This just in: 18-24 year olds think of email as a “formal” medium of communication. This is ironic, maybe even laughable or disturbing to some. I remember when email was first coming into broader adoption in the mid-90’s I read editorials discussing the demise of manners due to the loss of the personal, handwritten letter.

College students just think differently than us older (ahem, established career) folks. We recently hosted a panel of students from Ball State’s Center for Media Design (CMD) who hit this point home. For them, social media and SMS round out the top forms of personal messaging, and email is the realm of the formal, the land of the adults, parents, professors, and even grandmas. One student on the panel even said: “An email is like getting a letter. It’s just above a Facebook wall post of “sweet things.” Awesome.

This perception of greater importance, gravity, and formality of email could actually serve marketers well. For businesses that know how to respect the rights of their subscribers, and send relevant, permission-based and personalized content there is simply no evidence to support the pundits predicting the demise of the email. Email is still incredibly viable for all age audiences for messaging and permission-based marketing.

The 18-24 demographic is very savvy with technology, however. Growing up with email, they are masters of “making it work” for themselves so it fits with their lives and preferences. At our panel discussion the students commonly reported having multiple email addresses – each address with a distinct purpose. For example, one student said, “I have my college email address for emails from my administration and professors, then a Gmail account for the signing up for ‘stuff I want,’ to get about products, etc…and I have a Yahoo address for spam, which I use when I’m on a gamer site and I just want to play, not get their crap. It’s kind of a throwaway address.”

Everyone likes a handwritten letter. Why? I think there are two main reasons. First, letters are a symbol of caring due to the time investment required to create one. Second, the personal nature of seeing a friend or relative’s handwriting is simply compelling, flattering, and human. Letters are formal and show that the sender “cared” enough to take the time to write, etc. Direct Marketers figured this out in the 80’s and companies like Intelligent Ink sprouted up to add a new type of personal, human touch to direct mail. They employed an army of minimum wage workers with good penmanship to personalize envelopes. Though this technique may seem trite today, when these first hit mailboxes a few decades back the concept was new and differentiated, and the response increase was through the roof!

Think how you can improve your program by adding personalization and a bit of care to your next campaign. Start by thinking of your subscribers as individuals and you’re on the right track.

The future for email, however, is much brighter than it is for direct mail. Even in this down economy, a new study from eConsultancy says that 59% of companies plan to increase their spend on email marketing in the coming 12 months. Now if I could only get a fancy wax seal on my email...

Last week, I had the pleasure of participating on a panel at the inaugural Internet Summit ’08 conference in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The event attracted more than 600 marketing and technology professionals to the Friday Center on the UNC campus. It was a first class event all the way around. My compliments to Eric Gregg, Scott Hedrick and the TechJournal South team who produced this conference.

Our panel tackled the topic, “Next Generation Email Marketing” and not surprisingly, many of the questions focused on how businesses are using email to stay engaged with customers and prospects in today’s challenging economy.

One thing is clear. Those companies that have invested in the development of their email subscriber base are now reaping the rewards for their efforts. Companies that have the ability to use email to nurture leads, convert prospects to buyers, drive repeat purchase, and generate referrals from satisfied customers have a huge competitive advantage over those that don’t. 

At a time when advertising and marketing expenses are being slashed and marketers need to do more with less, it’s no mystery why we are seeing budgets shifting to email. With an average ROI of $45 for every dollar spent (Source: The DMA), email has become the “linchpin solution” for customer retention and growth.

Where to Get Your Email Marketing “Executive MBA”

If you want to know about the top trends and best practices of email marketing, I highly recommend you sign up for the special pre-conference workshop that my friend and colleague Jeanne Jennings of JeanneJennings.com will lead at the upcoming National Center for Database Marketing Conference (NCDM) in Orlando. Our seminar, “Insider Tips for Making Your Email Marketing Efforts More Effective – and More Profitable” will be held on Monday, December 8th from 9:10 AM to 11:50 AM.

Whether you’re managing email, direct marketing, or the web, figuring out the best combination of customer touch points to increase response rates and drive sales shouldn’t be a guessing game. At NCDM, you’ll learn about the latest online and offline analytical approaches, multichannel marketing strategies and technology solutions that you need to make your database marketing program effective.

