Reviewing your EFT ratio

A simple way to compare the engagement of customers on email and social networks

In 2009, Dave Chaffey wrote a blog post on Smart Insights in which he introduced the concept of the EFT Ratio.

EFT stands for Email: Facebook: Twitter Ratio and, as an example, he used ASOS. Dave was explaining that, at the time, it showed how email gave a capacity to reach many more customers with tailored messages. It also showed how ASOS used Email for a combination of engagement and driving sales as shown by their current email signup page:

ASOS EFT ratio

I thought it would be interesting to see how this looked today since ASOS has been very active in social media marketing. This is how it looks:

• 2009 ASOS EFT was 100 Email : 8 Facebook : 1 Twitter

This was calculated from a total of two million email registered users (1.2 million of them being active customers), 161,000 Facebook fans and 91,000 Twitter followers.

In a recent presentation on integrating email and social, I thought I would update these figures and bring them in line with 2011. Here's how they look now:

• 2011 EFT Ratio had risen to 100 to 21 to 3

These use the recently published figures of 6.3 million registered email users (3.7m of these being active customers defined as shoppers who have purchased within the last 12 months), 1.3 million Facebook fans and 222,000 Twitter followers, I found that the EFT Ratio had risen to 100 to 21 to 3. Nice growth ASOS!!

I realise EFT is a very simple measure and by no means is an indication of ROI. You have to look at touchpoint modelling across the customer journey to understand the full picture better. Such data can make an even more powerful case for investment in email marketing.

If anyone is interested in either fashion or social media, then you’re most likely aware of the great social programme that ASOS has, which explains the change in the ratio values as well as the increase in fans and followers.

Email is core communication for ASOS

So, all of these social media fans and followers pale to relative insignificance when you take into account that with 6.3 million registered users.  Email is still the core of their digital marketing communications, but integrated with social media marketing. In my next post, I'll take a look at how they email, to learn from some of their best and could be improved practices.

Thanks to Kath Pay of Email marketing consultancy Plan to Engage for sharing her advice and opinions in this post. Kath is also the Chair of Events and Communications Hub for the Email Marketing Council of the DMA UK where she edits the DMA Infobox Enewsletter.