Last week, Stephanie Miller of ReturnPath, wrote an excellent article in Email Insider that describes the huge gap that exists between the pretenders and contenders when it comes to effective email marketing.

Stephanie's article is a chilling but accurate assessment of how most companies are mis-managing the email subscriber experience.  Instead of providing relevant information that aids the subscriber’s decision-making process, most companies send “one-size-fits-all” email that is neither personal, relevant or timely.

Despite the compelling evidence from The DMA that in 2008, email’s ROI will surpass $45 for every dollar invested, I am amazed that the majority of companies are still behind the curve when it comes to using email to help prospects make an informed purchase decision.

As more of us go online to research products, the role of email has evolved from a “push” tactic to a “pull” tactic to carefully guide us through the evaluation and consideration process. According to a study conducted by Enquiro Search Solutions in 2007, 85% of business buyers go online during the purchasing process, and 83% found the vendor from which they eventually purchased online. What email has proven it can do – better than any other one-to-one tactic – is move the prospect through the purchase process by delivering information that is tailored to the buyer’s needs.

Clearly, we must do more to teach companies what to do and how to do it right. Fortunately, as we have seen first-hand on ExactTarget eMarketing Essentials city tour, we have plenty of great examples of companies that are using traditional and mobile email to drive sales and build tremendous customer loyalty. Savvy B-to-C marketers like Papa John’s, Cold Stone Creamery and Lindal Cedar Homes are doing it. So are B-to-B marketers like Ariba, Websense and Thomson Reuters.

When it comes to email, the thing that separates the “contenders” from the “pretenders” is that smart marketers use email as the “connective tissue” to keep customers engaged and drive purchase. In fact, ExactTarget’s recently released 2008 Channel Preference Survey revealed that nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they had made a purchase because of a marketing message received through e-mail.

One thing is clear in “The Age of Engagement.” The key to effective email is to personalize it to the needs and interests of the subscriber. If it’s not, email will be viewed by the subscriber as spam and deleted. Brands that continue to treat subscribers with this kind of indifference will find it difficult – if not impossible – to compete.

ExactTarget’s Route 1-to-1 Seminar is serving as a terrific classroom to see first-hand how marketers are using email, CRM and web analytics technologies to automate the lead nurturing process, drive sales, and improve sales force productivity. This seminar is focused on current and future trends in digital one-to-one marketing and if you have been fortunate enough to attend one of these seminars, you know what I am talking about.

In addition to presentations from ExactTarget, speakers include executives from ExactTarget partners Omniture and Salesforce.com, as well as Jeanniey Mullen from the Email Experience Council of the DMA, Aaron Kahlow, Executive Producer of the Online Marketing Summit, and Jeanne Jennings of Jeanne Jennings.com, noted email marketing consultant and ClickZ columnist. And in special “case study” tracks devoted to B-to-B and B-to-C marketing, ExactTarget clients discuss how they use email marketing in their organizations.

We’re at the half-way mark in this year’s tour and already we have seen some pretty impressive examples of B-to-B email marketing at its best

In Atlanta, Michelle McMahon, VP of On Demand Operations for Ariba explained how Ariba uses email to provide industry-specific information and thought leadership to C-level executives regarding the company’s technology solutions that help organizations manage spending and ensure contract compliance.

In Cincinnati, Stephanie Jenkins, VP marketing Communications  of Conseco and Troy Burk of Right On Interactive took attendees on a “behind the curtain” tour of Conseco’s highly successful email strategy for on-boarding new agents. The strategy uses and integrated technology solution that includes ExactTarget for email creation, delivery and tracking, Salesforce.com for customer relationship management (CRM), and 5 Buckets from Right On Interactive to automate the execution of email based on the needs of individual agents.

In Toronto, Dave Wieneke, Interactive Marketing Manager of Thomson Compumark, a global leader in data services for attorneys specializing in brand and copyright protection, described how they have accelerated click through rates by delivering content relevant to the attorney’s area of specialization and sending email “on behalf” of the client’s account executive.

And as the tour rolls into Dallas on June 10th, Nicole Buraglio of Hanley Wood Exhibitions will explain how email has become their main channel for delivering relevant information to trade show exhibitors and attendees, and in Denver on June 12th, Conrad Hall of Conrad Hall & Associates will describe how his client Worksoft has implemented an automated system for lead nurturing that has reduced lead management cost, improved marketing ROI, and led to increased sales.

If you want to see how smart marketers use permission-based email for B-to-B marketing, plan to attend one of the remaining Route 1-to-1 Seminars in your area that run through July. You won’t be disappointed.

Hats off to ExactTarget agency partner, Customer Portfolios for the terrific work they are doing to help Dunkin’ Donuts roll out its new Dunkin’ Perks™ customer loyalty program.

As reported by Amy Johannes in the January 23rd online


As reported by Amy Johannes in the January 23rd online edition of PROMO P&I, Dunkin’ Donuts will use permission-based email to keep customers enthused, engaged, and most importantly . . .  coming back to its stores and its website to take advantage of special offers.

In the article, Joahannes notes that customers who opt-in for the Dunkin’ Perks program will receive e-mails twice a month with product news, store locations and special in-store and online offers. Members get offers throughout the year specific to their local market.

David Tryder, Dunkin’ Donuts manager of interactive and relationship marketing said, “We want to continue building relationships with our customers by sending them targeted communications and offers.”

Localized Promotion

One of the things I like about this program is that many of the promotions Dunkin’ Donuts sends will be specific to the Dunkin’ Perks™ member’s geographic location. I think franchise owners will love this! As I am reminded when I click on the “Perks FAQs” menu item (See My Perks Profile page below), “It's the easiest way for Dunkin' Lovers to keep up to date with everything happening at Dunkin'.”

