Unless you avoided the news for the past few days, then you’ll be aware that Rory McIlroy won the Open Championship yesterday.
Here are some notes from his success.
1. Planning
Rory’s plan for the Open championship was simple. Attack the Par 5’s. This was a strategy that was successfully applied in the past by Tiger Woods. Everyone knew his plan, it was mentioned pretty regularly in the commentary.
2. Application
The first round went to plan and he raced into the lead. However in Golf it is a marathon not a sprint and it is pretty rare for the first round leader to win at the end. In the last few tournaments, Rory has started really well and then had a shocker the next day.
His solution, focus on small targets and keep to the plan. So if his score was 6 under, his immediate target was 7 under. And wait for the par 5’s.
3. Measurement
Despite massive LED scoreboards all over the course, his measurement of success was based purely on his score and not the field. This kept him focused on performing to the plan.
Applying these principles to email marketing
The same principles applied by Rory in his success can be applied successfully by you when applying email marketing.
1. Planning
What is the outcome you want from your email marketing? Is it long term, is it short term?
Creating a measure of success before you start will really help you understand the outcomes later.
Also – remember to make sure that you can collecting the data you need to measure success.
2. Application
You know what you want as the outcome. He is a check list to make sure you get as close as possible to achieving the plan.
a) Who is the audience you need to connect with?
Are they existing customers? Should they have certain behaviour or meet a certain criteria?
b) When do you need to connect with them?
Is it after they have done a certain activity? Is it before a specific date?
c) What do you want them to do?
You’ve got the right audience, at the right time – what do you want them to do next. Make sure this is as easy as possible to do.
d) How do you need to connect with them?
What do you need to say or offer to the target audience to get them to do what you want them to do?
Make sure the context of your message is as relevant as possible. Which is a technical way of saying use your common sense.
3. Measure
Testing is a key part of measurement. Wherever possible use tests and A/B testing to define what is working and what is not. Use these tests against small samples of your target audience (10%) to make sure you are on the right track.
Golden rule is Test. Measure. Refine.
Remember Rory didn’t just walk off the street and start smashing it down the fairway. He had an awful lot of practice, to help him figure out how to get the best result.
Finally, even Champions can get it wrong, mentioning Man Utd In your victory speech when the Championship was held at Royal Hoylake Liverpool. An ideal example of the wrong message, to the wrong people, at the wrong time. Not that it mattered, after all he was holding the world famous Open trophy the Claret Jug at the time.
Think about what little changes could make your email marketing really successful. Set a measure of success and give it a try.
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