Ecommerce up North – Can they stand up to the South?

As we’re visiting Manchester this week to join hundreds of online retailers at Ecommerce Expo North – I was interested to see how they stacked up against the South in terms of their email marketing.

I took a look at the Hitwise list of Top Retail Sites and out of 16, 3 three were based above Birmingham – so let’s take a look and see how they compare to the South with their email marketing efforts... (Ooh it's like a Chelsea/Manchester footie match!)

First up...M&S

The email sign up process

Call to action not the most prominent on site, however whenever you register on the website (which call to action is nice and clear, above the fold) it looks like you are automatically opted in to receive information as they have an optout button halfway down their form.

The sign up itself is really nice, using a double opt in, so I give my email first and then I have a fairly simple form to complete (including the optout option) with a preference selection for what I’m interested in.

Welcome email

Not the most inspiring before I switch on images because of the black background, but a good length and also good use of alt tags in the main image so I know what to expect.

Once I switch on images the email is clear, the call to action is obvious and above the fold and I get the feeling of being on their site which carries the brand through nicely.

All in all a very good process from start to finish – 4/5

What about Next?

The email sign up process

These guys have done well on their website sign up – with not one but two opportunities to sign up on their homepage – one is above the fold with a simple ‘Join Next News’ call to action and then further down they have a more descriptive call to action telling people what they’d receive.

Once again they’ve offered a double opt in and asked for my product interests but their form is much shorter and they also show me examples of their newsletter and tell me what benefits I’ll get as a subscriber. Nice.

Interestingly they don’t offer an unsubscribe at this point which is because their sign up is purely for their emails, unlike M&S who double the use of their sign up form with site registration and email marketing. I think I prefer the Next experience, I feel more special and individual.

Welcome email

However this is where my happy experience ends. I’ve received a welcome email form a sender of noreply@next.co.uk so on the one hand I’m being welcomed with open arms but on the other I’m being told not to reply to the email. I feel confused and not all that welcome.

So a little glum I open the email and all I get is a text only email with links in it – no clear call to actions and certainly no branding to make me feel like I should get online and shop with them straight away.

Why bother with a great sign up process if you’re not going to follow through with the actual email? The welcome email is so important as it's the first impression of a personalised communication from a company – a disappointed 3/5

How do HotUKDeals measure up?

Ok so a bit of an outsider here – not your usual retailer but these guys rank above asos and Debenhams so they must be doing something right!

The email sign up process

And it isn’t their email marketing – after hunting around the site for a little while I decide to give their alerts a go, but before I can get them I need to register with the site. No problem – password given, email given and there’s the footnote to opt in to receive occasional emails from the site administrators. No mention of what I’ll actually be getting, no chance to register to receive my favourite deal alerts so I’m not sure what I’ll be getting really. Hopefully not spam – I don’t feel very reassured.

And the email is in – an activation email in plain text with clear instructions which I follow and then finally I get my eagerly awaited welcome email...

...that’s one line long. The good news? Well it’s personalised to me which is great, the bad? There’s no call to action, branding, anything – literally just a line saying welcome and enjoy your stay in the community. I’ve forgotten how to get there and with no links that’s looking pretty unlikely.

If they want to stay up there with the big guys they need to improve their email marketing but hey they've got there with their website so I'm sure it'll get there. – 2/5

So how did the Northern online retailers do?

Quite a mixed bag we had there but in general they didn’t do too badly at all. If you could mix up the elements of email marketing they did then they’d certainly give the ecommerce sites based down South a run for their money (come on you reds).

As with in the South there's always room for improvement guys and to help on your way, check out email marketing elements such as the welcome message in ‘Mr Email’ Marc Munier’s 10 top tips to improve email marketing guide. I'd say a draw in this case - until the next match...

Abi

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