Holistic Marketing recently analyzed the signup processes of 80 retailers and what amazed me the most was how 87% of retailers have their signup below the fold, invisible to Phone Number List everyone except of those who are determined to work hard and find it. Still, 80% of merchants have an onboarding program in place. So, is the ability to forward an email message to your subscriber (prospect) useful or not? It looks like the website team is saying no and the email teams are saying yes. The problem I believe is due to a disconnect between two teams and what they are being rewarded on. The email marketer fully understands the value of a subscriber, and even the value of a “new” subscriber, eagerly opening, clicking and converting, but they don't “own” the subscription form on the website. However, email marketers are most often rewarded for growing their list, which they have no control over. While the website team, which owns the placement of the form, is not rewarded with the growth of the list and as such removes the priority from the placement of the Phone Number List listing and places it in the footer of website page. It's a paradox that has always frustrated me. So, based on that and to further our report analysis, we looked at the retailer's welcome emails to see if they are making the most of this opportunity. Here are 6 of our findings (including recommendations) 1. 80% of retailers sent a welcome email after signing up On the one hand, we're glad to see that the majority of retailers are following a subscription with a welcome email. On the other hand, why not everyone? As mentioned earlier, welcome emails are considered a best practice by email marketers. Here are just two reasons to Phone Number List message new subscribers right away. They remind subscribers that they have given permission to send commercial emails to their email addresses and are the entry point to being in the subscriber's inbox – a foot in the door by as such. But welcome emails can do so much more for subscribers and brands themselves. Here are three Remind subscribers of the benefits of the email program.