David,
I recently did some work for a client that showed that while they were getting circa 20% open rates it was pretty much always the same people opening the emails (we did this by analysing across about 3 months of email sends). Of their 50k emailable base, the reality is that only about 10k were even vaguely engaged. This has now lead to a pretty significant piece of work around cross channel re-engagement (combination of in store, web, social, SMS etc.)
So, there are a few things to consider:
- Work out who makes up the 10%.. is it the same 10% week on week. If so, then look at why the other 90% aren't opening (maybe pick up the phone and ask a few).
- Make sure you aren't hitting the major email providers spam traps (this can happen even with SPF and DKIM set correctly). It may be worth checking out www.senderscore.org
- What are your click through rates? Revenue? Event Attendance? Is open rate really the measure of success you are looking for?
- Have you tried to find out what open rates are for similar types of eDM comms in the industry sector you are in? 10% may be normal .
Best of luck getting the rates up.
Regards
Jo
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