Message clutter is a problem marketers deal with in many communication channels. Traditional media such as TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines are plagued by a high volume of ad messages vying for consumers’ attention. The action has moved to interactive and new media, too. A prime example is e-mail, a channel that experienced a significant clutter-triggered problem on Cyber Monday.
It is logical that online businesses would seek to capitalize on the large number of web surfers and shoppers on Cyber Monday. So, why not appeal to consumers via e-mail campaigns in an effort to drive them to your web site? Individually, it is a great strategy. Collectively, it led to congestion in e-mail delivery that hurt delivery rates. According to research by Pivotal Veracity, about 76%
of all e-mail campaign messages sent by marketers on Cyber Monday reached inboxes. That figure compares with delivery rates that typically range from 80 to 90% or higher.
What should e-mail marketers do? Forget about executing Cyber Monday e-mail campaigns? Not hardly! The stakes are too high in terms of number of prospective customers. But, the approach to luring traffic on Cyber Monday has to change. The Pivotal Veracity research found that the most popular time for marketers to send e-mail was noon to 1:00 PM on Cyber Monday. It seems that timing of messages should reach online shoppers early enough that they are aware of a seller’s Cyber Monday promotions in advance of the big day. Just as Black Friday deals seem to be publicized earlier each year, online sellers will benefit by spreading the word about Cyber Monday before the big day. Otherwise, e-mails will suffer a worse fate than message clutter: they may never have a chance to be ignored.
ClickZ – “E-Mail Deliverability Suffered on Cyber Monday”
