Marketing Metrics Report Australia

Transcription

1 July December Marketing Metrics Report Australia

2 Table of Contents About the Author 3 Overview 4 Key Summary 5 Unique Open Rates 6 Unique Open Rates by Send Volumes 7 Unique Open Rates by Industry 8 Unique Click Through Rates 9 Unique Click Through Rates by Send Volumes 10 Unique Click Through Rates by Industry 11 Internet resources are available where ever you see this icon and some underlined text. Click Through Rate Relative to Open Rate 12 Bounce Rates 13 Bounce Rates by Send Volumes 14 Bounce Rates by Industry 15 Send Volumes, Open & CTR for the Top 15 Domains 16 Open, CTR & s Sent by Day 17 Time Taken to Open s 18 Clients 19 Glossary & Acronyms 20

3 About the Author Vision6 is an Australian owned and operated company, founded in 2001 by friends and colleagues Evan Fortune and Mathew Myers. Together they identified that marketing professionals needed an easier way to create, send and track messages; and to integrate e-messaging into the marketing mix. As a result the duo formed Vision6. Today we have grown to become a team of more than 30 developers and professionals and are passionate about all things e-messaging. We empower thousands of businesses to achieve great marketing results with our e-messaging platform. It brings together a mix of database, , mobile and social media messaging tools in an easyto-use system. We actively contribute to the marketing community by writing whitepapers, providing free training and producing the Marketing Metrics Report. We re also the organisers of Australia s only marketing summit (EMSA) and are always on the lookout for new ways to make our clients happy. Contact Vision6 for a free 30 day trial a ground floor 47 warner street fortitude valley qld 4006 australia e contact_us@vision6.com.au p f w 3

4 Overview This report is the eleventh in a series of reports produced by Vision6 every six months on the Australian marketing landscape. This report aims to: 1. Help marketers gauge and improve their marketing results by providing comparative benchmarks. 2. Uncover trends, provide observations and identify factors that could have the biggest impact on the success of your campaigns. Data Source This report includes data from over 259 million messages which were distributed via 112,000 sends by predominantly Australian based companies during the last six months of We have excluded campaigns with less than five addresses to minimise data distortion. We also excluded all s sent by our stand alone resellers and corporate networks. What is included in this report? To make this data as useful as possible to professionals implementing marketing, we have focused on a number of key metrics that are both informative and useful, including: Open Rate Click Through Rate Industry Domain By Day By Hour Bounce & Deliverability Clients General, Industry, Send Volume Categories General, Industry, Send Volume Categories, Relative to Open Open, CTRs, Send Volume Categories Open, CTRs, Industry Open, CTRs Open General, Industry Used to open What would you like to see in future reports? We are always looking at ways to improve the Marketing Metrics Report. So, if you have any new statistics you d like to see in this report contact us at research@vision6.com.au. Although we cannot promise to include everything, we will do our best to include your suggestions where possible. July - December Marketing Metrics Report Australia 4

5 Key Summary New data segments started in 2011 Measurement Jul - Dec 2008 Jan - Jun 2009 Jul - Dec 2009 Jan - Jun 2010 Jul - Dec 2010 Jan - Jun 2011 Jul - Dec 2011 Overall Open Rate 22.52% 23.73% 25.16% 23.48% 22.34% Open Rate By Send Volume 5-499: 34.36% : 31.04% 1,000+: 21.95% Top 3 Industries with Highest Open Rates Accounting 5-499: 34.62% : 31.68% 1,000+: 23.22% Primary Industry Accounting 5-499: 34.96% : 31.49% 1,000+: 24.74% Primary Industry 5-499: 34.24% : 30.30% 1,000+: 22.98% Legal 5-499: 34.27% : 30.56% 1,000+: 21.73% Transport/ Logistics 5-499: 34.34% : 30.24% 1,000-4,999: 23.62% 5,000-9,999: 23.10% 10,000+: 20.96% Legal Overall Click Through Rate 4.81% 4.59% 5.46% 4.77% 4.67% 4.57% 4.22% Click Through Rate By Send Volume Top 3 Industries with Highest Click Through Rates 5-499: 8.82% : 7.34% 1,000+: 4.63% Primary Industry 5-499: 8.87% : 7.86% 1,000+: 4.39% Primary Industry 5-499: 8.86% : 7.74% 1,000+: 5.32% Accounting 5-499: 8.54% : 7.70% 1,000+: 4.59% 5-499: 8.26% : 6.60% 1,000+: 4.51% Transport/ Logistics 5-499: 8.12% : 6.71% 1,000-4,999: 4.10% 5,000-9,999: 4.28% 10,000+: 4.50% Education CTR Relative to Open Rates 21.37% 19.34% 21.72% 20.34% 20.92% 20.33% 19.35% Overall Bounce Rates 8.90% 7.22% 6.29% 5.75% 5.77% 5.51% 5.45% Bounce Rates by Send Volume 5-499: 7.25% : 7.68% 1,000+: 8.98% Top 3 Industries with Lowest Bounce Rates Legal 5-499: 6.82% : 6.94% 1,000+: 7.24% Legal 5-499: 6.52% : 6.77% 1,000+: 6.27% Legal Accounting 5-499: 6.10% : 6.19% 1,000+: 5.73% Accounting Legal 5-499: 5.89% : 6.19% 1,000+: 5.75% Administration Transport/ Logistics 5-499: 5.91% : 5.89% 1,000-4,999: 5.60% 5,000-9,999: 6.29% 10,000+: 5.28% Legal Retail Most Popular Day for Sends Friday Wednesday Wednesday Thursday Thursday Thursday Thursday 5-499: 33.17% : 29.99% 1,000-4,999: 24.07% 5,000-9,999: 24.44% 10,000+: 19.76% Legal 5-499: 7.31% : 6.36% 1,000-4,999: 4.00% 5,000-9,999: 4.12% 10,000+: 4.07% Education 5-499: 5.28% : 5.90% 1,000-4,999: 5.70% 5,000-9,999: 6.04% 10,000+: 5.26% Trades and Services Engineering Administration 5

