For the January 30 interest rate cut, E-Loan measured open rates of e-mails with subject lines that included the rate cut figure and ones that didn't. E-mails that included subject lines without the number were opened more often.
“What may work for e-mail may not work for search landing pages, but ideas cross-pollinate,” Nazir says. “We're taking what has proven a significant lift over the control in e-mail and applying it to Web strategy.”
Increases efficacy of all channels
Sean O'Neal, chief revenue officer at e-mail service provider Datran Media, agrees that using e-mail with other channels increases the efficacy of all channels. “Leads from all channels should result in an e-mail message,” he says. “E-mail is the only truly two-way channel — it closes the loop and begins two-way dialog.”
Datran Media client Norman Miglietta, director of advertising and marketing for Turner Sports' new media division, says integrating has made “a huge difference.” Turner Sports offers TrackPass, a product on its nascar.com site that allows visitors to see and hear NASCAR information online. Coordinating online efforts around TrackPass with e-mail communication has worked well in acquiring and retaining subscribers, he says.
The start of NASCAR season is also a peak selling time for nascar.com's e-commerce store, and e-mails with content tailored to customer preference are used in conjunction with print catalog mailings. Miglietta says response rates are higher in both channels when they work together.
“Experiment on what works best,” Miglietta advises. “We always hold a control group to measure.”
Nazir agrees, noting that E-Loan won't rest despite January's success with channel mix and messaging. “It's an evolutionary process,” she says. “We continuously test against a winner to find another winner.”