News & Events

MyBuys Messenger - Spring 2009

Research on Alerts Yields Surprising Results

The established wisdom on writing promotional copy has long been summed up by the phrase “the more you tell, the more you sell.” But is that still true? Recent MyBuys testing with multiple clients shows, in fact, that it’s not the case for email alerts. Other related MyBuys tests also offer tips for online retailers about formatting and updating alert content to drive maximum click-through and conversion rates.

Being Selective About Product Information

MyBuys conducted controlled A/B experiments to determine what product information in email alerts would deliver the highest response rates. The testing was not limited to a particular vertical market, size of client, or type of merchandise. “We’re confident in the validity of the results and their broad applicability across our client base,” says Paul Rosenblum, vice president of Products and Strategy for MyBuys.

The tests showed that by changing which pieces of information are presented to the consumer, online retailers are able to generate higher click-throughs and ultimately higher conversions, without having to offer more promotions or change offers. Presenting the optimum amount and type of information increased click-through rates by an average of 30 percent and delivered a revenue boost of 15 to 20 percent. “This was a surprising result because it runs counter to what retailers have historically done in e-newsletters and emails,” says Rosenblum, “which was to present a great deal of information.” He says that instead of including a photo of the product, a description, the price, the former price and so on, retailers should be more selective about the information they include.

Rosenblum says the trick is to find the “magic balance” between telling recipients everything there is to know—which removes the incentive to go to the website and find out more—and not telling enough—which fails to engage them sufficiently to click through to the retailer’s site. “The goal of the communication, whether it’s a newsletter or an email, is to get the prospect to the site where they can actually do the transaction,” he says. “Make them curious and get them to visit your compelling website, where you can convert them. And once they’re there, you can show them highly relevant product recommendations and increase AOV.”

Best Practices for Content In Personalized Email Messages

MyBuys also experimented with including or not including content at the top of a personalized email alert. Results clearly showed that including content drives higher click-to-open rates, which averaged nine percent higher for emails with content vs. those without. In addition, testing showed that the “freshness” of the content matters: Messages with recently updated content delivered higher click-to-open rates compared with messages containing older content. “The key take-away message from this testing is that retailers can increase click-to-open rates by 30 percent or more by including content and keeping it fresh,” says Rosenblum.

To get more specifics on the testing and to find out how to implement the findings in your MyBuys-generated alerts, call Shaun Schooley or your account management team.