Get Registered for NCDM!
If you have not yet registered for NCDM, there’s still time and there are plenty of registration options to fit your needs. To register, just go to the NCDM registration page on the NCDM 2008 website where you can also download the complete NCDM 2008 Conference Brochure.

Q:  Are there email design considerations I should make in the midst of a tough economy?

A: Since email design is the artful visualization of a business plan, marketers need to first ensure their communications strategy is solid. The focus should be on the subscriber and the financial challenges he or she is facing. Economy-induced challenges create strong emotional subscriber responses that need to be acknowledged and addressed in marketing communications.

Here are some tips:

1. Show appreciation. Customers should feel appreciated for their loyalty, so include a thank you note or email. Send holiday well wishes and request their feedback on how to better serve them in the new year. This shouldn’t be a check box survey that asks for their satisfaction level on a five point scale, but a sincere open-ended question that allows them to express their needs, concerns, and suggestions. Demonstrate that it is about them, not about you.
2. Be Patient. Your subscriber is a person facing financial challenges, not number 5,241 on your data list. Be careful to avoid damaging your one-to-one relationship by increasing the quantity – and promotional force – of your messages. Subscribers’ disposable income may be stretched, so be sensitive to your level of purchasing insistence. Remember to provide extra relevance during these times to keep brand engagement high – even if purchases wane.
3. Be empathetic. Acknowledge tough times by offering valuable product-related solutions. Think creatively about emotional solutions that may encourage a purchase when budgetary restrictions are loosened. Share stories, solutions or resourceful ideas from other subscribers who are feeling the same economic pain. Consider creating an online community for subscribers to connect with each other. Listen.

All of these tips should be encompassed within the core communications message and resultant design focus. They should not be used as a gratuitous intro sentence preceding a 700 pixel deep promo visual. The message placement and dedicated design real estate demonstrate your sincerity.

Appreciation, patience, and respectful persistence will help nurture strong customer relationships during stressed financial times. The economy will rebound – be sure your loyal subscribers are still with you when it happens.


Melinda Baxter, Director of Marketing Services

Yesterday, an article I wrote on the Best Time of Day to sent email was featured in MediaPost's Email Insider column. The post highlights an interesting new perspective that our friends at The Center for Media Design have provided on when, and how, consumers read email.

The key take away of this article is similar to the key take-aways of the whitepaper we collaborated on, namely, that the details of our consumers lives matter. As we develop an email marketing strategy, we need to keep in mind what is going on in our consumers lives. This applies not only to targeted email campaigns by way of delivering relevant content, but to delivering the right types of messages at the right time of day. Wondering if morning or afternoon is the right time to deliver your messages? Well, based on the insights from CMD, it may depend on the type of message. Newsletters likely make sense early in the morning (especially for B2B marketers) when people first login to their email client and have some uninterupted time to read your message. Direct response messages may work better in the afternoon or evening when subscribers are in "quick hit" mode.
 
To give you a taste for the depth of insight of their work, you can download two free reports from their site. High School Media Too provides a look into a day in the life of 15 teenagers, while Middletown Media Studies 1 is the first wave of this research that they have made available since it is getting a little old. Payment is required for the more recent and more extensive studies, but at worth the investment. BTW, if you can't tell, I am a big fan of theirs.

On May 12, 2008, when the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved four new rule provisions under the US Federal anti-spam law, CAN-SPAM, they also included some very important clarifying information in the related Statement of Basis and Purpose (SBP), which was published shortly thereafter in the Federal Register. The most important bit of that clarifying information relates to forward-to-a-friend messaging and how that messaging is covered under CAN-SPAM.

In a scenario in which someone either receives a commercial e-mail message and forwards the e-mail to another person, or uses a Web-based mechanism to forward a link to or copy of a Web page to another person, the FTC explains that, generally speaking, if the sender offers something of value in exchange for forwarding a commercial message, then that company must comply with CAN-SPAM.

Meaning, if you offer an incentive to people to forward your message to a friend, you have to ensure that they do not forward your message to somebody on your unsubscribe list, else you are liable for a CAN-SPAM violation.

Let’s break it down even further. Imagine this scenario:

• You have a Forward-to-a-friend, invite-a-friend, or any type of viral marketing mechanism where a recipient has the ability to submit an email address, and you then send that person an email.
• You offer an incentive to people to submit their friends’ email addresses.
• You then send an email message to those friends.
• If any of those friends were on your unsubscribe list, if they had previously opted-out from your messages, then you’ve just broken the law.

