Automatic Email Campaign

What's the biggest challenge facing your email marketing?

If it's the quality of your email database, you're not alone. According to a new study by Econsultancy, 50% of surveyed marketers cited database quality as the biggest troublemaker in their email marketing strategies. Even more compelling, database quality has held that position three years running. So why is database quality such a big problem? 

Much like gourmet chefs working with spoiled ingredients, marketers working with outdated or unqualified databases have their chances at success handicapped from the start. If your database...

Marketers have some pretty bad habits.

From sending the occasional unqualified lead to sales to not segmenting email lists properly, there are little things we do everyday that we know we could be doing better. 

However, like the millions that make and break New Year's resolutions each year, we find ways to convince ourselves that these little slips are OK, that no real harm can come of them, or that nobody will notice. Unfortunately for the imperfect marketer, these excuses provide less protection for us every year.

We are operating in an age of marketing where more is expected of us than ever...

When it comes to email marketing in the B2B space, one of the hottest new trends is drip-nurturing campaigns created with marketing automation. With the adoption of marketing automation reaching as high as 76% in the most progressive industries, it is easy to see why nurturing is the new “black”. So let's look at one of the biggest mistakes people make when creating lead nurturing emails.

First, let's talk about what a nurturing program actually is. Whatever term you use--drip-nurturing, lead nurturing, email nurturing, etc.--a nurturing campaign is an email program that executes automatically...

Marketing automation is the intersection of many useful features and functions. It's a proven fact that marketing automation software gives marketers full visibility into aspects of the sales cycle that were previously a mystery. But the sheer number of buttons and tools can seem daunting if they're not old-hat to you just yet.

As you begin to build an effective marketing automation program, you can begin to gain a holistic view of your marketing activities. From there, you can streamline traditionally manual processes (like customer segmentation, email marketing, and campaign management).

Start ...

As a kid my favorite question was "Why?" I'd ask my mother and father a hundred times a day, "Why this", and "Why that"?

They were good parents and would indulge my mindless questions. I never stopped asking questions, and as a marketer you should never stop asking that most important question: "Why?"

Marketing automation is a recent phenomenon and has made huge waves. Clicz.com reported 76% of the worlds largest SaaS companies are using marketing automation, and among these are some of the biggest brands in the world. The question you should ask yourself, is "Why?" Why are so many comapnies...

Let’s face it: gaining and retaining customers can often feel like a delicate negotiation process. What is the right mix between what you’ll give in the way of offers and discounts to what your customers gain through their interactions with you?

However, retailers will have more than just price in their bargaining arsenals. In this post, we explore the benefits of using an abandoned cart program to recapture lost revenue.

#1 Way Retail Marketers are Leaving Money On the Table: Not Having an Abandoned Cart Strategy

Our Retail Touchpoints Exposed data found that only 22 percent of retailers on the...

Everything was going fine. You had set up your email marketing campaigns properly, all of your subscribers were double opt-in, you were sending emails on the right frequency, and your content was exactly what you had promised.

As far as you knew, people loved this stuff.....

But then, out of the blue, Gmail and the other ISPs started blocking your emails! But why? Why? Because those subscribers aren't interacting with your email anymore. They've become disinterested. They've become what are now known as 'the un-engaged.'

Just sending email to your subscribers isn't good enough

Just sending email...

Are you monitoring and engaging customers on Facebook and Twitter? Do you include an email address in the contact section of your brochure site? Then why are you telling your email subscribers not to reply?  

I am always surprised at the number of messages--and not just transactional--that include "Do Not Reply" in the from name, reply address, or both.  You have worked too hard to grow your list and create relevant content to stifle the conversation now!

A primary benefit of the email channel is to create a one-on-one dialogue with your subscriber. If the first thing your readers see is an...

And so it begins again. The Consumer Electronics Show is currently running in Las Vegas and is full of technological advances and surprises. This year’s show boasts over 155,000 attendees and more than 3,000 exhibitors.

We know many of you are already at CES, and are looking to make the most of this crazy technology show. Whether you are exhibiting or just attending, it is important to remember some digital marketing guidelines to help make the most of your networking. So here are some quick tips on how to leverage mobile, social, and email to maximize your experience.

1. Create Twitter Lists to...

Over the next several weeks, we will be sharing predictions on the future of marketing from 25 industry thought leaders. These predictions have been compiled in our new whitepaper, Inspired Marketing Predictions for 2013. Today, ExactTarget’s own Bryan Wade shares his thoughts.

The Year of the First Impression

When it comes to email, 2013 will be all about making that first impression of the email count, reaching your readers wherever they are, and making sure your message gets read. The changing landscape for where and how emails are being viewed opens the door for new innovations in email....

