White Papers
BackDate:22 June 2012
UK Retail Email Benchmark Study
The email sign-up process is amongst the most important points of interaction that exist with a new subscriber. Recent studies estimate that some 70% of a consumer’s first interaction with a particular product or service takes place through the internet, raising the stakes for retailers who need to provide a great experience to turn those interactions into sales. There is no second chance to make a first impression and yet all too often a sign-up process is put in place and then ignored by the marketer for long periods of time. While we saw many great examples in this study, we didn’t find one company which demonstrated best practice in all elements of the sign-up.
Similarly, organic database growth is an ongoing challenge for today’s online marketer, but by adopting consistent best practises it is an area that can offer new subscribers a smooth, educational and engaging welcome to your email programmes.
This study aims to explore and recognise best practise in the sign-up process, offer guidance on the key areas where small improvements can lead to substantial rewards and help marketers to optimise their online marketing programmes for their organisation. First of all, here is a quick summary of the key issues to remember for sign-up. Make it easy for consumers to find your sign-up option
- Explain the value of saying yes
- Collect the email address immediately
- Ask for more information, but don’t require it
- Explain why it’s in a consumer’s interest for them to tell you more
- Keep the language consumer-focused
- Make use of the opportunity on the pages that follow initial sign-up
- Send a Welcome email, and send it quickly
- Make the whole process easy
- Regularly review, keep testing and ensure on-going improvements
Read on to learn how the further examples and advice in this study can help you to get the details right for your organisation.
We reviewed the websites and sign-up processes of the top 100 UK e-retailers, as defined by IMRG . Their top 100 list is based on site traffic.