Mobile Direct Marketing

The ExactTarget team invites you to participate in our #ETCafe Twitter chat this Thursday (and every Thursday) from 11am - 12pm ET, where we discuss emerging topics and trends from across the interactive marketing world. This virtual coffee chat is hosted directly on Twitter by @ExactTarget using the hashtag #ETCafe.

This week, we're excited to have Simms Jenkins (@SimmsJenkins) founder & CEO of BrightWave Marketing (@BrightWave). Tied to the launch of his second book, The New Inbox, this week's chat will discuss the future of email, how to truly integrate social and mobile, and what trends and...

It’s amazing to think that just a little over two decades ago, consumers had only two options to communicate across long distances: telephone and mail. In today’s mobile, post-PC world, consumers have countless ways to communicate with each other.

They have similar options when it comes to communicating with brands. The question is, how do consumers determine the proper channel for their communication needs? The decision appears to boil down to six factors:

CONTENT: Is this a marketing message?
As we document throughout the Channel Preference Survey, consumers are much more selective about the...

As I write this, 93% of UK online consumers are email subscribers and 40% of these subscribers are opening, reading and responding to email on their mobile phones or tablets. If you think these statistics suggest UK consumers prefer email above all channels for receiving offers and information from brands, you are absolutely correct!

A new report from eMarketer confirms why more marketing budget is flowing to permission-based email and why email has become “The Linchpin” of integrated digital marketing strategies.

Among the key findings in the report are these:

• Econsultancy and Adestra’s Email...

The ExactTarget team invites you to participate in our #ETCafe Twitter chat every Thursday from 11am-12pm ET, where we discuss emerging topics and trends from across the interactive marketing world. The virtual coffee chat is hosted directly on Twitter, hosted by @ExactTarget. 

You can have a massive subscriber list and a powerful subject line ready to impress, but without the right email designer, your subscribers will be deleting your email long before they notice the CTA.

A highly skilled email designer is a crucial member of your email marketing team, as ExactTarget Regional Manager, Services (Central Region) Chris Studabaker points out. In a recent column for MarketingLand, Chris argues for six required skills that marketers should consider when hiring a designer for an email marketing campaign.

Be sure your next email designer is the best you’ve ever hired...

I'll start with a few simple words to remember: responsive web design is kind of a big deal. Even back in 2012, Mashable declared that 2013 would be the year of responsive web design, and it couldn't be more true.

I was able to attend a great webinar this week given by Josh Miles of Miles Design called the Responsive Design Revolution. He focused on why responsive design is becoming critical for websites, so I'll take a quick break from talking about email design and share his thoughts on web. For those that focus on email, remember that your message is only as good as the site that you're...

3sixty Live April meetings are coming to a city near you! 

• Connect professionally with the most innovative marketers in your area who also use the ExactTarget software
• Provide a place for sharing both strategies for marketing and ways of technically implementing them on the platform
• Connect directly with ExactTarget resources and people who can help you do your job better
• Innovate with...

The mobile inbox is a powerful tool if used the right way. We know that smart phone penetration in the US has reached 55% and mobile email open rates are over 40%. Almost half of your database is opening email via their mobile phone. Are you designing your emails to display correctly?

You could be leaving money on the table by not designing effective mobile email. Actually, you ARE leaving money on the table. Here are four design tips to help you design for the mobile inbox. Need more tips? Check out our Designing for the Mobile Inbox white paper.

1. Design for Your Audience

Know your...

There were so many inspiring sessions at SXSW this year that it’s hard to narrow it down to a couple highlights. Since it was impossible to attend every session, I bounced the “favorites” question off my two colleagues, David Galante and Doug Wilson, who divided and conquered the Austin conference with me. Here’s our highlight reel from SXSW 2013:

1. Identity in 30 Years: Sam Lessin, founder and CEO of Drop.io and current Director of Identity Products at Facebook, gave a very interesting talk on the evolution of identity management. He made some bold statements about how, in the future, your...

Cross-channel marketing. We're all trying to do it, but how many of us are doing it well? When it comes down to it, how do you put together a really successful cross-channel campaign?

Our advice? Build one campaign across email, mobile, and social media!