Not good!

Our recommendation is that you don’t offer an incentive to subscribers to forward your email unless you have ability to honor existing and future opt-out requests. This isn’t typical, standard functionality. If it’s something you plan to do via ExactTarget, make sure you talk to your account manager and the deliverability services team, to better understand the legal liabilities and technical requirements relating to any sort of forward-to-a-friend process.

In closing, here’s one additional thing to keep in mind: If that message you send purports to be from the friend, the friend must have control of content. In the past, the FTC levied record fines against a company who sent messages as the friend, but didn’t give the friend control over the content. This is the kind of thing where they’re likely to actively prosecute bad actors. As always, make sure you don’t implement this in a way that makes you look like a bad actor.

I know you’ve heard me tout the value of personalizing email content hundreds of times. Still, I am amazed that many marketers don’t believe personalizing email is worth the effort! So, for those of you who still doubt the value of personalization, here’s more proof.

Writing in the October 28th issue of MediaPost’s Email Insider, Alex Madison and Lisa Harmon of email marketing agency, Smith-Harmon, note that a report put out this past summer by the Aberdeen Group found that top performing, or "Best-in-Class," organizations that collected and used data to personalize email campaigns, experienced an average order value increase of 57%.”

The report “Email Marketing: Get Personal with Your Customers” identifies the effects of email personalization on subscriber engagement. The study represents the views of more than 550 organizations and groups companies based on annual performance increases. Through their survey, Aberdeen found that top performing organizations (referred to as “Best-in-Class”) are twice as likely as “Laggards” to use the information collected within their database to personalize email campaigns.

Thomson CompuMark Believes in Personalization

Dave Wieneke, Interactive Marketing Manager at Thomson CompuMark, has proven the value of email personalization. He sends the monthly Client Times Online newsletter “on behalf” of CompuMark’s 22 account managers to attorneys who specialize in brand and copyright law. Each subscriber’s newsletter carries the photo and contact information of the CompuMark account manager with whom they work, and articles are personalized based on the defined preferences of each subscriber.

Says Wieneke, “The dynamic content tools of ExactTarget make this kind of personalization straight-forward; our marketing team implemented this without any specialized resources.”

Since Thomson CompuMark began personalizing email, the number of clickthroughs has increased by 63% and the amount of time subscribers are spending on content has gone up 41%! This is genuine subscriber engagement!

Using CRM Data to Personalize Email Content

One of the reasons Thomson CompuMark has been successful in personalizing email is because they have integrated their CRM system (Salesforce.com) with their email system (ExactTarget). To learn more about how to use CRM and Web Analytics data to personalize email content, download the ExactTarget white paper, “Integrating Email, CRM and Web Analytics”.

As promised earlier this week, I have compiled data showing the influence different channels have on driving purchases. I have only included data for teens and young adults. Moreover, this chart only takes age into account, while the recent white paper provides insights on personas that are more tightly defined specifically to drive insights for email marketing, SMS marketing, and direct marketing strategy at large.



One other point, there have been several questions about the comparisons of email marketing versus social network marketing highlighted in our research. Clearly, each channel plays a distinct role in the marketing mix. The main point regarding Social Networks is that they do not drive consumer to make purchase decisions. They may influence purchase decisions through branding, customer service, etc. But, as a direct marketing vehicle, Social Networks simply aren't the right vehicle to drive purchase decisions.

This from John du Pre Gauntt, senior analyst at eMarketer commenting on plans by Verizon to impose a fee on marketers sending text messages to Verizon customers in an eMarketer article, "Will Mobile Marketers Pony Up for Texts?". The fee was originally proposed as 3 cents per message delivered, and not surprisingly, this plan has been met with resistance from marketers using text messaging.

SMS marketing would change drastically if this goes through. Here are a couple of thoughts on how SMS marketing might change if marketers are assessed fees:

The Bad:

• News alerts (e.g., The New York Times) and social network alerts (e.g., MySpace) would no longer be financially feasible. This according to Steve Livingston as quoted in a recent interview with The New York Times.
• Companies may shy away from customer service alerts (e.g., flight status alerts or financial alerts) due to the cost. This type of customer service message was identified as the most desireable form of SMS marketing in our channel preferences survey.

