Email Marketing Research
The latest email marketing research, stats
and strategy from Morgan Stewart, ExactTarget’s
Director of Research & Strategy
The Email Research Center
Upon first glance of the chart included in our Facebook X
Factors report, it’s tempting read between the lines and
proclaim, “Coupons, deals, and discounts are the why consumers
become FANS on Facebook.”
True, 40% of respondents to our Subscribers, Fans, and Followers survey indicated that they have been motivated to become a FAN by promotions and coupons, slightly more than have become a FAN “to show support for the brand.”
However, every statistic, every article, every strategy, and every tactic must be interpreted in context. So, here’s some context for why simply promoting coupons is not...Read More »
True, 40% of respondents to our Subscribers, Fans, and Followers survey indicated that they have been motivated to become a FAN by promotions and coupons, slightly more than have become a FAN “to show support for the brand.”
However, every statistic, every article, every strategy, and every tactic must be interpreted in context. So, here’s some context for why simply promoting coupons is not...Read More »
Talking to marketers, more and more companies are finding value in
Twitter, yet there are some that still struggle to convince
executive management that the investment of time is worthwhile.
Perhaps those executives are influenced by conversations like the
one I had this morning.
“You use Twitter?”
“Yes.”
“Why? What’s the point? Do you really care what other people had for lunch?”
“No, but...” and suddenly I find myself selling the value Twitter. Have you had this experience?
Twitter X Factors is the fourth report in our Subscriber, Fans and Followers research series. This report digs into why...Read More »
“You use Twitter?”
“Yes.”
“Why? What’s the point? Do you really care what other people had for lunch?”
“No, but...” and suddenly I find myself selling the value Twitter. Have you had this experience?
Twitter X Factors is the fourth report in our Subscriber, Fans and Followers research series. This report digs into why...Read More »
Josh Perlstein at Response Media asked a question on the Inbox Insiders
list hosted by Bill McClosky of Email Data
Source yesterday, "Is there any recent research about the % of
US consumers who read email on their smartphone versus their
PC?"
I immediately realized that I asked questions about this on the 2009 Channel Preferences Survey, but somehow these statistics never made it into the final report. So, without further delay, here they are:
This is particularly important given internet analyst Mary Meeker's recently prediction that smartphone shipments will surpass PCs within two years....Read More »
I immediately realized that I asked questions about this on the 2009 Channel Preferences Survey, but somehow these statistics never made it into the final report. So, without further delay, here they are:
This is particularly important given internet analyst Mary Meeker's recently prediction that smartphone shipments will surpass PCs within two years....Read More »
Consumers use different email, Facebook, and Twitter differently
and when they choose to engage brands on Facebook or Twitter,
theses typically represent new layers of engagement with brands.
They don’t isolate their engagement with brands to social
media.
Overall, more than 90% of consumers who are a Facebook Fan are also Email Subscribers. Approximately three-quarters of those that Follow a company on Twitter are also Email Subscribers.
This is perhaps the most shocking when looking at young consumers. 46% of consumers 15-24 engage with brands via email and on Facebook and/or Twitter. Only 2%...Read More »
Overall, more than 90% of consumers who are a Facebook Fan are also Email Subscribers. Approximately three-quarters of those that Follow a company on Twitter are also Email Subscribers.
This is perhaps the most shocking when looking at young consumers. 46% of consumers 15-24 engage with brands via email and on Facebook and/or Twitter. Only 2%...Read More »
As marketers, we often look for industry specific marketing
benchmarks and examples. As a consultant, one of the first
questions I often get is, “What experience do you have working in
our industry?” To which I generally reply, “Some, but my experience
working with clients across a broad range of industries is more
beneficial to you.”
Why? By knowing what works in one industry vertical we gain an understanding of the rules that govern our customers’ behavior that can be applied to other industry verticals.
Take financial services as an example. Here are three statistics we have uncovered in our...Read More »
Why? By knowing what works in one industry vertical we gain an understanding of the rules that govern our customers’ behavior that can be applied to other industry verticals.
Take financial services as an example. Here are three statistics we have uncovered in our...Read More »
Take a look at these two pictures.
Restaurant #1
Restaurant #2
Now... where would you rather eat?
Most of us will prefer the first restaurant. But this has nothing to do with the food. Fact is, we don't know anything about the food and it's very possible the food at the second restaurant is better. Since we don't have that information, we'll simply go with the crowd.
We're drawn to crowds. While I'll rarely stop to see a street performer when no one else has stopped, it's a different story when a crowd has formed. Not only will I stop, but I may even go out of my way to see what's going on.
Does...Read More »
Restaurant #1
Restaurant #2
Now... where would you rather eat?
Most of us will prefer the first restaurant. But this has nothing to do with the food. Fact is, we don't know anything about the food and it's very possible the food at the second restaurant is better. Since we don't have that information, we'll simply go with the crowd.
We're drawn to crowds. While I'll rarely stop to see a street performer when no one else has stopped, it's a different story when a crowd has formed. Not only will I stop, but I may even go out of my way to see what's going on.
