Inactive Subscribers are Still Valuable Customers

You love your engaged customers. They read your emails, click your links, and buy your products. With customers like this, it’s clear you’re doing something right. Nice work.

But what about those other people? You know, the ones who don’t even open your emails? They signed up for your list, but you’re not really sure if they care. Why are they still subscribed? Should you remove them from your list? What’s the deal with inactive subscribers?

Believe it or not, there’s more to the story than just opens and clicks. Your inactive subscribers might not be actively engaging with your email, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they haven’t noticed your message or skimmed through your subject lines. Even without a single email being opened, your brand can still make billboard-like impressions on subscribers from the inbox.

In order to understand the true value of an inactive subscriber, you have to analyze revenue. So, that’s what we did. Luckily for us, MailChimp sends email on behalf of hundreds of thousands of retailers and merchants worldwide, so there’s no shortage of purchase data to sift through.

After crunching all the numbers, we’ve got some great news—it turns out that 1 inactive subscriber is worth 32% of an active subscriber. That’s a lot of revenue! We also learned that inactive subscribers purchase more frequently and are less likely to churn than customers who aren’t subscribed to your email list. This isn’t what we and a lot of other folks have said over the years, so allow us to explain a little more.

Learning from 6.6 billion sends

That’s what we analyzed, and those sends included 60 million e-commerce purchases and 40 million email addresses from retailers that use our e-commerce features for list segmentation and automation. We considered an email address “active” if it had opened or clicked in the previous 6 months. If an address had been sent campaigns but not opened any of them, we considered it “inactive.” On average, 61% of retailers’ recipients in 2015 were active.

We then determined if each purchase from these retailers had been made by an active, inactive, or non-subscribed customer. We wanted to know how each customer type would differ on key retail metrics, so we focused on calculating the average purchase frequency, retention rate, and order value.

As it turns out, both active and inactive subscribers outperform non-subscribed customers in every way. Subscribers order at least 25% more frequently, and when they do, they spend at least 6% more than non-subscribers. Most importantly, they are much more likely to return. Inactive subscribers are 26% more likely to make a follow-up purchase than non-subscribers, and active subscribers were actually 38% more likely to come back.

At a higher level, it’s important to note how much revenue comes from each type of customer. On average in 2015, 56% of revenue came from customers who were not subscribed before ordering, 37% came from active subscribers, and 7% came from inactive subscribers. If we only consider revenue from subscribers, 84% came from active subscribers and 16% came from inactive subscribers. Overall, an average of 45% of a retailers’ revenue comes from individuals who were subscribed.

As we noted earlier, 61% of recent recipients are active, but it appears that they account for 84% of subscriber revenue. We can use the following calculation to compare the revenue per subscriber from the active and inactive segments of a list:

When we average this value across retailers, we found that an inactive subscriber was worth 32% of an active subscriber. We performed a similar calculation and found that inactive subscribers are also 32% as likely to convert as active subscribers. These percentages line up because, as we showed earlier, inactive and active subscribers spend about the same amount on an order. Active subscribers end up being worth more because they churn a lot less and keep spending money.

So, how should you treat your inactives?

Good question. Inactive subscribers might not engage with your email, but they still generate a lot of revenue. After all, they churn less, buy more frequently, and spend more than non-subscribers. Here are a few recommendations on how to make the most of inactive subscribers:

• Don’t prune inactive subscribers from your list. This is the opposite of what we and many other marketing companies have said over the years, but the data backs it up: An inactive subscriber is a better customer than a non-subscriber.


• generate segments for inactive subscribers who have recently made a purchase. Then, keep them engaged with customized content.


• Perform A/B split tests on your subject lines. As you test different variations, you’ll start to discover what does—and what doesn’t—grab the attention of your inactive subscribers. If you really wanna go for it, try MailChimp Pro’s Multivariate Testing.


• Encourage all of your customers to join your list. A customer’s inbox is valuable marketing real estate, even if they don’t read your campaigns. Connect your store to MailChimp to automatically capture new subscribers as they make a purchase, and consider offering list-exclusive giveaways, contests, or coupons to your customers to help drive signups.