The Good:

• The caliber of promotional text messages would improve. With higher delivery costs, the ROI won't be there unless campaigns are well executed.
• If used to offset fees charged to subscribers, it could benefit some marketers as the costs associated with text messaging is a major turnoff for consumers. According to our Channel Preferences Survey, 80% of consumers feel marketers should pay them back fro messages. Is the plan to stop passing the credit consumer accounts?

At the end of the day, a move by carriers this direction would encourage promotional marketers and discourage companies using SMS to send alerts. This is contrary to what consumers are looking to receive from corporate text messaging programs.

“Isn’t working downtown on the circle exciting?”  This is a question that my father-in-law, Fred Inniger, likes to ask me whenever I talk to him about working in Event Marketing at ExactTarget.  It’s not really a question; instead it’s a statement he’s making with a question mark conveniently placed at the end of it.  Although Fred lives in Kendallville, Indiana (3 hours northeast of Indianapolis), I believe he considers Indianapolis to be his second home because of how often he comes to Indy for Colts games, Indy 500 races, the City Market, the Slippery Noodle (“Indiana’s oldest bar!”) and other special events or spontaneous occasions.  I’m convinced he should work for the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association (one of ET’s clients - click here to download the case study!) because he loves to talk about all the neat things to do here!

It’s too bad Fred is not an ExactTarget customer because Connections ’08 would be his dream come true.  In a period of 2 ½ days we’ve not only managed to jam pack Connections with outstanding content and speakers, but we’ve ensured the evening events would be “top notch” (in the words of my friend and colleague Joel Book) and leave all Connections attendees with a great taste of Indianapolis.

From the Welcome Party at the newly opened Lucas Oil Stadium to the Awards Dinner at Conseco Fieldhouse, we have Connections attendees covered when it comes to experiencing the excitement of Indianapolis!  I think Fred’s favorite would be our event at Lucas Oil Stadium.  We are going to party in the Bud Light Pavilion – to our north we’ll have an 88’ tall, 244’ wide window with the view of downtown Indy, and to our south we’ll have a view of the new football field – with drinks, music, and Super Bowl champion Coach Dungy speaking in between!  And that’s just the first night!  If basketball is more your thing, night two will bring us to Conseco Fieldhouse to have dinner on the court – with some surprise tricks up our sleeves to make the last night in Indianapolis magical.

If you haven’t done so already, Fred would highly advise you to register for Connections ’08.  And to answer Fred’s question about working in downtown Indianapolis on the Circle:  Yes, it’s a blast!  And I believe we did a great job with planning Connections in Indianapolis to incorporate all of the downtown excitement that we have the privilege to experience here every day. 

Tricia Inniger
Event Marketing Coordinator

Note:  Sorry for my absence on this blog - I have taken the SEC quiet period very seriously!

Regardless of political preference, this year's presidential election has sparked tremendous voter interest.  Young people are getting involved and the promise of better times ahead has everyone thinking about what it means to be an American.  As you might imagine, I have been watching very closely to see how both candidates use email, SMS and social media to drive voter interest and engagement.  

I was very excited to learn that Obama would use SMS to announce his VP.  The value proposition was clear (be among the first to learn of his pick for VP) and the communication had both an urgency and brevity ideal for a text message.  Everything was looking so good - millions opted in, confirmation messages and further opt-in messages were sent (enter zip code for local Obama updates).  

Then it happened - the VP pick was leaked and the Obama camp sent their text messages at 3am eastern time - oops!  Glad that I didn't have my phone near my bed!  I actually received an email (USA Today breaking news alert powered by ExactTarget)  announcing the pick over an hour before Obama's text message arrived!  Email 1, SMS 0.  What a missed opportunity!

The good news is that marketers and even politicians are starting to leverage SMS to engage their subscribers.  Just like email, success with this new medium requires planning, strategy and execution.  If you're interested in learning more about SMS, read our SMS field guide or give us a call.  When used appropriately, text messaging can be a powerful way to connect with your subscribers.

Prepare for it:  your marketing team will come running into your office.  They’ll demand that you drop everything and start programming the API calls that power an SMS program.  Sound familiar?
 
Their urgency is appropriate – as soon as an SMS application is submitted to the wireless carriers, companies have a small window of time to ensure that SMS programs are running as soon as possible to prevent delays in the testing phase of the campaigns.    Delays in the API call programming can cause delays in the testing, and thus, the launch of an SMS program.  
 
