1. Don't Waste Your Team's Time In
Sending Emails That Provide Too
Little, Too Late!
Rosanna Martinez
Amanda Kuldanek
National Instruments
2. About NI
• Sell engineers and scientists software and hardware
• Target a broad range of industries and applications
• Execute in 60+ countries in 25+ languages
• Corporate develops global direct marketing programs and
local offices manage programs specific to their regions.
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3. Agenda
• What has been our traditional approach at NI?
• Which programs have performed best?
• How are we evolving this approach, globally?
• What case studies can you consider?
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4. Traditional Approach
• One-off emails were 80% of emails sent
• Corporate and US/Canada lines were blurred
• Branch adoption was very low
• Segmentation criteria was dated
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5. What kinds of emails did we send?
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6. LabVIEW 2011 Launch
• Largest launch of the year
taking 3 months of work
• 95% of branches sent
launch emails
• 68% adopted full
segmentation strategy
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8. Launches can’t replace year-round nurturing
LabVIEW 2011 Launch Email
(Sent within 6 months of interest)
Click %
Open %
LabVIEW Awareness Program Email
(Sent within 1 week of interest)
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
National Instruments Confidential *US/CA data, based on 72-hour reporting
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9. What have we learned?
• Timely and relevant emails perform best
• One-off communications have a low global ROI
• Opens and Clicks are not the end-goal
• Need deliberate programs along buying cycle
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10. Deliberate Nurturing Stream
InitialCustomer Success
Proficiency/
Awareness Consideration Evaluation
Success Loyalty
Getting-Started Training Promo
SW Evaluation Program
SW Awareness Program Service Contract
Program
Program (in progress)
Goal: drive contacts to consider/ Goal: convert
evaluate SW evaluators to Goal: help
Goal: build
purchase customers
customers’
with initial
proficiency
success;
with SW
explain
services
benefits
NI News e-Newsletter
Goal: drive contacts to consider/ evaluate SW
12. Software Awareness Program
• Who: Contacts who create a SW product interest or visit specific
SW web pages in the last week
• What: 5-touch pipeline communicating core SW benefits
• When: 8 weeks
• Where: US/Canada currently
• Why: To drive prospects to download the SW Eval or purchase
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13. 5-touch Awareness Program
Interest Expressed 1 wk later 2 wks later 2 wks later 2 wks later 2 wks later
… …
Created a Lead
Visited key SW pages
• 2-minute video on • White Paper • 5-minute video on • White Paper • LabVIEW
LabVIEW benefits analysis features Evaluation
Program Goal:
Use web browsing behavior to pull into nurturing stream
and drive to Evaluation Download
Results:
30% sustained open rate, 14% clicked thru 1+emails
13% converted to a evaluation, quote or purchased
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15. Software Evaluation Program
• Who: Contacts who go through a SW evaluation form
• What: 7-touch pipeline of resources for learning the SW
• When: Across 35 days to match evaluation period
• Where: US/Canada (pilot), Global roll-out phase 2
• Why: To help prospects determine if NI SW is right for their application
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16. 7-touch Evaluation Program
1 Day later 1 Day Later 1 wk later 1 wk later 1 wk later 1 wk later 1 wk later
SW Eval
• Getting Started • White Paper • Webcast • Tips/Tricks • Tutorial • “Buy” push • Feedback
Resources Survey
Program Goal: Design effective pipeline that is
timed to the 30-day evaluation period.
Results: 25% sustained open rate, 8% avg.
CTR…however, quote conversion is no higher
than the 1-touch program currently in place.
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18. Standard Service Program Renewals
• Who: Customers who purchase a 1-yr SW service contract
• What: 7-touch pipeline with custom content about entitlement usage and quoting.
• When: 1 year
• Where: Americas and Europe (2010), Asia (2012)
• Why: To educate customers on their entitlements and remind to renew to maintain
these entitlements.
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19. 7-touch Dynamic Program
Purchase 180 days 90 days 60 days 30 days Expiration
… …
Welcome email Usage Soon to expire Soon to expire Expire
Or Renewal email Summary
• Introduce benefits • Service touch point • Summarize value • Email notification • Telesales • Telesales
• Encourage to • Remind about delivered during (with quote) follow up follow up
access service contract • Email reminder • Expiration
(with quote) email (with
quote)
Demonstrate Value with Entitlement Delivery
• Service/SSP key part of launch communications
and general product messaging
• /support messaging
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23. Software Awareness Program
• Who: Subscribers to NI News Global who were not showing
interest in newsletter
• What: Clean-Up effort + Re-permissioning effort
• When: 6 months of no activity
• Where: Worldwide
• Why: To make a 1-time clean up + keep subscription list as clean
as possible by asking for re-permission.
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24. Steps to Our Solution
• Researched activity patterns over 12 months
• Findings:
Open rates had a very slow decline from first edition to later
editions, lost interest seemed to be a minor factor.
Nearly all contacts who opened at some point were likely to
open again, mostly within 6 months.
A new contact who did not open the first 4 editions had only
a 33% chance of ever opening in the future.
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25. Chance of New Contact Ever Opening
After X times Without No Opens
60.00%
50.00% 49%
43%
40.00% 38%
34%
31%
29%
30.00%
26%
24%
21%
19%
20.00% 17%
10.00%
0.00%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
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26. Key Take-Aways
• Timely and relevant emails perform best
• One-off communications have a low ROI
• Need to manage program along buying cycle
• Opens and Clicks are not the end-goal
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We provide software, hardware and synchronizing platforms to engineers and scientists who work across a broad range of industries and tackle a wide variety of applications in the fields of industrial automation, automated test and embedded design. We are a global company with offices in over 40 countries. Our marketing department has employees managing global and US/Canada specific programs from the corporate office in Austin, as well as employees in the branches managing programs specific to their local region.