Does...Read More »
Last week we released the Marketing Budgets 2010:
Effectiveness, Measurement and Allocation Report done in
collaboration with Econsultancy. We also released a 2-page brief on
the study More Money, More Channels: Marketing Budgets in
2010.
Following a release like this, it is always enlightening to read feedback and questions that emerge in response to the data. Even better is when we can address questions or expand into related topics using data we already have available.
And such is is the case here. I ran across a comment last week on MarketingPilgram.com that gave us an idea. The comment?...Read More »
Following a release like this, it is always enlightening to read feedback and questions that emerge in response to the data. Even better is when we can address questions or expand into related topics using data we already have available.
And such is is the case here. I ran across a comment last week on MarketingPilgram.com that gave us an idea. The comment?...Read More »
Yesterday, we released a report we have been working on with
Econsultancy. The full report is available for $249, or it comes as part
of a membership on Econsultancy for $299. The extra fifty bucks to
get access to everything they have is well worth it.
The team has been kind enough to put up a number of charts from the report on Slideshare. We have also issued our own brief discussing highlights of the project, along with a discussion of the implications for marketers in the coming year. Topics addressed in the paper include:
The team has been kind enough to put up a number of charts from the report on Slideshare. We have also issued our own brief discussing highlights of the project, along with a discussion of the implications for marketers in the coming year. Topics addressed in the paper include:
- What is driving the migration of budgets from traditional to digital...
Today we released the results of a collaborative research project
with Econsultancy looking at how marketers are allocating marketing
budgets in 2010. I want to thank the team at Econsultancy. Linus
Gregoriadis (@linusgreg) runs a great
research team out of their London office and was a pleasure to work
with on this project.
While 46% plan on increasing their overall marketing budgets in
2010, 66% are planning to increase budgets across digital channels.
Running a crosstab analysis on the changes in overall budgets
compared to changes in digital budgets, we found 28% of marketers
are shifting...Read More »
While 46% plan on increasing their overall marketing budgets in
2010, 66% are planning to increase budgets across digital channels.
Running a crosstab analysis on the changes in overall budgets
compared to changes in digital budgets, we found 28% of marketers
are shifting...Read More »
The issue of permission presents one of the greatest threats to the
future of email marketing. According to data shared by Julie Katz
at Connections ’09, consumers want greater control over email. They
want control over SPAM, they want to be able to unsubscribe from
email more easily, and they want greater control over the frequency
of commercial email coming to their inboxes.
In both 2008 and 2009 we asked consumers to indicate how acceptable it was for them to be contacted via email for “Promotional messages (i.e., sale, special offers) from companies whom you regularly conduct business,... Read More »
In both 2008 and 2009 we asked consumers to indicate how acceptable it was for them to be contacted via email for “Promotional messages (i.e., sale, special offers) from companies whom you regularly conduct business,... Read More »
There is a lot of talk about the sheer volume of email consumers
receive. According to Forrester, 60% of consumers believe they
receive too many email offers and promotions (Forrester, December 2008). Thus, it should also
be no surprise Forrester also found 64% of consumers say they
delete most email advertising without reading it and for them to
conclude that consumers find marketing emails a burden.
According to MarketingSherpa, 32% of marketers see general inbox clutter as the biggest challenge to their success in email marketing (MarketingSherpa, Email Marketing Benchmark...Read More »
According to MarketingSherpa, 32% of marketers see general inbox clutter as the biggest challenge to their success in email marketing (MarketingSherpa, Email Marketing Benchmark...Read More »
Last week I addressed several misperceptions about the future of email and
provided a list of recent statistics showing that the future of
email looks bright. I also mentioned that there are real threats to
the future of email.
I had the honor of moderating a panel at Connections titled “Research Survey Says!” On the panel were three of the smartest folks one could have the pleasure of working with: Julie Katz from Forrester, Rebecca Lieb from eConsultancy, and Stefan Tornquist from MarketingSherpa. With the assignment of presenting “relevant research” and a stacked deck of panelists, my job...Read More »
I had the honor of moderating a panel at Connections titled “Research Survey Says!” On the panel were three of the smartest folks one could have the pleasure of working with: Julie Katz from Forrester, Rebecca Lieb from eConsultancy, and Stefan Tornquist from MarketingSherpa. With the assignment of presenting “relevant research” and a stacked deck of panelists, my job...Read More »
The now infamous Wall Street Journal article announcing the death
of email sparked a fire in the bellies of email marketers and
social media gurus alike. The overwhelming response is that social
media is not posing a significant threat to email. To date, all the
signs seem to indicate that these two channels will continue to
evolve together.