But because you’re the technical resource on the project, you’ll want to be ready to either to meet these quick turnaround demands, or with ask the right questions to assess that they’re not ready to go yet.  Here’s where you start: 

1. Request the SMS plan or strategy.  The marketing team or SMS program owner has to complete an application for a short code, including the plan and exact wording for the SMS messages.  This should include JOIN, HELP and STOP messages or messaging flows.  Ask for it!
2. Coordinate.  Once in hand, program the API calls exactly as written in the application.  You may identify some improvements or changes, but the smallest changes may or may not cause the wireless carriers not to decline approving the program.  
3. Be ready for more.  It seems that no matter the level of planning, you can expect a few quick change requests from the marketing team as wireless testing begins.  OK, this is true of any project, not just SMS.  

Likely, no amount of planning will prevent the marketing team from hovering over your shoulder as your program these API calls, but if you can ask the right questions and consider the three items above, you’ll be able to manage.

R.J. Taylor
Product Marketing Manager

Anyone that has driven west across South Dakota knows about a little drug store called Wall Drug. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Drug  Located in the diminutive town of Wall, South Dakota, Wall Drug is resident Ted Husted’s tourist destination through nothing less 50-years of brilliant self-promotion.  The initial promotion started back in the 1930’s. As Wikipedia reports, “Business was very slow until his wife, Dorothy, got the idea to advertise free iced water to parched travelers along the road. From that time on business was brisk. Wall Drug grew into an enormous cowboy-themed shopping mall/department store.” By 1981 they reported serving over 20,000 cups of ice water per day, which is pretty impressive for a little town of 231 residents.

(If you haven’t heard of Wall Drug’s promotions, my friends further south tell me it is similar to the “See Rock City” campaigns for this icon in Chattanooga, TN).

I was reminded of Wall Drug recently while out driving in south-western Minnesota, some 500 miles from Wall, SD. They had a little road sign near the highway saying something like: “Been to Wall Drug lately?”  By erecting billboards across neighboring states, Wall Drug has created itself as a destination. The closer you get to Wall on highway 90 the more billboards you will see. Nearly every mile or two you’ll see a billboard ranging from 2’ x 3’ to 50’ x 80’ reminding you to visit Wall Drug.

But, they also use their billboard strategy across the world. One billboard in Amsterdam read: “5397 Miles to Wall Drug.” That concept got me thinking, is it really effective to post a billboard over 5,000 miles from a brick-n-mortar store?

For the most part, the folks at Wall Drug are direct marketers. They have “profiled” me by the fact that I’m in a car driving toward Wall, likely a hot/stuffy one, and I just may need a break. They’ve exploited the fact that I’m probably weary of the repetitive (albeit beautiful) scenery of middle South Dakota. And, they’ve taken this a step further by posting signs in nearby states, assuming at some point I’ll be that guy in the car and I’ll need a break when I’m driving to Mount Rushmore. Also, they’ve taken that a step further by branding themselves across the globe, presumably such that future international tourists will stop on their way to Mount Rushmore to see what all the fuss is about.

In the automobile days of the 50’s throughout the 90’s a billboard was a great way to make an impact on a new audience. As Americans begin to drive less due to fuel costs, what will replace the Great American Billboard? Can email be the answer?

Since over 95% of the population uses email, it has developed the reach and importance in our daily lives to allow marketers to create an online brand that scales much beyond what you might predict, much like Wall Drug has using older methods. Here’s the difference, the reach is actually bigger and isn’t limited to likely buyers based on proximity or chance. In fact, the timely nature and targeting capabilities of an email program integrated with other web technologies brings us opportunities for customer interactions the world has yet to see. Take concepts such as “out of stock” notifications, or “single use coupons” delivered via email, for an example. This is like Wall Drug beaming a coupon to approaching cars or catching them on the way back from Rushmore with a “now in stock” message. Try that with a billboard!

My pal Morgan Stewart recently presented some of these concepts at eTail East 2008 in Washington, D.C., and the folks at catalog success wrote about it. Great stuff!
See: http://www.catalogsuccess.com/story/story.bsp?sid=115096&var=story&3970

Q: I work in the industrial b-to-b market. I have been told NOT to include graphics or photos of any kind, as these are typically caught in spam filters. Is this true? Do you have a strategy (other than the one you state here) to create more attractive emails in the b-to-b world?

A: Having too many images in an email can limit the effectiveness of a B-to-B campaign, but when used appropriately, images can improve your results. Images in and of themselves are inherently good and will not cause your email to get caught in a spam filter. Sender reputation plays the largest role in determining whether or not you end up in the junk or bulk folder. Reputation is primarily influenced by your bounce and complaint rates.

Images can be a great way to promote brand synergy. Placing your logo in the upper left hand corner of your email helps to create brand recognition and trust with your subscribers. The more subscribers trust you, the more likely they are to interact with your campaign. Your branding should be cohesive across all of your different marketing channels in order to present a consistent voice to your clients.

The effective use of background colors, borders, and varying text treatments can help make your email easier to read. This allows for an email design with visual impact that doesn’t rely solely on images. Due to the prevalence of image blocking among popular email clients (specifically Microsoft Outlook in the B-to-B space), you want to maintain a proper balance of images and HTML text. It’s better to treat your headlines and primary call-to-action as HTML text in order to ensure that information is seen even when images are not displayed.

Regardless of whether or not you have a B-to-B or B-to-C audience, I cannot stress enough the importance of relevant content. Content should be timely and add value to your subscriber’s lives. Long emails that don’t have a clear call-to-action are more likely to be ignored and deleted, and a clear and focused message will pay dividends. Instead of including the full article for a news item, use one to three sentences as a teaser and link to the full article externally. The full article can be hosted on your website, in a Word document or PDF stored in the ExactTarget document library, or in an ExactTarget microsite landing page. This will cut down on the length of your email and allow your subscribers to easily skim the content.

Performance driven email design is a combination of many factors. Your design should make appropriate use of HTML text and images, as well as have a subscriber-centric content strategy. Provide your subscribers with a relevant and valuable communication and you will be rewarded with a strong company-client relationship.

Tim Siukola
Senior Email Marketing Designer

This is a common question I receive from clients who are implementing CRM and web analytics into their email program.  Regardless of how well-planned their integration strategy is, taking the first step towards integrating “the big three” can be a bit overwhelming.  I always reassure clients that ExactTarget has different levels of integration with both CRM and web analytics packages, which allows the customer to integrate at their own pace.  

Getting Started

On the simple end of the integration scale, the option to push email tracking data into a CRM and/or web analytics package is a great place to start.  This allows for email information to be housed in the same location as all other contact information, essentially creating a “single database.”  It provides the visibility into what emails were sent, opened or clicked, and  what web traffic resulted from your email campaign.

The Next Step

In the middle of the integration scale, there’s an option to act upon this email and web traffic data as needed.  For example, once an ExactTarget client is comfortable with the information being tracked in their database, the next step is to take action with this information.  This means slicing and dicing the tracking information, which is usually done in the CRM or analytics system by using segmentation or reporting options.

Raising the Bar

On the complex end of the integration scale is the option to automate complex “closed-loop” marketing campaigns.  With closed-loop marketing, everything is automated and complex business scenarios have been planned out.  There can also be several programs or campaigns running simultaneously.

When the business logic and email triggers have been properly set up, campaigns can happen automatically.  While the actual integration is not that complicated, the business process usually is.  Closed-loop marketing requires that you have a plan and know exactly each step it takes to complete your campaign. Often the biggest hurdle to achieve closed-loop marketing is planning – it requires for the entire process to be planned and the proper triggers to be in place for the automation.  In my experience, this is often not the way one-to-one marketing programs operate.  However, getting out of the “reaction” mode to the planning mode is a huge step towards closed-loop marketing.

This is a quick overview of Email + Web Analytics + CRM integrations. Keep your eyes open for our latest whitepaper, Integrating Email + CRM + Web Analytics: How to Build a One-to-One Marketing Machine, to learn more (and to see where you stack up). The good news is that we’re ready to help you no matter what stage is next for you!

Jessica Koch
Integration Consultant

As part of ExactTarget’s Route 1-to-1: The New eMarketing Essentials seminar tour, I have had the honor to speak coast-to-coast to audiences who are passionate about email marketing to the point of obsession.  They fret over subject lines.  They challenge their design assumptions through testing.  They debate how to segment and when to send.

Don’t get me wrong, this passion is great and should be rewarded.  However, if you’re only thinking about how to optimize your campaign-based email marketing efforts, you may quickly find your organizational influence on the wane.

The truth of the matter is that discreet email “campaigns,” are but a small drop in the ocean of emails that most companies send.  The lion’s share of email communications increasingly originate out of CRM and related systems (e-commerce, shipping, customer service, sales force automation, etc.).  Accordingly, if you’re not a part of the CRM team in your company, you need to get a seat at that table—and quick!

The importance of the email marketer’s role in any companies CRM efforts cannot be understated:

• Email is the most prevalent form of communication in any CRM program because it is cost-effective, immediate, and measurable.
• Out-of-the-box integration with Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and other solutions make it easier than ever for email marketers to have a positive impact on their company’s CRM efforts.
• Email is a medium made better by strategic design.  Leaving any CRM-related email to be designed by non-marketers is a recipe for text emails that may do more damage than good to your brand.
• Email measurement should be consolidated through your marketing team’s web analytics solution.  Marketers have skin in the ROI game and, therefore, are more likely to ensure that web analytics are leveraged properly so they can test and improve communications across all CRM efforts.
• The “single view of the customer” holy grail of CRM is about consolidating not only consumer purchase behavior but also communication history and responsiveness into a single database of record.  Marketing has the best skill set to positively influence and evolve such communications to increase performance.

CRM is not just a technological solution.  It is a strategy, enabled by technology, and delivered through strict business processes.  Absent a passionate email marketer’s contribution, most CRM efforts are doomed to under perform—and they may even undermine your broader marketing efforts. 

As email marketers, we can’t let this happen.  So go get your seat at the CRM table and come prepared to make an impact.  Immediately.

If you have not come across Dan Ariely yet, I suggest you become acquainted. Ariely is Professor of Behavioral Economics at MIT whose recent book Predictably Irrational is on the NY Times Business Bestseller list. I came across a recent presentation from him at a MarketingProfs event in Boston. He is a phenomenal presenter with both informative and entertaining content. 

There are a number of ideas that this presentation has spurred in me related to email marketing strategy. From the building and management of email lists, to execution of email marketing campaigns, there is something all of us can take away.

The biggest take away for me is to pay close attention to the balance between the financial world and the social world--that there is a complex relationship between the two that we can interrupt to help our organizations prosper. It's all about context and creating a perception of value.



I encourage you to take some time to watch this. It is a bit long, but worth the ideas it should generate. In addition, you can check out a site entirely dedicated to these ideas at www.predictablyirrational.com.

Reside is an ExactTarget client and sponsored the Route 1 to 1 event in Minneapolis. As part of the event, they conducted a survey of attendees and came up with some interesting results.

The average respondent indicates 2.5 marketing focuses for '08-'09, with the most common combination being "Drive Higher Sales" and "Engage Prospects".  However, for same-company respondees (representing 33% of the overall mix of participants), there seems to be a great discrepancy in identified focus.  A full 50% of these participants had a zero match to their colleagues when identifying their focuses for the year.  Of the remaining, those who matched their colleagues' identified focuses did so only half the time (49%).  Could there be room in the marketing department for clarity of focus and business objectives?

On the surface, these results may seem surprising. However, more often than not I see this issue where colleagues who work side by side every day do not have a common definition of success. I hear it already... "But WE don't have that issue!" Everyone says that. "Our objective is to drive revenue!"  Yeah, everyone says that too. But, do your objectives drive decision making? Are there clear standards for how decisions should be made?

Companies that do this well have a marked advantage over the competition. In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath cite one reason for Southwest Airlines success is the fact that they have successfully communicated objectives to the ENTIRE organization. "Be THE low cost airline." Followed by "Have Fun!" Everything they do flows from there. Faced with a question about adding in-flight meals? Nope, that is not in line with their objectives. Make jokes over the PA? Sure, why not?

Without these clear guidelines, people fulfill their roles and focus on their personal objectives--there is no compass to guide day to day decisions. This is not a moral statement... it's simply human. And... it provides a simple explanation for the results of Reside's survey.

For some practical tips on evaluating objectives for email marketing, check out David Baker's recent article on Mediapost.

