Posts

The #1 Reason You Should Fire Your Marketing Agency

/2 Comments/in , /by

Is Your Businesses’ ROI Suffering Because Of This? 

For businesses of all sizes, digital marketing has become a necessity, not a luxury. Digital, or online, marketing delivers an invaluable benefit that traditional advertising can not: accurate analysis of ROI. Online metrics and tracking mechanisms provide real-time data on every single post, click, and share.
Digital marketing is continually evolving and adapting. Agencies that do not keep pace with these changes get left behind. Above all else, in this analytics-driven digital age, there is one egregious sin that can and should not be forgiven:
 
Not conducting A/B split tests!
 
 Many agencies take what worked for them with past clients and do the same thing with your business. They believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to digital marketing. As you know, this is not the case. What works for one company or industry will not necessarily work for another. The only way to maximize results for your business is to conduct A/B (split) tests with your actual customers.
 
WHAT IS A/B SPLIT TESTING?

A/B testing is a standard tool for success in today’s digital age. It allows you, the client, to find out for yourself what works best for your customers and your goals. It takes the guessing out of the equation, and allows you to make decisions based on hard fact and proven results.

 
HOW DOES IT WORK?

An A/B split campaign funnels your customers to two different testing options and compares the results. The A version is an original, controlled option; while the B version is the variation option.

Example: You have been hearing more and more about parallax scrolling, but you’re unsure if your industry will respond well to this type of web effect. Maybe you have an older customer base who may get confused or turned off by it.
Instead of playing the guessing game, you can simply run an A/B test. The A version is your original website, and the B version is your website designed with a parallax scrolling effect. You set the goals you want to measure and begin conducting your tests in your Google analytics account.
 
You can check in at any time and see real-time results. After an appropriate amount of time (which may vary but is normally no longer than a few weeks) you can compare the results to see which version performed better.

 

WHO SHOULD USE IT?

A/B testing is an invaluable method that has no downside. It is beneficial to any type of business, no matter the industry, size, location, or audience. Testing is not so much a procedure as it is a mindset. If you’re spending money on PPC Adwords, testing is the only way you can hone in on the most effective keywords and maximize your budget. Not sure whether to send your email blasts at 9am or 10am or 3pm? Test it. Wondering if your customers prefer your old website design instead of the new, slicker design? Conduct an A/B test!

 The sad truth is that all of this data is available, yet most agencies today are not utilizing it. Your business is not seeing the ROI it should because it is flying in the dark.
 
CONCLUSION

That’s why Protocol Red employs split testing in everything we do. We work hand-in-hand with the client to identify the objectives and goals we want to accomplish, and we set about conducting non-stop testing to continually hone in on what resonates the most with your customer base.

Wondering if it’s time to give your agency the pink slip? Contact us at hello@protocolred.com for a free consultation to see how we can help your business increase brand awareness and revenue.

Top 5 Reasons Your Email Open Rate Sucks

/in /by
Email marketing’s influence and popularity continues to surprise industry experts who forecasted it’s demise years ago. In fact, email marketing offers an astounding 4,300% ROI. So if email marketing is so successful, than why isn’t it working for your business?

Why aren’t your customers opening your emails?

There are 5 critical areas to cover when determining why your email open rate is lower than you’d like. We’ll take a quick look at each area. As always, for more information or a free analysis of your current email marketing performance contact us at info@protocolred.com.

I. SUBJECT LINE

33% of email recipients open emails based on subject line alone. Your subject line is the equivalent of the first impression. Think of your own personal inbox, and the hundreds of emails you get every day. Many of them are spam. Some are from lists you signed up for long ago that you’re no longer interested in. Our time is more precious than money in today’s society, so we scan the subject line to determine whether an email is worth opening to learn more about the contents.

Mailchimp just released their latest list of best practices to help you construct the most effective subject line. First and foremost, keep your subject line as short as possible. Second, avoid spammy words such as “free” or using multiple exclamation marks. Consider adding tags that dynamically insert the recipient’s name into the subject line if it seems appropriate. Emojis are growing in popularity; however, consider whether they are an appropriate fit for your brand before you employ them. And use them sparingly without over-doing it (unless that is in line with your brand).

Think of your subject line as the headline for a story. Craft an intriguing, engaging phrase or question that will make them curious to want to find out more.

II. SEND DAY/TIME

When is the best day and time to send your customers an email? Unfortunately there is no magic answer to this question. However, a good place to start is by reviewing Constant Contact’s industry average list.

Remember, these are averages, and your company may be different. The only way to truly know is to test different days and times and compare the metrics to identify winning trends.

III. LIST QUALITY

It’s so easy to be guilty of this one. We barely have enough time to run our business, and the last thing we feel like doing is cleaning up our email list. But this is one of the major culprits for poor performance. Continuing to send emails to inactive or disengaged recipients hurts the open rate and costs you money.

Luckily, email database modules such as Mailchimp and Constant Contact make it very easy to remove recipients who have hard bounces or even soft bounces. You just have to remember to do it regularly to optimize your campaign performances.

IV. SIGN-UP EXPECTATIONS

Are your email subscribers’ expectations of what your email blasts will deliver in line with the reality? If not, then take a good, hard look in the mirror and clarify this in your sign-up forms and messaging.

An effective tactic is to require a double opt-in to join your email list. The upside is that you are requiring an extra step that increases the likelihood that the person subscribing to your list is truly interested and will want to hear from you. The downside is that you’re making it that much harder for someone to join your database. The quality of the list will increase, but the quantity of the recipients will be negatively affected.

Most experts and sources recommend a double opt-in wherever possible. I tend to agree with that sentiment, although every company and industry is unique so only you can decide for sure what works best for your business.

V. A/B TESTING

This was alluded to briefly in the section on the send day/time, but this is critical for everything that has been discussed. The only way to know the best answer for your specific business is to conduct on-going A/B testing in everything you do. Every single blast should include A/B experiments that you learn from and employ in future sends. Subject lines can only be optimized through sound A/B tests. The same goes for determining the best day and time to send your blasts and finding the best language/messaging for your sign-up forms.

If you are not A/B testing, you are falling behind the competition.

So there you have it. 5 areas you can work on to make an immediate impact on your email open rates. Try them out and tell us how they work for you in the comments section below.