True, there are dissenting voices. However, I have found none that are backed by credible statistical data. Since there is no statistical validity in personal anecdotes, I don’t care (except for the value they provide in forming hypotheses to be tested...Read More »
True, there are dissenting voices. However, I have found none that are backed by credible statistical data. Since there is no statistical validity in personal anecdotes, I don’t care (except for the value they provide in forming hypotheses to be tested...Read More »
As outlined in our
recent whitepaper, Is Email Marketing Endangered?, Smartphones are
a major force behind consumers increasing consumption of email. As
such, the importance of mobile email for email marketers will
continue to increase. While the solutions remain less than ideal,
Mark Brownlow has done a wonderful job of summarizing the challenges of mobile email and linking to
useful resources on the topic.But getting mobile email to work is only the first step. Assuming your email is successful in getting consumers to your site, they need to be able to actually do something. This appears to...Read More »
Last week, ExactTarget released a commissioned study from Forrester
Consulting titled Customer Knowledge is
Marketer Power. To me, the most sobering statistic is
that for 54% of marketers, “each channel they use competes with
each other for budget.” Another 28% provided a neutral response to
the question. Leaving only 18% that disagree with the
statement.
That these budget competitions are occurring is not a surprise to me, but what concerns me is what this leads to—debates about the relative value of each channel for the purpose of re-allocating budgets.
Marketers look to the pseudo-science...Read More »
That these budget competitions are occurring is not a surprise to me, but what concerns me is what this leads to—debates about the relative value of each channel for the purpose of re-allocating budgets.
Marketers look to the pseudo-science...Read More »
Today we are releasing the Marketing Preferences Research Bundle.
This bundle includes 2 separate studies. The first, Customer
Knowledge is Marketer Power, is a study conducted by Forrester
Consulting and commissioned by ExactTarget. The second is the
2009 Channel Preferences Study conducted by
ExactTarget.
Following the 2008 Channel Preferences Study, some had trouble understanding why we believe the notion of Channel Preference is so important. For that reason, we commissioned Forrester Consulting to look into it for us, and here is what they found:
Marketers who understand their customers'...Read More »
Following the 2008 Channel Preferences Study, some had trouble understanding why we believe the notion of Channel Preference is so important. For that reason, we commissioned Forrester Consulting to look into it for us, and here is what they found:
Marketers who understand their customers'...Read More »
We are in the midst of a recession and a massive shift in how the
world consumes information at the same time. Consumers are cutting
their spending due to their need to lower costs while there are
more resources available to them to find ways to lower their costs
through an ever growing array of online and digital tools.
And coupons are at the crossroads.
Yesterday, Mediaweek ran Scarborough: Text, E-Mail Coupons Growing in Popularity sharing new data from Scarborough Research about how U.S. households acquire coupons. Their highlights include:
And coupons are at the crossroads.
Yesterday, Mediaweek ran Scarborough: Text, E-Mail Coupons Growing in Popularity sharing new data from Scarborough Research about how U.S. households acquire coupons. Their highlights include:
- 8.6 million (or 8 percent) of U.S. households...
While ideas come and go, some ideas are definitely worse than
others. PC World ran a story this morning talking about a
new Twitter venture called Sponsored Tweets.
The article, Twitter Sells Out explains, "Run by IZEA, a company that specializes in advertising via social networks, the service lets businesses pay "celebrities" to tout their product or personality." Reporter, Brennon Slattery, closes by writting, "Sponsored Tweets -- and services like it -- are damaging Twitter's already bruised reputation by turning it into an advertising spam-fest rather than an innovative tool connecting... Read More »
The article, Twitter Sells Out explains, "Run by IZEA, a company that specializes in advertising via social networks, the service lets businesses pay "celebrities" to tout their product or personality." Reporter, Brennon Slattery, closes by writting, "Sponsored Tweets -- and services like it -- are damaging Twitter's already bruised reputation by turning it into an advertising spam-fest rather than an innovative tool connecting... Read More »
Transactional confirmations are the most valuable emails to
consumers according to data released by Borrell Associates Inc. and
Merkle Inc. The data was shared in a feature article today on
Internet Retailer called Hitting the
inbox with valuable e-mail.
Yesterday, my colleague Megan Duckworth shared some thoughts on the upsell and cross-sell opportunities inherent in transactional messaging, along with some stats shared by an ExactTarget client.
Why do these messages work so well? Because unlike traditional newsletters or promotional mailings, they are not disposable. When sending...Read More »
Yesterday, my colleague Megan Duckworth shared some thoughts on the upsell and cross-sell opportunities inherent in transactional messaging, along with some stats shared by an ExactTarget client.
Why do these messages work so well? Because unlike traditional newsletters or promotional mailings, they are not disposable. When sending...Read More »
On Friday, the Houston Chronicle ran Companies
in new age of networking. Jeff Rohrs sent me a link to the
article asking me to do a little digging into the opening
statement:
"As social networking sites like
Twitter and Facebook assimilate into our lexicon as verbs,
companies faced with reduced communication budgets are realizing
the value of engaging their employees and customers through
Web-based interactive media.
A June survey conducted by The Internal Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and Buck Consultants reported almost 80 percent of organizations frequently use social media,... Read More »
"As social networking sites like
Twitter and Facebook assimilate into our lexicon as verbs,
companies faced with reduced communication budgets are realizing
the value of engaging their employees and customers through
Web-based interactive media. A June survey conducted by The Internal Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and Buck Consultants reported almost 80 percent of organizations frequently use social media,... Read More »
