We at Lyris are very excited to join thousands of industry leaders this week to showcase our digital marketing expertise at the eCommerce Expo, London's number one event dedicated to all aspects of selling online. London is the perfect place for this event, since the UK has seen tremendous growth in ecommerce in recent years. We're proud to be a major driving force behind that growth, supporting leading marketers and brands as they address marketing challenges and execute successful digital marketing campaigns.

The Lyris strategy is all about delivering a blend of technology and industry knowledge to help marketers craft more valuable e-mail marketing campaigns for today's dynamic and evolving marketing environment. Online marketing is increasingly important to brands as they seek effective ways to connect with consumers online. While e-mail is a significant component of most European marketers' interactive marketing campaigns, many of them still face challenges when it comes to targeting their communications, integrating e-mail with other marketing channels, and in tackling best practices for list maintenance.

That's where Lyris comes in.

We help marketers increase sales by identifying their most engaged customers and targeting them with consistent, compelling messages using the most effective digital marketing tool: e-mail. This is particularly important in the ecommerce industry, where every customer is an online customer. In an extensive audit of more than 75 retail marketing programs, we tracked and analyzed e-mail marketing trends and came up with a few best practices from these marketing leaders.

As we head into the ecommerce event, followed closely by the 2011 holiday shopping season, I wanted to share some of the best practices we found in our audit and insights on how many are using these methods:

• Opt-in incentives: 22% of audited retailers drive opt-ins with an incentive, such as discounts, promotions, contests, and free shipping.
• Social Media: Social media was one of the highest-ranked e-mail tactics for retailers.
  • 85% included a Facebook link.
  • 72% included a Twitter link.
  • 20% included a YouTube link.
    (And now Lyris HQ makes it easy to integrate email and social with our recently announced social integration tools.)
• Clicks-to-Bricks: 70% of retailers leverage a clicks-to-bricks strategy that included store locator links, printable coupons redeemable online, in-store sampling offers, or an in-store push when holiday shipping dates near.
• Mobile Links: 55% of retailers feature a mobile link.
  • 42% of mobile use is spent checking e-mail.
  • Your message reaches users anytime, anywhere.
  • Mobile links prevent the quick delete from "mobile e-mail triage."
• Preference Centers: 27% of retailers feature full preference centers, and 35% offer a frequency preference as part of the unsubscribe process.
  • Cements the initial brand-customer relationship.
  • Allows for future segmentation and targeting.
  • Creates greater relevance.
  • Reduces unsubscribe attempts.
• E-mail Frequency: Retail frequency varies from one to seven sends per week, with an average of three. The most popular days are Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
• Leveraging Seasonality: seasonal messaging drives sales and one third of retailers send holiday-themed messaging.
• Philanthropy: 10% of retailers feature philanthropy campaigns.
  • Creates a goodwill halo.
  • Tends to have a viral effect.
  • Select charities that tie in with brand and customer.

We've seen our customers succeed by implementing a few simple strategies and we're excited to learn more about what is ahead in the industry at the event in London. If you're heading to the eCommerce Expo, be sure to stop by the Lyris stand (#536) and if you're not going to be there, we'd still love to hear from you. Let us know in the comments section what online retail best practices you see leading the way this 2011 holiday shopping season!

About the Author

Michael Weston (@sandlines) is General Manager and Senior Vice President, EMEA