There you have it—inactive subscribers can still be key contributors towards your bottom line. If you sell things for a living, it’s important to look beyond the open rate and pay closer attention to the purchase behavior of your customers. Fortunately, MailChimp makes it easy to track your purchase data, so you can act on it. Remember: it’s great if someone actively engages with your email campaigns, but it’s even more important that they actively engage with your store.

Inactive Subscribers are Still Valuable Customers

C. STINNETT: There's still a role for email in marketing, consultant says

HENDERSON, Ky. – Don’t tell Dana M. Nelson that email is extinct.

“A lot of times you hear email is dead,” the Evansville marketing and social media consultant said.

Nelson disagrees. “At the core of the relationship you’re building with your customers or your donors or your volunteers is email,” she told Kyndle Brown Bag audience recently. “It still has the highest delivery response.”

Email, she noted, can be used to deliver newsletters, announcements, special offers, product and event promotions, surveys, event registrations and for gaining feedback.

Nelson is a Constant Contact Authorized Local Expert. Constant Contact is an online marketing service used by organizations such as Kyndle, the Downtown Henderson Project, Henderson Community College and the United Way of Henderson County.

Others use services such as Mail Chimp or Boomerang, among others. What they have in common is that they make it easy to send colorful messages with logos, photos and other graphics — a sort of portable Web page as opposed to plain-text email.

But that’s just the tool. What’s key to online marketing, she said, is strategy,

“At its core, marketing is about eliciting a physical and measurable response,” Nelson said.

In email marketing, she recommends asking the customer or recipient to take some kind of action that can be measured — to click on a link, download a document, call or come into the office, schedule an appointment or donate.

“Don’t just push information: ‘25 percent off,’ ” she advised. “Say, ‘25 percent off, come in today!’ “

The key, Nelson said, is to provide “information and offers relevant to those customers,” Nelson said. “If you do it right, they will bring their friends with them.”

“Your new best friends are ‘forward’ and ‘share,"” she said. “If you use an email marketing service, you’re going to have a ‘share’ button or a ‘like on Facebook’ ” link that can be part of every message.

Getting customers, donors or volunteers to interact with your organization on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest can increase their level of engagement.

“Word-of-mouth is now (happening) on those social media platforms,” she said.

“You need to make it easy to share your content” by incorporating links to such platforms in email messages.

“You want to be sure to give an opportunity (for people) to share with others,” such as after an event: “It was awesome, you should go to the next one!”

Nelson believes online marketing can be at its best when it reflects the personality of the business owner or the mission of the organization.

“You can be your authentic self,” she said. “You could have someone else do it, but they don’t have your passion.”

“You want it to seem like a genuine relationship, not a gimmick,” Nelson said.

A marketing campaign should have goals.

It can have general goals, such as to reach new customers or donors; drive repeat business; nurture leads and relationships; and engage members or volunteers.

But Nelson said it’s valuable to set specific goals, such as to drive donations up a certain amount this month or fill 90 percent of the seats in your church this Sunday.

“Put a specific measure on it,” she said.

Business Editor Chuck Stinnett can be reached at 270-831-8343 or cstinnett@thegleaner.com.

C. STINNETT: There"s still a role for email in marketing, consultant says

Here's How Marketers Late To Mobile Game Can Still Win

Many marketers aren’t functioning at the top of their mobile game, and they’re not likely to admit it. But it’s time to get hip, friends. Mobile adoption is increasing and there’s still time to get it right (assuming you’re not already) – and win. And here are some stats to frighten you into acting now!

Recent research from PunchTab shows the “global mobile wallet market is expected to reach 1,420.8 million users by 2020” – and Apple Pay just kicked that figure into overdrive.

Why should you care? Online is quickly encroaching on your brick and mortar store – and consumers will buy where it’s convenient. Much like accepting credit cards, mobile pay will soon be the norm. You have a little bit of time, Mom and Pop shops, but not much.

The outlook for online brands requires a more immediate response though. We had a Q&A with Marla Schimke, VP of Marketing at Zumobi around the “unprecedented opportunity mobile apps have created for impactful content marketing campaigns.”

ST: How should companies gauge whether their content marketing efforts are a success?

MS: Currently 42 percent of marketers are satisfied with their content marketing efforts, which is an impressive number for a young industry. However, there is room for improvement. Content marketing is all about audience engagement so effective ways to measure are increased in-app session times, conversions and retention. The aim is to create a customer journey that keeps users coming back for more.

