Allposters.com (one of three Art.com brands) recently realized that a percentage (56%) of their Gmail subscribers were not receiving emails in their inbox. Working with their Email Service Provider (Experian CheetahMail ) Account team, they identified and implemented a series of initiatives that significantly improved their deliverability success, resulting in 100 percent of Allposters.com Gmail emails arriving safely in subscribers’ inboxes.

Here’s how:

• Removed Gmail hard bounces from file
• Drilled down into email behavior to identify the subscribers Gmail considered to be active
• Mailed only to 3 month active Gmail population
• Moved unsubscribe link for Gmail subscribers to the top of mailing
• Used a slower flow rate (10k/hr) for Gmail segments

In addition to the 100% deliverability rate, AllPosters.com experienced a 22% open rate increase, a 15% click to open rate increase and a.03% increase in transaction rate resulting in incremental revenue from customers!

View screenshots and check out the full story here.

This sequence of events all began with a regularly scheduled promotional email from Delta that I would assume they sent to all members of their SkyMiles program. This email by chance happened to remind me that I was interested in visiting Salt Lake City for a weekend in February, and I knew from previous emails that Salt Lake City happens to be one of Delta’s hub locations. From this initial email I went to the Delta website, where I browsed for flights and compared airfare. I did not make a purchase during this web session.

A mere two hours later I received my first email in the lifecycle campaign, featuring the subject line “Visit delta.com For All Your Travel Needs.” This message served the simple purpose of outlining the benefits of booking my flight through delta.com rather than another third-party site. I was particularly impressed by the promptness of this message — my interest in Delta was clearly reciprocated by them in a timely manner.

Interestingly, the correspondence did not stop there. Delta reached out to me the very next day to continue explaining the benefits of their website and to outwardly ask for me to return to their site. This second message featured the subject line “Come On Back To delta.com” and reminded me that I had an unfulfilled order waiting for further action.

Even though I did not make a purchase during this period, the email exchange I had with Delta was quite valuable in a number of other ways. These include:

• The entire decision to consider shopping for tickets was set in motion from a regularly scheduled loyalty program campaign. Newsletters can generate revenue and interest just by being in front of the customer!
• My website activity triggered almost instantaneous correspondence from Delta showing that they were valuing my business. Website analytics data integration with email programs can help businesses show appreciation for their customers when the brand is fresh in their minds.
• Web analytics data isn’t just for cart abandons — it can also be used to trigger entire loyalty and retention-based messages. Taking a long view of the customer sales cycle can impart positive brand affinity to your customers that will pay off in the long run.

The moral of the story is that even though I didn’t make the purchase this time around, chances are the next time I need to buy airline tickets I will be stopping by Delta’s website first.

Here’s a personal story about why it doesn’t make a lot of sense to bounce remove after the first attempt.

I purchased my personal domain name in 1998 and have used it for select personal email relationships ever since. I had a problem with my domain registrar a couple years ago that involved them accidentally expiring my domain without notifying me. It then took weeks to get it fixed. In the meantime, all personal email to me hard bounced. Some of my most important contacts reached out to me through other channels, a few even sending snail mail informing me of the bounced email.

While this situation is rare, it is just one of many reasons why emails hard bounce and yet will be valid once again in short order.

In the past, ISPs used to focus on hard bounces as a critical anti-spam metric. With today’s sophisticated filters focused primarily on complaints and other data, very few ISPs see a reasonable (<5%) hard bounce rate as an indicator of spam as long as the other performance metrics are also in line with legitimate email.

Some additional tips when considering bounce removal rules:

1. Every ISP is different, therefore a liberal bounce rule at less sophisticated ISPs (like those without real-time complaint data) could result in deliverability problems.
2. Re-mailing bounces again is not the same as ‘re-trying’ a message. If the address is invalid now, it likely won’t be valid again the same day or even a few days from now. Wait a week or more before re-mailing that user.
3. Never re-mail bounces more than a few months old. Some ISPs turn bad data into spamtraps, which are used as an anti-spam filter. In some cases, ISPs will share defunct addresses with 3^rd party blocklists like Spamhaus. In other cases, an ISP may recycle that address to another user.
4. If the relationship is really important (or if you have the resources), consider a personalized snail mail effort following a bounce. I was pleasantly surprised about the letters from my commercial relationships and valued those relationships even more as a result.

The conversation went like this:

Salesperson: Here is the size 11 you had asked for.
Me: Thanks.
Salesperson: Do you use email?
Me: Yes.
Salesperson: Would you like to sign-up for our email program and get 10% off?
Me: Sure.
He hands me a pen and a sign-up form and continues talking.
Salesperson: Email is great because we save money by sending less mailers and we can pass those savings onto our customers. You will receive your welcome email and 10% off coupon in about 24 hours.
Me: Great.

I scribbled my email address on the form and handed it back to the salesperson.

Here is a look at the three inch by two inch sign-up form.

Big-5 did a great job.

• The sales person asked the right questions and provided just enough information to seal the deal.

• He was not overbearing or annoying.

• He had the form and a working pen at the ready.

• He verified the email address once I gave it to him.

• The form was clear and easy to understand.

• If I did not provide an email address in the store but kept the form, I could always sign-up at a later date online.

Well done!

Here is the welcome I received as promised in about 24 hours.  The subject line, which has the potential for improvement, was Subscription Notification.


Do you have any POS (Point of Sale) real-life stories? Please share them with us!

This Saturday I received a letter in the mail.  The envelope was nondescript and the return address was a P.O. Box I did not recognize. It looked and felt like the type of envelope that contains a new credit or ATM card. When I opened it up I was pleasantly surprised — inside was a letter from the Director of Customer Care at The Home Depot and a $50 gift card. The letter was thanking me for my online business during the past year!

I have to admit, I did spend a lot of money at The Home Depot over the last twelve months. I was in the midst of a variety of large scale home improvement projects that required the purchase of a washer, dryer, refrigerator, barbecue, sinks, cabinetry plus much more — all bought online. Before I received this letter I did not feel especially loyal to The Home Depot, despite having spent a lot of money with them. But if something better came along, I would not think twice about purchasing from a competitor.

I put some thought into it and determined that I bought from The Home Depot for four main reasons:

1. They have competitive prices.
2. They have a strong online presence.
3. They offered free shipping and other great offers in their emails.
4. They have online ratings and reviews. I want to read what others think about a product before I purchase it.

What is the moral of the story?

1. Know your best customers.
2. Thank your best customers often and appropriately. The Home Depot not only thanked me with this letter, but they gave me a gift card, a VIP email address and VIP phone number to their customer service if I ever need it.
3. Don’t assume that your best customers will always be your customers. Give them a reason to continue to do business with you.

Here is the letter I received from The Home Depot: