U.K. Retailers Implement Email Marketing Best Practices to Keep Brands Top of Mind

Silverpop study finds marketers fighting inbox clutter with relevancy and personalisation

LONDON, May 27, 2010 - With almost half of U.K. adults now shopping online, U.K. retailers are
interested in maximising online marketing tactics. And a recent Silverpop(R)
study found many seek to improve results and increase ROI through carefully
designed email campaigns.

For the study, Silverpop, an on-demand provider of an email marketing and
marketing automation platform serving the needs of sophisticated,
self-service B2C and B2B marketers, reviewed the email marketing programs of
the top 100 retailers in the United Kingdom. The findings reveal attempts to
rise above growing inbox clutter by offering choices at opt-in and by
personalising subject lines.

Among the reviewed U.K. retailers with email marketing programs, nearly
half presented subscribers with the opportunity to declare preferences during
the opt-in process. This number is 40 percent greater than in the United
States, where just one third of the Top 500 retailers offered subscribers
similar options. In another effort to stand out in the inbox, retailers in
the United Kingdom were twice as likely as those across the pond to grab
their recipients' attention with personalised subject lines.

"U.K. retailers are tackling inbox clutter in all the right ways, by
focusing on creating the highly relevant and personal emails online shoppers
crave," said Will Schnabel, vice president of international markets for
Silverpop. "With consumers exerting more control over their purchasing
decisions than ever, giving them what they want is crucial to a campaign's
success."

Other survey data revealed that U.K. retailers are less likely than
American retailers to engage email recipients with sales and discounts. Only
58 percent of the top retailers in the United Kingdom included incentives in
their emails, while nearly nine of 10 of the U.S. Top 500 catered to
shoppers' desires to save money. And in both countries, a relatively small
percentage connect their unsubscribe link to a preference centre, a risky
move that may be resulting in email lists that are shrinking unnecessarily.

"Not everyone who clicks on your unsubscribe link wants to never hear
from your company again. Some people just want certain aspects of the
relationship to change," Schnabel said. "U.K. retailers are clearly familiar
with the effectiveness of preference centres at opt-in and should incorporate
them throughout the customer lifecycle, not just at the beginning of the
relationship."

To download a complimentary copy of the complete study, "U.K. Retailers
Fight Inbox Clutter to Keep Brands Top of Mind," visit
www.silverpop.com/marketing-resources/white-papers/download/uk-email-marketing-study.html .

About Silverpop

Silverpop's on-demand digital marketing platform helps marketers succeed
in turning prospects into customers-and customers into fans-through the
creation, automation and delivery of relevant, multichannel digital
messaging. Companies rely on the Silverpop Engage platform to create and
manage sophisticated email marketing campaigns that reach millions of
individuals-one at a time-engaging prospective customers and enhancing
lifetime customer value and brand loyalty. Silverpop's marketing automation
capabilities enable B2B marketers to efficiently manage leads and drive
qualified sales opportunities through scoring and by nurturing campaigns that
move prospects from interest to conversion. Silverpop's industry-leading
thought capital, strategic counsel, service and support helps B2C and B2B
customers with the precise level of training and advice needed to quickly
improve campaign results and ROI. With offices in the United States, the
United Kingdom and Germany, Silverpop's marketing technologies are used by
industry-leading brands around the globe. Best practices and white papers are
available at www.silverpop.com.

    Contact:
    Stacy Kirk
    Silverpop, Senior Corporate Communications Associate
    +1-770-661-0633
    skirk@silverpop.com

Stacy Kirk, Silverpop, Senior Corporate Communications Associate, +1-770-661-0633, skirk at silverpop.com