secure storage container options available that can be placed on the front porch. Choices range from large metal boxes to the Amazon Porch Pirate bag that locks and tethers to a doorknob or post. The Package Guard is a disc that sits on a porch and once a package is placed on it, a 100-decibel alarm goes off if it’s removed before a wireless code is entered.

If your customers happen to live in San Francisco, Chicago or New York, they can use Doorman(for an extra fee) to have the packages delivered when they are at home.

Online retailers need to understand the growing problem of porch piracy. The ones that succeed will take a proactive approach and come up with innovative solutions to help their customers.

Thinking Outside the Big Box

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As Macy’s, Sears and J.C. Penney plan to close hundreds of stores over the next few years, malls are finding creative ways to fill the large empty spaces left behind of these big box anchors. Even so, some malls will not survive and over 300 malls are expected to close over the next 10 years.

But there’s hope for malls that can find the right solutions. Here’s why:

  • Brick and mortar is alive and well: Online sales still account for less than 10% of all retail sales.
  • Amazon reported a $38 billion increase in sales from 2000 to 2013 while Costco’s sales rose by $50 billion over the same period.
  • Malls catering to upscale shoppers can replace a Macy’s with a high-end department store such as Von Maur.
  • Mall developers are adding new venues like gyms and other entertainment options;
    • g. Orland Square Mall is getting a 29,000-square-foot Sky Zone trampoline park and 33,000-square-foot Gizmos Fun Factory for kids with an indoor ropes course.
  • Large supermarkets are moving into malls* because;
    • Space and parking are adequate
    • Good visibility and traffic
    • Appeals to millennials who like the efficiency of a one-stop visit

*Two examples:

Grocery giant Kroger Co., has purchased a former Macy’s Inc. location at Kingsdale Shopping Center in Upper Arlington, Ohio, and plans to build a new store in its place.

Natick Mall in Natick, Mass., is leasing 194,000 square feet of space vacated by J.C. Penney Co. to upscale grocer Wegmans, which is planning to open a store in 2018.

Time will tell whether malls will survive or thrive, but category managers need to understand how malls are changing and how to take advantage.