Without a doubt, the most common question that members of the ExactTarget strategy team are asked is a variation on the question, "How does my (open rate, clickthrough rate, etc.) compare to other people in my industry?" It is a natural question to ask--everyone wants the best email marketing program they can have, and comparing the statistics for your program to those of the best email programs is one way to do that. However, the real answer to the "How does my program compare?" question is often "It depends."
The difficulty lies in knowing exactly which programs are appropriate measures for comparison. Do other email senders in your industry invest heavily in optimizing their programs? If so, then they might be a suitable basis for comparison. Is their program the classic example of a bulk email marketing program? If so, then knowing that you're numbers are better than theirs may not tell you much.
Even averages can be deceiving. One large sender in a vertical that performs very well (or very poorly) can skew the average in a way that tells you little about how well your email program is really doing.
Ultimately, our advice is to always strive for continuous improvement regardless of whether your numbers are better, worse, or the same as "average." Assume you can always make your numbers better, and put plans in place to do so. What can you do to improve your numbers?
-Test, test, test. Test subject lines, test creative, test content and copy. You can only learn what works for you by testing.
-Ask your most engaged subscribers. Find out what it is about your program that they like, and leverage that to engage other subscribers.
-Ask your least engaged subscribers. Reach out to them and find out what you can do to make your program better.
Thoughts on the value of comparing your program to other email programs? Post them in the comments section.
The difficulty lies in knowing exactly which programs are appropriate measures for comparison. Do other email senders in your industry invest heavily in optimizing their programs? If so, then they might be a suitable basis for comparison. Is their program the classic example of a bulk email marketing program? If so, then knowing that you're numbers are better than theirs may not tell you much.
Even averages can be deceiving. One large sender in a vertical that performs very well (or very poorly) can skew the average in a way that tells you little about how well your email program is really doing.
Ultimately, our advice is to always strive for continuous improvement regardless of whether your numbers are better, worse, or the same as "average." Assume you can always make your numbers better, and put plans in place to do so. What can you do to improve your numbers?
-Test, test, test. Test subject lines, test creative, test content and copy. You can only learn what works for you by testing.
-Ask your most engaged subscribers. Find out what it is about your program that they like, and leverage that to engage other subscribers.
-Ask your least engaged subscribers. Reach out to them and find out what you can do to make your program better.
Thoughts on the value of comparing your program to other email programs? Post them in the comments section.
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