The Partnership Team is pleased to announce that ExactTarget has joined Bazaarvoice Radius.  Bazaarvoice, a long standing ExactTarget Marketing Technology Partner, helps clients build and grow a social commerce strategy by generating and managing the community 'voice' on company websites.  One of their products, Ratings and Reviews, helps millions of online shoppers (including myself) decide what (or sometimes what not) to purchase by reading buyer opinions and ‘scores’ of a given product.

With the launch of their new site, Bazaarvoice Radius, partners of Bazaarvoice are able to showcase their solution and detail how it fits into a social commerce strategy.  As it turns out, email plays a crucial role in growing and maintaining any social commerce ecosystem!   Sending email is one easy way to encourage community participation and reward brand loyalty.  Better yet, you can get the most out of valuable user generated content by delivering it in a meaningful, relevant marketing message.

Curious to see how ExactTarget can help jump start your Bazaarvoice investment?  Check out our Radius page.  Don’t have a social commerce strategy?  It’s never too late to start!

Lauren Hertler
Partner Relationship Manager

All email marketers face the challenge of getting their emails to the inbox.  The last thing you want is for your well-planned communication to end up in the junk folder.  Variables such as your sender reputation, list hygiene and permission play a huge role in the deliverability equation – but you can also use design to positively impact your inbox presence as well.

In order to increase the chances that your messages will find their way to your subscribers’ inbox, consider employing an “Add to Address Book” strategy.  This can be achieved by including a short sentence or two (typically at the top of your message) asking subscribers to add your “from address” to their white list or address book.

The benefits of being in your subscribers address book are twofold.  For starters, this will get you around most of the filters at major ISPs and desktop email clients. Secondly, the majority of email clients will automatically display images in emails that come from known senders. This eliminates the extra click subscribers have to take to manually display the images.

When implementing an “Add to Address Book” strategy, be mindful of prime placement and include this language as HTML text at the top of your email. This will help to ensure that the important information appears within the preview pane and isn’t blocked when images aren’t displayed.

To recap: improving your deliverability can be as easy as asking your subscribers to add you to their address book.  This simple action can help keep your emails out of the junk folder and combat image blocking.  After all, when it comes to getting your message delivered to your subscribers, every little bit helps.

Tim Siukola
Senior Email Marketing Designer

You may have read about the Midwest's recent flooding woes (and tornados, but who's counting...). Normally I don't watch the weather too closely -- there's no way I can change it, so I may as well just go about my business, right?

But last week was a different story.

By the time I headed to bed Thursday night, the sky had turned strange shades of grey/green/pink. Signs which -- to an Indiana native -- mean trouble. I glanced over at my weather radio, debating whether to activate it for the night. But somehow at that moment, the possibility of being awakened at 2am by its deafening alarm seemed worse than being swept away in a flood or hurled into a telephone pole by a funnel cloud.

I needed an alternative.

As I stared at my desktop alert screen from The Weather Channel, I noticed a sidebar call-to-action for text weather alerts. Perfect. My little phone's text chirp would alert me of danger during the night (or any other time) -- without causing the same heart attack as my weather radio.

Literally 4 seconds after entering my phone number and clicking submit, my phone made its first chirp. Flipping open the panel, a confirmation text message awaited. That was fast!

I turned back to my computer and decided to subscribe to email alerts, as well. After all, sometimes I'm near my computer but without phone access -- and vice versa.

Over the last 4 days, I've been very pleased with The Weather Channel's alerts. They told me I'd survive the Jack Johnson concert Friday night -- but to watch for dark flooded roads on the way home. They told me to stay in last night when the sky turned pink and another downpour ensued.

The Weather Channel allowed me to select which communication channels I preferred -- desktop alerts, text message, and email. But I might not choose the same combination for info from my favorite clothing store or band. That's why it's so important to let your SUBSCRIBERS RULE! the method, frequency, and content they receive from you.

Download ExactTarget's 2008 Channel Preference Survey Whitepaper for the latest research and analysis of consumer communication channel opinions and usage. Using one of the most comprehensive studies to date, this whitepaper will help you plan a multi-channel marketing strategy that puts your subscribers back in the driver's seat.

The benefit? They'll appreciate the information you have to offer, be loyal, and -- if you're lucky -- even blog about how great you are...

Nicole
Marketing Communication Associate

ps -- The profits from Friday's show are going to help Indiana flooding -- thanks Jack!