In this series of blog posts, I'm sharing three easy steps you can follow to accomplish this:

1. Create a Sweepstakes
2. Get a Committment and Follow Through
3. Measure, Refine, and Repeat!

Today, we'll explore the third and final step.

Step 3: Measure, Refine, and Repeat

In order to truly understand the impact of your campaign--and learn from the results--,...

I recently read an article on TFB (The Future Buzz) which argued against the principle of using simple communications to reach out to the mass of your customers. I must admit, I wholly agree with assuming that you have a smart base of customers! It is definitely apparent that "dumbing down" messages does not guarantee that they will be engaged with by everyone, especially in today's digital age of smart and service-focused consumers.

The same blog post argues that using generic and simple messaging can portray your brand as "cheap" and "untrustworthy." I am not a businessman, but I am sure...

Permission-based email has become the foundation of successful one-to-one marketing, and a company's database of email subscribers is one of its most valuable assets.

And with good reason! As our 2012 Channel Preference Survey revealed, 66% of US online consumers report making at least one purchase that was triggered by an offer received via email. And for BtoB marketing, nothing tops email for aiding the customer’s buying decision. In a 2012 article, BtoB Magazine reported that 59% of BtoB marketers say email is their most effective channel for generating revenue.

At the recent 2013 MarketingShe...

Cross-channel marketing is a key focus for many brands right now. But when it comes down to it, how do you put together a really successful cross-channel campaign?

Our advice? Build one campaign across email, mobile, and social media!

ExactTarget client eBags recently executed a highly successful cross-channel campaign called "Bag an iPad." In this series of blog posts, I'll share the three easy steps they followed:

1. Create a Sweepstakes
2. Get a Committment and Follow Through
3. Measure, Refine, and Repeat!

Ready to get started?

Step 1: Create a Sweepstakes

Your current email subscribers are some of your...

You've launched your mobile program, and fine-tuned to increase customer engagement. Your mobile program is finally in full swing, and you’re looking to create highly personalized messages that are consistent across all areas of your business. Since you know your customer lifecycle well, why not seize the opportunity to streamline interactions using mobile?

Here are some ideas to create a truly engaging mobile experience in months 7-9.

Empower customers to interact with your brand in real-time. Mobile doesn’t have to be a one way conversation—a simple text response allows subscribers to tell...

Once you've got your mobile program up and running, you want customers to feel engaged and have an opportunity to interact with your brand on the spot. And as your mobile efforts mature, it’s critical to provide relevant and dynamic information that keeps subscribers wanting more.

Here are some ideas to help spark real-time customer engagement in your second three months.

Increase real-time mobile interactions. Mobile isn’t just about gaining email opt-ins anymore, so it’s important to continue growing your program in other ways. Consider creating a mobile voting campaign or text-in survey to...

Convenience, ease-of-use, and efficiency are no longer wants, but necessities in our fast-paced society. Auto bill pay, GPS, and other developments in technology continue to automate our lives. Marketers are working to stay at the forefront of their customers’ interactions across channels—including mobile.

Mobile SMS and push messaging are some of the easiest ways to cut through the clutter and get directly in front of customers. Yet, to have a robust mobile presence, it’s the magic behind the display that makes it possible.

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) arm marketers with the...

For the past three years, our SUBSCRIBERS, FANS, & FOLLOWERS research series has taken an in-depth look at consumer preferences as they relate to email, mobile, and social channels. This time, however, we decided to turn the tables—to look in the mirror at our marketing peers. Are there channels that marketers use disproportionately more or less than consumers? Are we more permissive with technology in our own homes? Are we less concerned about the privacy implications of marketing today? Have all our years as early adopters—internet explorers, if you will—impeded our ability to relate to...

STRATEGY OVERVIEW
Regardless of whether you decide to implement SMS into your cross-channel marketing mix, mobile adoption affects other elements of your campaigns—especially email. And, there’s a lot to consider when building mobile-friendly email campaigns:

• Knowing your audience. Sure, more and more people are using mobile. But are your subscribers?
• Optimizing content and design for context. It’s best to think about the environment your email is being viewed in, not the specific device being used or email client sending the message. For example, mobile users are more likely to be...