I’m a firm believer that the fine line between B2B and B2C is blurry. Similar to consumers, it’s important to engage businesses in conversations on the channels they use most, building meaningful relationships to drive business.

Each Thursday at 11am EST, marketers from around the world join the ExactTarget user community on Twitter for a conversation about trends and campaign ideas across the interactive marketing industry. We call this virtual coffee chat ExactTarget Café.

Our guest for a recent #ETCafe chat was Peter Chase (@peterrchase), Executive Vice President at Scribe Software Corporation. During the chat Peter shared his insights into leveraging data to drive more successful campaigns. This was Peter’s and his team's first time on the chat and we had some amazing conversation!

Here's a recap from our...

For residents of Cincinnati and the surrounding areas, Graeter’s ice cream is a staple. In fact, the fourth-generation family-owned company has been around for 142 years and boasts some of the most brand loyal customers.

When the company took the leap in 2010 to expand the brand nationwide through retail partners championed by Kroger, it needed a way to continue engaging its current customers while creating relationships with new customers. Graeter’s partnership with ExactTarget proved to be successful, allowing the company to connect with its patrons across the country through...

What better way to celebrate Super Bowl XLVI than with a free Papa John’s pizza? At least that was Papa John’s thought when it launched its Super Bowl-themed FREE PIZZA FAST campaign, which integrated email, mobile, social media, television, print advertising and Website promotion to drive sales. And consumers seemed to agree.

ExactTarget recognized the pizza giant’s innovative campaign by naming it the Best Cross-Channel Marketing of 2012 in its annual Power of ONE Awards during Connections last week.  

As a way to drive engagement and encourage participation in its Papa Rewards loyalty...

It is important to understand the value of automation within your email marketing strategy. Take Oovie for example, we wrote about their automation strategy this summer. Oovie experienced a 30% increase in sales using integrated and automated email marketing. Automation is extremely important to the health of any marketing strategy and it can be used to drive significant increases in revenue. 

Why is automation important? Routine and time-intensive tasks like data movement, segmentation, and messaging programs become easy with “set it and forget it” functionality. The right marketing automation...

Ah yes, the wonderful world of reengagement. It’s easy to think that once a subscriber provides you with their email address, they’re yours for life! But in reality, they could un-engage and start ignoring your communications at any moment.

Subscribers stop engaging for a number of reasons—message volume, frequency, irrelevancy, etc. But many retailers are sitting back and watching this happen, without adjusting their programs to reengage these subscribers. In fact, many marketers continue sending the same messages at the same frequency to lists where more than 50% of the subscribers haven’t...

Our recent SUBSCRIBERS, FANS and FOLLOWERS research report, Retail Touchpoints Exposed found that only 22% of the Hot 100 retailers with ecommerce sites send cart abandonment emails to shoppers who failed to finish their transactions.

Appliances Online, the largest U.K. online appliance retailer, is taking advantage of missed sales opportunities by sending targeted email offers to shoppers based on their outstanding orders. The cart abandonment campaign automatically triggers personalized emails to customers who abandon their online purchase during check out. Follow-up emails feature Appliances...

Looking to drive sales and repeat purchases?

Hoyts Kiosk’s email campaigns helped drive a 30 percent year-over-year sales increase. Take a look at Hoyts Kiosk’s recent post-rental campaign powered by ExactTarget that drove a repeat purchases.

Hoyts Kiosk, Australia’s largest network of DVD rental machines, boosted repeat rentals more than 70 percent since launching its new automated post-rental email campaign. With a customer base of more than 600,000 and a rental volume totaling more than 5 million, Hoyts Kiosk launched its automated post-rental program in November 2011 providing its growing...

At ExactTarget, we pride ourselves on empowering our clients to connect with their customers to drive engagement that builds loyalty and brand advocates. One of the highlights of my day is getting to spend time talking with our great clients and diving into their innovative campaigns across email, mobile and social.

One of Celebrity Cruises’ recent campaigns focused on transforming on-hold bookings into reservations with an automated email campaign. The campaign saw a double digit percent boost by triggering custom emails to potential travelers featuring their preferred destinations, cruise...

At ExactTarget, we pride ourselves on empowering our clients to connect with their customers to drive engagement that builds loyalty and brand advocates. One of the highlights of my day is getting to spend time talking with our great clients and diving into their innovative campaigns across email, mobile and social.

One of Celebrity Cruises’ recent campaigns focused on transforming on-hold bookings into reservations with an automated email campaign. The campaign saw a double digit percent boost by triggering custom emails to potential travelers featuring their preferred destinations, cruise...