6 Unique Open Rates This chart displays the total number of unique s opened for the first time (as opposed to being opened multiple times by the same recipient) as a percentage of the total number of s sent. A contact is deemed to have opened an when either: images within the are viewed or downloaded (even within the preview pane of the client, eg Outlook); or when a link within the is clicked on. Unique Open Rates for Jul - Dec 2011 were only slightly lower than the first half of This seems to be a continuing trend since Tips Use a from name that your recipients will know and trust. This is typically a company name or in the case of smaller companies a Director or staff members name. Write a compelling subject line that entices recipients to open your . Your subject line should be intriguing you could ask a question or state a benefit. GET YOUR OPENED If your open rates are on the decline, then it s a sign you are losing the attention of your subscribers. Here are some practical tips to help improve open rates for your next campaign: 3 surefire ways to improve open rates Writing good subject lines The shocking truth about subject lines 6

7 Unique Open Rates by Send Volumes To remove any bias associated with large sends we have broken the Send Volumes into three categories based on the number of contacts: ,000-9, ,000+ 1,000-4,999 Unique open rates have remained very much the same since the last metrics report, with only slight variations. sends to smaller recipient lists continue to out perform those sent to larger lists. Tips If you have a large list try sending targeted s to smaller segments so that readers receive highly relevant content. Jan - Jun : 34.34% : 30.24% 1,000-4,999: 23.62% 5,000-9,999: 23.10% 10,000+: 20.96% Jul - Dec : 33.17% : 29.99% 1,000-4,999: 24.07% 5,000-9,999: 24.44% 10,000+: 19.76% 7

8 Unique Open Rates by Industry This table displays Unique Open Rates for s sent by key industry sectors and the percentage change between Jan - Jun 2011 and Jul- Dec In this report 15 industries have experienced increasing open rates while only 12 industries have experienced decreasing open rates. The industries with the highest Unique Open Rates for Jul-Dec 2011 were Legal (32.82%) followed by Government/Defence (31.66%) and (30.94%). The industries that have most improved since the last report are Primary Industry (+3.34%), Science and Technology (+2.90) and (+2.47%). The industry with the biggest decrease in Unique Open Rates was IT and Telecommunications (-5.04%). Open Rates Increase: Open Rates Decrease: Industry Open Rate Jan - Jun 2011 (%) Open Rate Jul - Dec 2011 Government/Defence Primary Industry Accounting Call Centre/Customer Service Banking and Financial Services Insurance and Superannuation Administration Manufacturing/Operations Trades and Services Transport and Logistics Advertising/Media/Entertainment Real Estate and Property Education and Training Engineering Legal Retail and Consumer Products Consulting and Corporate Strategy Other Hospitality and Tourism Community and Sport Human Resources and Recruitment Health care and medical IT and Telecommunications Construction Science and Technology Sales and Marketing % Change Jan - Jun 2011 to Jul - Dec

9 Unique Click Through Rates This chart displays the total number of unique link clicks as a percentage of the total number of s sent. Unique CTRs across all industries, domains and send volumes were lower than the first half of 2011 by 0.35%. (It only takes into account the first time an individual clicks on a link.) Tips The best way to increase your CTR is to make sure that your content is highly relevant and interesting. Include a strong call to action within the top 300 pixels of your . Be clear on what action you want people to take from your . A simple call to action with a link or relevant image can increase CTR s. Consider changing the format of your as this can have a dramatic effect on your CTR. Use headlines, colour, text formatting and images to enable quick scanning of your so readers can easily recognise what you re asking them to do. Jan - Jun 2011: 4.57% Jul - Dec 2011: 4.22% DESIGNING YOUR For further information about how design can help you to improve your click through rates check out our free The A-Z of Design whitepaper. Here are some practical tips to improve your CTR: Anatomy of a great newsletter Cool ideas that don t require Photoshop 6 things you can do to make your look awesome 5 simple tips for improving response rates 9

