A recent survey of LERN members found that more than 86 percent of those responding use email to promote their classes and programs. That’s the good news. LERN members are adopting online strategies to support traditional marketing.
All the news is not good; however. The survey found that of those using email from promotion, slightly more than 25 percent do not target their emails. LERN has stressed the importance of segmentation and targeting for traditional marketing. It increases response and saves on costs and most LERN members understand that segmentation in direct marketing is critical.
Targeting is just as important for email and other eMarketing strategies as it is for direct mail; however, many programs struggle with understanding how to analyze and target with digital media. LERN consultants are available to help members with these challenges.
Track Customer Preferences
Tracking open and click-through rates is one important way to evaluate the effectiveness of your email campaign efforts. In the recent LERN survey, about 40 percent of those responding to the question “Approximately, what percentage of people receiving your emails click through to your website?” indicated they did not know this information. Tracking click-through rates is critical to refining your email success and improving the marketing effectiveness of your email efforts and this is another area where LERN consultants are available to provide support.
What Participants want
One of the biggest values of tracking your email performance is that it can help marketing and program staff understand what customers want. Individuals will obviously click on those topics of greatest interest or relevance to their needs. Below are some of the top areas of interest tracked by LERN members:
Colleges:
- Announcement of New Brochure online
- “New” Classes
- Monthly Course Listing eBlasts
- Children’s Programs
- Youth Programs
- Kid’s College
- Summer Camps
- Fitness (Tai Chi, Dance, Zumba, Yoga)
- Computers and Technology
- Writers Conference
- Adult Painting Classes
- Food and Wine
- Events/Special Events
- Anything marked “FREE”
- “Last Chance” Classes
- Cultural Arts
- Art
- Sports
- Trips and Tours
- Arts and Crafts
- “Sampler” Day Marketing Event
- Lifelong Learning Expo
- Wedding and Event Planning
- OSHA
- Team-Building
- Leadership
- Culinary
- High End Cisco Courses
- CNA/Healthcare
- Test Prep
- Six Sigma
- Conferences
- Tax Schools
- Anything with CEU’s
- Online Courses
- Instructor Lead Courses
- Professional Development Workshops
- Industry Specific Courses
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Psychology and Health
Public Schools:
- New Catalog Release
- Child Community Enrichment
- Adult Paining
- Online Courses
- Youth Programs
- Arts and Crafts
- History
- Adult and Family Field Trips
- Special Events
- Awards and Recognition
Recreation:
- New Catalog Release
- Nature Education
- Youth Sports
- Summer Camps
- Special Events
- Free Courses/Events
- Seniors’ Programs
- Museum Offerings
- Swim Lessons
- Swimming with Santa
- Free Wave Days
- Courses that have photos
- Sports
Universities:
- New Catalog Release
- Youth Programming
- Summer Swim and Reading
- Fitness
- Languages
- Project Management
- Six Sigma
- Software applications (Excel, etc.)
- Culinary
- Health
- Paralegal
- Professional Land Management
- Test Prep
- Local History
- Programs offered in Partnership with other Departments
- Olli-for seniors
- Summer camps
- Career Training
- Professional Development
