Why Use Tracking

Marketers are always looking for ways to accurately target their audience while monitoring their budget. As email campaigns become more and more sophisticated, statistics and feedback play a larger role than ever in executing successful campaigns.

By using the enhanced tracking tools, you let your customer behaviors and responses dictate the frequency and content of your campaign. This strategy allows you to track specific feedback on your individual subscriber's preferences and habits.

For example, you may realize that 30 percent of your customers never open your emails unless the subject line mentions something about a coupon or discount. Other customers may use the Forward to a Friend (FTAF) feature quite frequently, sending your email on to several people with similar preferences. Your subscriber base may grow greatly due to this feature alone.

Tracking gives you insight into your subscribers. By evaluating the behavioral data you gather, you get to know each of your subscribers individually. As time goes by, you can tailor your campaigns more and more toward specific subscribers. In fact, this should be a continuous process-consumer profiles and habits change all the time.

Suppose that you send out an email catalog, such as the Northern Trail example in the Click Activity Tab. You have set up the demographics you want to collect in your Profile Attributes. Your tracking shows that for your last three sends, 75 percent of men, age 18 to 24, clicked all the links in your special whitewater rafting section, 85 percent clicked most of the links in the skydiving article, and 80 percent had high click-through rates for your mountain climbing feature. On that basis and other research, you may want to develop a smaller list containing only those targeted subscribers and create a special edition geared toward extreme sports fans. A very effective and profitable campaign could result-you have targeted your most avid audience for that arena, and you have not given other subscribers a chance to unsubscribe from your catalog because they are uninterested in the subject matter. This group of men may forward your catalog to a friend, and that friend may subscribe. This not only widens your audience, but it also gives you the chance to compile a subgroup of women, age 18 to 24, who are true adventurers.

Tracking is a great way to collect metrics. You can research previous reports to spot trends or correct some approaches that aren't working. Or, you can prove to management that the purchase of items geared toward teenagers has increased 30 percent. This might encourage them to budget more funds for your project, and it will certainly document your success.

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