Share the successes

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The final step in the process is to turn the cold, hard numbers into a success story.

Here's an example. Furniture retailer Chiasso relies on email to drive customers to its website and Chicago store. Facing issues with deliverability and problems with its email lists, Chiasso spent much-needed cash on Bronto Software. The investment paid off. Chiasso embarked on two email campaigns that increased its online sales to 55 percent of total company sales, up from 32 percent the year prior.

Bronto helped VP of eCommerce and Systems Jerry Bergquist segment his contacts according to location, so he could send a store-opening announcement to his "Chicago" contacts. However, he wisely chose to not exclude his "Not Chicago" segment from the store-opening festivities. Besides keeping non-Chicago contacts aware of the company's growth, the message also included $10 off coupons for online purchases. 

The discount offer to the "Not Chicago" segment generated impressive results: 32 percent open rates and 10 percent clickthrough rates. Not to be outdone, the "Chicago" segment received a 49 percent open rate and a clickthrough rate of nearly 22 percent, with the vast majority of clicks linking to a landing page that included directions to and information about the new retail store.

Metrics for opens and clickthroughs provided Bergquist with important measurements for campaign evaluation, and conversion tracking provided him with sound insight into success. Conversion tracking let Bergquist follow the dollars-and-cents results of his messages. Some Chiasso campaigns, such as its "Good Buy" [note the clever pun] Winter Clearance Sale or its Art Décor Sale grossed more than $13,000 and $14,000, respectively, in sales.

"At Chiasso, we've seen such impressive ROI from email marketing that we are always open to increasing our budget," says Bergquist. "Email marketing software has proven to be a cost-effective method for growing our business."

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Dawn Anfuso is senior editor, iMedia Connection. Read full bio.