And just in case a consumer needs help finding a Dunkin’ Donuts store where they can get their DD fix, a handy store locator makes it easy for me to find one.

The Dunkin’ Perks™ program was piloted in Albany, NY last year and went very well according to Nick Godfrey of Customer Portfolios.

As to how the one-to-one marketing program works, Godfrey said, “As customers use their Perks card, all transaction data is captured so we know what they are spending per visit, how often they are visiting their Dunkin’ Donuts store, and at what time of day they are visiting. This enables us to target customers with relevant, just out of reach offers. When customers change their behavior, they are rewarded. Everyone is happy. To that end, we consistently see over a 50% open rate for Perks’ emails!”

Godfrey added, “To ensure customers become accustomed to receiving and recognizing their regularly scheduled Perks email, all emails carry the same subject line: Dunkin' Perks Alert.”

The Agency Behind the Dunkin’ Perks™ Program

Customer Portfolios is the agency behind successful database marketing programs for many brands including Johnston & Murphy, Hat World/Lids, Unicef, World Travel Holdings, and Baskin-Robbins.  The firm’s “Lights-Out Marketing” solution enables organizations to execute highly targeted and triggered email marketing programs that are based on such specifics as the customer's segment, life cycle stage, and purchasing behavior.

I am seeing more and more examples of how smart marketers are using email for customer service. And with today’s generation of APIs (Application Program Interfaces), it’s easier than ever to integrate email technology with database technology to deliver fully automated customer service messages – that are personal and timely – and require no human intervention.

Why more companies do not use email to deliver subscription renewal, billing reminders and other “alerts” is beyond me. It’s just good customer service. And for those companies that do, it is becoming a huge competitive advantage. I don’t have the metrics to support my opinion, but I believe we are getting closer to seeing just how important email is in building relationship equity which in turn builds brand equity.

Here’s a good example.

Last week, I received an email from my 23 year old son, Chris, who is typical of today’s “digital media” consumer who prefers the speed and ease of email. His recent experience with an insurance company serves as a good example of what can go wrong when email is not used to alert customers when their policy is about to expire. Here’s his story:

“I came into the office this morning and realized that my car insurance expired on December 23rd. No email was sent to me from (my auto insurance company) alerting me to the fact that my policy was due to expire and inviting me to renew. This caused me to think about how great it would have been to receive an email with anything in the subject line alerting me to my policy's impending expiration.

This leads to two conclusions about email, one fairly obvious.

1. Subject lines are more important in 2008 than ever. We are inundated with email, and subject lines are being skimmed more and more. There's no longer the necessity to entice the recipient with subject lines, you now must communicate the gist of the message in the subject line.

2. This leads me to my second and slightly less obvious point. No longer is it a perk for us to receive emails alerting us to special offers or information that is timely (like policy expiration alerts)…we now expect it. I have paperless billing for everything. I now expect that when I need to be alerted about something -- of interest or importance -- that I will be informed of via email. In fact, I have come to expect this.

Those of us who work in the field of online marketing understand that today, it’s all about ROI. Is there a better way to generate positive ROI than by retaining an existing customer? For two cents - or whatever the going rate is for email - (my auto insurance company) could have made $960 (I can't wait until I'm 25 for cheap insurance!). I'm not a math wiz, but spending two cents to generate a $960 insurance renewal seems like a pretty good ROI!”

As reported in eMarketer Daily on Tuesday, October 30^th, the Direct Marketing Association is reporting that spending on direct marketing commercial e-mail in the United States will hit $600 million in 2008. That number represents an increase of nearly 25% over 2007.

That statistic is impressive until you consider that – according to the DMA -- spending on non-e-mail Internet direct marketing—such as search and display—is expected to hit $23 billion! Are you kidding me?

Why more marketers are not locked and loaded with email is amazing -- especially when you consider two other findings – also courtesy of the DMA:

• "E-mail produces the highest response rate for lead generation—especially for house campaigns—of all direct mail methods we have studied," according to Anna Chernis, Senior Research Manager.
• Commercial e-mail's ROI will hit $45.65 for every dollar spent in 2008. By comparison, direct response newspaper advertising ROI is $16.86, non-catalog direct mail ROI is $15.60, and telemarketing ROI is $8.61

I have been – and will continue to be – a staunch advocate of multi-channel marketing. But at a time when marketers are being hammered to produce "more juice for the squeeze" from the dollars invested to drive new and repeat sales, many need to seriously re-consider how their marketing dollars are being invested.

If you were fortunate enough to attend DMA '07 in Chicago last week, you could not help but notice the significant increase in the number of sessions (10) devoted specifically to email marketing. And judging by the attendance at these sessions, email is clearly receiving more budget and is fast becoming the “workhorse” of one-to-one marketing.

Traffic in the exhibit hall at McCormick Place was also heavy. More than 79 exhibitors were listed in the show directory as providers of Email Marketing Services, including ExactTarget and agency partner, Aspen Marketing Services.

As a long-time attendee of this annual gathering of direct marketing professionals, I can tell you it is great to see email marketing embraced by the DMA as a legitimate direct marketing channel. The recent union between the DMA and the Email Experience Council is further evidence that email – and specifically permission-based email – has become a vital component in multi-channel marketing strategies for customer engagement, retention and growth.

And the Email Experience Council is already having an impact on the DMA! There is plenty of interest in the upcoming Email Evolution Conference which will be held in San Diego February 12 – 13. If you’re looking to get more juice for the squeeze from your email marketing strategy, you cannot afford to miss this conference.