ST: How can content marketers make mobile content marketing more effective? 

MS: According to Flurry Analytics, time spent on mobile devices grew in the US by 9.3 percent, from 2 hours and 42 minutes to 2 hours and 57 minutes; on the other hand, time spent on TV has remained flat at 2 hours and 48 minutes daily.

By implementing content curation/automated solutions like mobile content marketing platforms that assist marketers with aggregating all of their content where their clients are (on mobile devices), they have access to granular insights on what’s working, what’s not, and why.

ST: Can you provide an example of this in action?

MS: For example, if a retail brand posts three DIY blogs to their mobile app’s content hub, with a mobile content marketing solution marketers can visualize in real-time which blogs are performing the best (i.e., which blog is being opened the most/the least, how much time is being spent on each piece of content, whether or not they click through to a related piece of content, etc.).

With this insight, marketers can better understand the individual customer journey and tailor their content marketing efforts to present content that is the most on-demand and personalized for the user. They can then use this information to inform their other marketing channels like email and event print marketing. Thus, marketers will see increased ROI both online and in-store.

ST: How important is curating/automating in real-time? 

MS: Very. With mobile marketing content solutions, marketers can use a dashboard to immediately see what is working and what, perhaps, is not. They can then make adjustments on the fly to ensure that the app user has the best experience possible, manifest in the user’s returning to the app again and again.

ST: What’s next for content marketing and mobile?

MS: Mobile content marketing solutions will help brands monetize their users in new ways by introducing relevant products and services based on their expressed interests. It is exciting to see how the data analytics generated by these solutions can help marketers gain valuable insights into consumer behavior and concurrently enhance customer profiles for their cross-channel marketing efforts.

The convergence of mobile apps and content marketing is here – and adopting an omni-channel approach that takes EVERY channel into account is critical.

And be sure to keep the corresponding importance of incorporating Mobile Pay into your overarching mobile strategy because beyond reaching them, “consumers seek fast and easy ways to pay – and retailers must accommodate this new path to purchase – or watch their share of basket get chipped away by those who do.”

Where do YOU see mobile marketing taking us in the next year or two?

Top image courtesy of Shutterstock.

Here"s How Marketers Late To Mobile Game Can Still Win

Web.com reports growing revenues in 2014, but still a net loss

Revenues were up for Web.com in 2014, but the company still reported a net loss.

The Jacksonville-based online marketing company took in revenues of almost $544 million last year, up from $492 million in 2013, according to SEC filings posted Thursday evening.

Overall, the company had a net loss of $12.4 million, which was an improvement over the loss of $65.7 million in 2013.

Web.com hasn’t reported a net profit since 2009, when it made $2.6 million with $102 million in revenue. Its net income dove over the next several years until hitting a nadir with a loss of $122 million in 2012.

The company’s revenues have risen every year since it went public as Website Pros Inc. in 2005, except for a dip between 2008 and 2009, from $117 million to $102 million.

In a conference call Thursday afternoon, CEO David L. Brown said the company has put in place a new bundled pricing model in an effort to keep customers using the website.

“We believe the steps we have taken will ultimately return retention rates to their previous levels,” Brown said in the call.

The company had almost 3.3 million subscribers on its website at the end of last year, up from 3.1 million in 2013 and slightly more than 3 million in 2012, according to SEC filings.

Its average revenue per user was $14.07 in the fourth quarter of 2014, down from $14.71 during that quarter in 2013 and $14.33 in 2012.

On Monday, Web.com added two directors to its board as part of a deal with its largest shareholder, Okumus Fund Management Ltd. The deal places limits on the shareholder’s power, such as barring it from trying to remove directors and influencing other shareholders. The deal runs out before the company’s 2016 shareholder meeting.

Okumus bought 480,000 shares in the company in November. That same month, the company bought back 10.8 million of its shares, Brown said in the conference call.

Brown also said that the company plans to modify its website developing services to allow customers to get guidance from Web.com employees through email and phone calls.

“This is an area we’ve just begun exploring,” he said.

The company’s stock price rose following the release of its earnings report, from $15.93 a share Thursday afternoon to $18.43 Friday morning.

But its shares have been in decline over the past year, dropping from $36.61 in February 2014.

Richard Webner: 904-359-4370

Web.com reports growing revenues in 2014, but still a net loss