The Email Research Center

In response to recent releases around the Channels Preferences survey, several people have claimed that research that finds “Email Works Better than Social Networks” is clearly biased because on the fact we are in the email marketing space. It has also been suggested that we are downplaying the future of emerging media to protect our interest in the email space. These are easy digs for those that only read the headlines--and let me be the first to admit that it is a lightning rod. Unfortunately, I can't claim responsibility for the eye-catching headline, my highly inspired title was "Messaging Behaviors, Preferences, and Personas Whitepaper". BORING!

To be clear, ExactTarget absolutely believes in the power of Social Media and SMS marketing, that is precisely why we are spending so much time and energy researching emerging media. Our announcement of the integration of SMS into our application over a year ago was the original catalyst for this research. Not to downplay it's effectiveness, but as a way to inform our clients, and the industry at large, about how to wisely incorporate this new channel into an overall marketing strategy.

Here's the catch: most customers simply feel that advertising via SMS and Social Networks is intrusive. That does not mean they are off limits, but it does mean that if we think of SMS or Social Networks simply as new direct marketing channels through which we can send our marketing messages, customers will quickly despise our messages and our brands. Listening to the radio today, I heard an influential personality berate a company that sent him five SMS messages in the past week, which cost him a buck. Imagine if that were your brand! Not good. I am sure the negative effects of that public comment will never be included in ROI calculations that SMS marketer presents to his boss.

The same holds for Social Media. I recently made the comment at the Email Insider Summit that Email Marketers should befriend their Social Media counterparts. It's a perfect match: Social Media professionals get authenticity. They get connecting with customers. They get the importance of listening to customers. What they don't know how to do is make money! On the other hand, Email Marketing professionals understand making money, but we (as a group) are socially challenged! We burn through relationships and too many don't notice nor care.

The key is integration and mutual learning. The point of the channel preferences research was simply to demonstrate that "preferred communication channels" are not synonymous with "preferred marketing channels". Just because some people are communicating with each other via emerging channels such as SMS and Social Media does not mean they want marketers to join in the fray with the same old approaches. It is an evolution and we will continue to study how it is happening.