The real definition of conversion in email marketing
Are customers really buying what you’re selling? Does your business inspire conversion? These questions provide a quick measure of the success of your business.
Be aware that email-marketing programs have been designed to develop a company’s activity. Using email to convert a prospect into a customer has therefore become an essential step in marketing.
However, the definition of a conversion is still vague. There are many causes for this, including the use of email programs to achieve secondary goals. The latter having been developed from the objectives of each company, this creates a difference of opinion. You can get in touch with Best Email Marketing Agency in Germany
To provide more explanation on this subject, we asked these two simple questions to experts:
-
WHAT IS A CONVERSION?
-
IS EMAIL MARKETING CONVERSION DIFFERENT FROM OTHER CONVERSIONS?
All had a fairly similar definition of conversion. But, as they expanded on the subject, their explanations quickly became confusing. Each of them agreed that there are two types of conversion, but opinions differed as to the nature and designation of conversions. Among the answers, the experts mentioned the following:
- micro conversions and macro conversions
- email conversions and website conversions
- direct and indirect conversions
- conversions and sales conversions.
A conversion can be many things. It is quite simply “the realization of a desired action”. There are two main types of conversion:
- micro-conversion (click-through rates)
- and macro conversion (achieving the end goal, such as a sale or signup).
Many merchants generally opt for the bad conversion that is micro-conversion; because it is easier and the results are more tangible.
For example, if you send several people an email promising them free beer and pizza, you are likely to get a very high click-through rate. But when they’re on your homepage and find that you’re only selling socks, be prepared for a massive bounce rate. Several companies have also lost the trust of their customers because of the mismatch of images. This is why landing page optimization is an integral part of email marketing.
If, on the other hand, you send the right message while keeping the same conversion goal in mind, the results will improve more and more with each step.
Don’t get me wrong, evaluate micro conversions first, they can bring you opportunities. But think above all in the long term by opting for macro-conversions. In other words, keep an eye on sales, not clicks.
A conversion is simply an action that takes place on your homepage or any tab of your website. The purpose of the action in question is to get prospects to accomplish a desired result. You must start by fixing the conversion you are looking for (a new subscriber, a new order, etc.).
Conversions don’t happen in emails, but on the site. Website conversion rate is only part of the story. So you have to make sure that all the parts are balanced:
- Your audience: audience
- Your subject: opening rate
- The quality of the message and the offer: click-through rate
- Potential customers on your website: number of visitors
- Visitors who don’t like what they see and leave the site: bounce rate
- Visitors who perform the intended action: conversion rate.
You will always have to go through the testing, fine-tuning and tuning phases to have the best user experience and to be able to offer the best deals. Keep in mind that the test never ends. There will always be something to improve to give customers the experience they are looking for. This is how you will stay ahead of the competition.
Advertisers often question the value of conversions if they don’t result in a sale. Which can lead you to think that a campaign that does not show direct and immediate benefits is a failure.
Conversions do not always present instant benefits, however. An email conversion can primarily be defined as a subscriber who takes the path you tell them in your message. For example, if your email announces an event, a click to the registration page is progress, while a completed registration is a conversion. If you send out a monthly newsletter with links to your blog content, conversion can be measured by the number of posts read or the time your subscribers spent on your blog.
Some emails lend themselves to direct conversion: you promote a product and the prospects buy. But there are also indirect conversions where your email prompts another interaction with your site or with a product.
For example, you send an email to invite your subscribers to download your annual report. Your subscriber opens it but does nothing. Your email, however, reminds him that there is other content on your blog. He visits your blog and reads old articles. He discovers a promotion for a weekly newsletter that interests him and decides to subscribe to it. Is it a conversion due to the first email? No, but the email was the catalyst that led the subscriber to old emails. This is therefore a question of indirect conversion.