10 Unique Click Through Rates by Send Volumes This chart displays unique link clicks as a percentage of the total number of s sent, whereby send volumes are broken into five categories based on the number of contacts: ,000-4,999 5,000-9,999 10,000+ Unique CTR s across all database sizes are slightly down for the second half of Tips The first step to improving click rates is to provide valuable content which readers want to learn more about. You can create links to pages on your website, webfroms, social media pages, shopping carts or videos. Using links to landing pages is also an effective way to shorten your as it moves a lot of content out of the body of your message. To ensure that your content, information and offers are relevant to your audience use conditional content to control what subscribers see based on their profile. For example, only show a drink special to people over 18. Jan - Jun : 8.12% : 6.71% 1,000-4,999: 4.10% 5,000-9,999: 4.28% 10,000+: 4.50% Jul - Dec : 7.31% : 6.36% 1,000-4,999: 4.00% 5,000-9,999: 4.12% 10,000+: 4.07% 10

11 Unique Click Through Rates by Industry Industry Unique CTR Jan-Jun 2011 (%) Unique CTR Jul-Dec 2011 (%) % Change Jan - Jun to Jul-Dec 2011 This table displays the Unique Click Through Rates experienced by each industry sector and the percentage change between Jan - Jun 2011 and Jul - Dec Reflecting the general downward trend of Open Rates and CTR s over the last two years more industries are seeing a decrease in CTR (17) than those seeing a rise (10). The industries with the highest Unique CTR Rates are Government/ Defence (8.48%), Education and Training (7.66%) and Call Centre and Insurance and Superannuation (7.37%). The industry showing the greatest improvement was Science and Technology (+0.99%). The industry with the biggest decrease in CTR was in (-2.08%). CTR Increase: CTR Decrease: Government/Defence Primary Industry Accounting Call Centre/Customer Service Banking and Financial Services Insurance and Superannuation Administration Manufacturing/Operations Trades and Services Transport and Logistics Advertising/Media/Entertainment Real Estate and Property Education and Training Engineering Legal Retail and Consumer Products Consulting and Corporate Strategy Other Hospitality and Tourism Community and Sport Human Resources and Recruitment Health care and medical IT and Telecommunications Construction Science and Technology Sales and Marketing

12 Click Through Rate Relative to Open Rate This chart displays average unique CTR as a percentage of the total number of unique opened s. This indicates how responsive the recipients who have opened an are, giving a direct measure of the effectiveness of the s links and calls to action. CTR Relative to Open Rate has shown a decrease of 0.98% from the first half to the second half of Tips Use your click through rates to gauge what your audience is most interested in. This information can be used to improve subject lines and consequently your open rates. For example if the majority of your recipients click on competitions and not articles maybe your subject line should change from 10 ways to grow a beard to WIN great prizes and learn to grow a beard. Jan - Jun 2011: 20.33% Jul - Dec 2011: 19.35% 12

13 Bounce Rates This chart displays the total number of bounced s as a percentage of the total number of s sent. Bounce rates are often used as a key measure of deliverability and include permanent and temporary bounces. Permanent Bounces (AKA hard bounce) this usually means the address is incorrect or is no longer in operation. Temporary Bounces (AKA soft bounce) the address is temporarily unavailable, often because server time expired or mailbox full. There has been a consistent trend of bounce rates gradually decreasing since the beginning of these reports in 2006 when the average bounce rate was 12.29%. In this half the bounce rates have continued to decrease and currently sit at 5.45%. Tips Permanent bounces should be updated with a new address or removed from your list. If your bounce rate is regularly 6% or higher it s time for a data cleanse. You may be able to contact them using another method (such as phone or point of sale) to update contact details. IMPROVE DELIVERABILITY Jan - Jun 2011: 5.51% Jul - Dec 2011: 5.45% Learn how to improve your deliverability. Download the Vision6 whitepaper Understanding & Improving Deliverability for free. Here are some great resources to help you grow and maintain a clean list: Bulk up your database the right way The secret to growing your database with web forms Managing bounced s a quick guide 13

14 Bounce Rates by Send Volumes This chart displays the total number of bounced messages as a percentage of the total amount of s sent. Send volumes are broken into five categories based on the number of contacts: ,000-4,999 5,000-9,999 10,000+ Bounce rates for Jul - Dec 2011 are generally unchanged with some slight increases and decreases across the board. Jan - Jun : 5.91% : 5.99% 1,000-4,999: 5.60% 5,000-9,999: 6.29% 10,000+: 5.28% Jul - Dec : 5.28% : 5.90% 1,000-4,999: 5.70% 5,000-9,999: 6.04% 10,000+: 5.26% 14

