How much is too much? Optimising contact frequency is an essential factor for strenghening long-term customer engagement.

In a world where the average email subscriber receives 6 emails per day into their inbox, 53% of which are promotional, marketeers who fail to execute relevant and timely marketing communication risk not only limiting an individual campaign´s ROI but also endangering customer lifetime values.

At DataLab we believe that there is no magic formula for defining how many communications companies should send out to their customers.

Every customer has a difference tolerance level and the customers of a grocery retailer might react positively to regularly receiving up to 5 targeted emails per week. On the other hand, ill-judged email frequency levels will lead to irritation from customers who are likely to unsubscribe from the list altogether.

The ideal level of contact frequency varies by customer and by channel. Companies need to be ready to listen to what their customers are telling them about the way they want to respond and interact with them.

Here are some of our golden rules in this respect:

1. Assess the customers´ level of involvement with the company or product in question to obtain information about what influences the customer´s desired contact frequency (e.g. utilities v. fan clubs)
2. Define the most effective contact channel for the company to get its message across i.e. separate cross-channel communication or mono-channel focus (i.e. email only campaigns v. direct mail)
3. Exemplify the relevance of socio-demographic factors such as gender, life stage (generation X versus generation Y), geography
4. Evaluate the degree of engagement individual customers have with the company. This can vary but is central to defining effective contact rules
5. Focus on the content relevance of marketing messages to the customer base
6. Allow genuine two-way-communication with your customers when they wish it and give these conversations highest priority

Using sophisticated analytical models, we help retailers and brands to identify the optimal frequency for their contact strategy to ensure continued customer engagement. We can also develop sets of algorithms and scores to calculate a customised set of continually refreshed, contact frequency rules.

Even if personalisation at an individualised level is not yet possible for your company, we can created customer segments that will allow you to gain vital insights into your customer base.