15 Bounce Rates by Industry Industry Bounce Rate Jan - Jun 2011 (%) Bounce Rate Jul - Dec 2011 (%) % Change Jan - Jun 2011 to Jul-Dec This table displays Bounce Rates by industry. To understand this table you need to be aware that: Increasing Bounce Rates are adverse. This is why an increasing percentage change is coloured red. Decreasing Bounce Rates are ideal. This is why a decreasing percentage change is coloured green. Trades and Services achieved the lowest bounce rate (2.90%) and showed the greatest improvement reducing their bounce rate by 8.42%. The worst performing industries were: Science and Technology (15.27%), Manufacturing and Operations (10.47%), Construction (10.02%). Bounce Rate Increase: Bounce Rate Decrease: Government/ Defence Primary Industry Accounting Call Centre/ Customer Service Banking and Financial Services Insurance and Superannuation Administration Manufacturing/ Operations Trades and Services Transport and Logistics Advertising/ Media/ Entertainment Real Estate and Property Education and Training Engineering Legal Retail and Consumer Products Consulting and Corporate Strategy Other Hospitality and Tourism Community and Sport Human Resources and Recruitment Healthcare and medical IT and Telecommunications Construction Science and Technology Sales and Marketing

16 Send Volumes, Open & CTR for the Top 15 Domains These charts display the top 15 domains by send volume and their associated Open Rates and CTRs. The top 15 domains are all web and ISP based accounts. No business or government domain was listed in the top 15. hotmail.com once again received almost five times as many s as any other domain (20.49%). gmail.com (7.94%) has over taken bigpond.net.au (7.89%) at the top end of the spectrum. tpg.com.au and iinet.net.au were joined by xtra.co.nz achieving the highest open rates of any domain with rates of over 30%. % Volume Jan - Jun 2011 % Volume Jul - Dec 2011 % Opened % Clicked 16

17 Open, CTR & s Sent by Day These charts display the average Open Rates and CTRs by day, and the total amount of s sent on each day for the first half of 2011 and second half of All days of the week are seeing quite even open and click-through rates. Thursday was the day on which the most s were sent, despite having fairly average open and click through rates (21.57%). % Volume Jan - Jun 2011 % Volume Jul - Dec 2011 % Opened % Clicked Tips Know your audience and their habits and routines. Then test, test and test some more. A simple way to do this is to send the same to different parts of your database on different days. 17

18 Time Taken to Open s This chart displays the amount of time it takes for recipients to open the after it has been received. The number of s opened within the first hour of delivery has risen from 28.60% in Jan-Jun 2011 to 29.46% in Jul - Dec % of all s are opened within the first 72 hours of being received. This number has been increasing since these reports began in 2006 Tips As smart phones become more and more prominent the time it takes to open s is decreasing. With this in mind it is always good to test your across mobile platforms. Try to design your s with mobile screen sizes in mind. 18

19 Which clients are people using? This chart shows the popularity of the different clients people use to first open their s. clients can be categorised as the following: Desktop application: Outlook 2003, Outlook 2007, Apple Mail, Outlook 2010 and Thunderbird. Web-based interface: Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail and Gmail. Mobile device: iphone Mail or ipad Mail. The most popular clients used in July - Dec 2011 were Outlook 2003 (22.24%), Hotmail (16.21%), iphone Mail (15.14%) and Other (20.11%). Over 18% of opened was read on mobile devices (iphone 15.14% and ipad 3.74%) this is up from 10% in the last report. With the increasing popularity of smart phones, it is reasonable to expect this figure to rise in the future. Further information Visit the Vision6 Blog for some practical design tips for designing s for mobile devices: Mobile design tips Like to see how your looks in the above clients? Testing 19

20 Glossary & Acronyms EDM Electronic Direct Marketing. ISP Internet Service Provider, e.g. BigPond. CTRs Click Through Rates. Unique CTR Measures the first time a link is clicked by a recipient as a percentage of the total number of s sent. CTR Relative to Open Measures the CTR as a percentage of the total number of unique opened s. Open Rate Measures the number of times an is opened by a recipient as a percentage of the total number of s sent. Unique Open Rate Measures the first time an is opened by a recipient as a percentage of the total number of s sent. Permanent Bounce Usually means the address is incorrect or is no longer in operation sometimes referred to as a Hard Bounce. Temporary Bounce Usually means the address is temporarily unavailable. The most common Temporary Bounce reasons are Server Time Expired (for receiving ISP), Delivery Time Expired (for sending ISP) and Mailbox Full sometimes referred to as a Soft Bounce. more infromation Find out more about specific marketing metrics, what they mean and how they can help you. 20

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