In my last post, "Are you Leaving Money on the Table by Manually Merchandising Your Site?", I explained how retailers can take a staggered approach to migrate from manually merchandising their ecommerce site to using automated recommendations.

Also in this last post, I mentioned the importance of not relying on “free” ecommerce platform add-ons. Today we’ll take this idea a step further and focus on how sophisticated product recommendations engines incorporate real-time customer insights with merchant rules to create a truly personalized experience for your customers. 

#5 Way Retail Marketers...

In my last post, "Are you Leaving Money on the Table by Sending Non-Targeted or Blast Emails?", I explained that sending the same offer to your entire database could actually be hurting your sales efforts and causing you to leave money on the table.

In this post, we will shift gears to focus on your merchandising strategy. By utilizing a "crawl, walk, run" strategy that leverages automation, you can actually increase AOV, boost your conversion rate, and provide your shoppers with an overall better shopping experience.

#4 Way Retail Marketers are Leaving Money On the Table: Manually Merchandising...

With all the buzz about NFC and the mobile wallet still swirling post-SXSW 2013, I’ve been particularly interested in the consumer’s take. I know SXSW-goers and marketers are hyped about these possibilities and boldly proclaim that mobile is the future of retail, but is this a case where marketers are from Mars? Let’s take a moment to ground ourselves and learn more about the mobile shopper before going futuristic.

A poll by eMarketer shows the mobile wallet services that mobile Wi-Fi users have used to make in-store purchases. In Q4 2012, one-third of mobile Wi-Fi users had used PayPal, 20%...

Kyle Lacy recently posted a compilation of 140 Mobile Marketing Tips collected from marketing professionals via email, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media outlets. These are great 140-characters-or-less nuggets of knowledge you can apply to your mobile strategy. I’ll dissect a few favorites here:

#6 – Always include a call to action in push or SMS
It’s mind-blowing how brands invest so much in advertising yet leave out a simple call to action. As an example, only two Super Bowl ads included a mobile CTA! In an analysis on these pricey misses, Jeff Rohrs discusses how “branding only” ads...

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 the ExactTarget Café.

The margin for error in Marketing has become razor thin. Here are five "MegaTrends" that underscore why marketing professionals need to be at the top of their game in 2013.    

MegaTrend #1: Customers are More Informed, More Influential, and Less Patient

Today’s customers are better connected, more informed, and more technically savvy than even 3-5 years ago. They have considerably more access to information to make smarter purchase decisions. They are much less patient with brands that do not deliver the information and offers they want. And they are much more vocal in expressing satisfaction –...

At Connections this year we recognized over 30 companies as finalists for our Power of One Awards. The marketing team from Blinds.com, a leading retailer in the window blinds and shade business, was recognized as a finalist for their "Entice and Engage" campaign that generated 175% growth to their email list. Featured below is a summary of how Blinds.com went about achieving these phenomenal business results.

THE BLINDS.COM STORY

The Blinds.com team wanted to grow their email list with engaged prospects that could be reached across a number of platforms—not just email. The team knew that...

For retailers, it has always been important to engage customers and prospects through personalized communications that help them make buying decisions—without chasing them away. But to be successful in a landscape where data is everywhere—from Point-of-Sale (POS) to email, Twitter, and Foursquare—you might be struggling to connect the dots and communicate with each of your customers as individuals.

This week I’ll be sharing three quick wins you can implement today to solve the interactive marketing challenges that have traditionally left retailers puzzled.

Challenge #1: No common view of...

The United States Postal Service is encouraging marketers to integrate mobile campaigns with direct mail in an upcoming promotion that will offer businesses a two percent discount on qualified pieces. From March 1 through April 30, the USPS will let marketers place SMS calls-to-action, mobile bar codes, and digital watermarks on direct mail.

There are two ways that marketers can receive a discount—by including a mobile coupon or a click-to-call feature directly on the mail. For the mobile coupon, mail can be marked with an SMS short code, QR code, or digital watermark. For click-to-call offers,...

Pinterest is all the rage this year and will continue to be this holiday season. Not only are consumers using this social sharing site as a way to keep track of new recipes and style tips, they’re also actively engaging with brands and purchasing the products they love. In fact, a PriceGrabber survey found that 21% of consumers have purchased a product after seeing it on Pinterest. In addition, ExactTarget’s SUBSCRIBERS, FANS, & FOLLOWERS report, Retail Touchpoints Exposed, found that consumers have pinned products from 93 of the 100 fastest growing retailers in the U.S. and the average Hot...

We’ve all heard the real estate mantra: Location, Location, Location. If your store is not located in a prime spot, you can expect to fare worse than your competitor who is located on the busiest intersection in town.

The same principle holds true in the digital realm. Like the location factor in physical real estate, it’s a must for marketers and merchandisers to consider how they are using their web real estate to market and promote their products, with an emphasis on maximizing ROI.

As a SaaS provider for third party recommendation solutions, we've had many opportunities to test and optimize...

Online retailer eBags sells bags and accessories from some of the most premium and popular brands, such as JanSport, Samsonite, The North Face, and Eagle Creek. As eBags owns no brick-and-mortar stores, it relies entirely on engaging with customers through its digital channels, including email, mobile, social, and the web.

Back in July when back-to-school season was in full swing, the etailer was looking for ways to generate buzz around the eBags brand and drive sales. In an effort to engage with customers across channels, eBags partnered with Jansport to create its “Bag an iPad” campaign using...

Breakout Day Was Phenomenal!

There’s no doubt about it—Day 2 of Connections filled the JW Marriott with an energy that can only be described as ORANGE!

With more than 8 educational tracks, 40+ breakout sessions covering topics from design to data management, and Forrester CEO George Colony’s insightful morning breakout presentation, Four Technology Thunderstorms, marketers of all backgrounds and industries were able to connect, engage, and inspire one another.

Plus, we kicked off our Industry Meet-ups for the first time in Connections history. With dozens of marketing professionals from various...

Moments ago we announced the completion of two incredibly strategic acquisitions - marketing automation provider Pardot and Web personalization provider iGoDigital. These transformational additions to the ExactTarget family broaden our suite of digital marketing products with B-to-B Marketing Automation and expanded Web capabilities that include predictive analytics.

Let me share a little more on each of these great new additions.

Pardot - In talking with clients around the world, it became clear that the marketers are hungry for a lead nurturing solution that integrates with their broader...

So what's all the hype with mobile email lately? First, let's start fresh in our approach. Try not to refer to any email message as "mobile" - your audience will likely view a message on desktops, tablets and mobile devices. Unless there is a specific use case for a mobile-only email, it's best to approach optimization considerations that focus on overall experience, respecting all environments.



*These statistics represent industry averages, and results for individual audiences may have more or less for any particular email client. iPhone can commonly range up to 30-40%, Android is often in the...

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...

Pointpal is an Australian and Singapore-based smartphone loyalty solution that helps consumers move from physical loyalty and stamp cards, to digital reward cards and memberships on their phone. Merchants can engage with Pointpal to build up communities of loyal consumers, offering tangible rewards for their loyalty, and engage with them in a true 360° fashion. For Pointpal, email marketing and automated email programs are a big part of their success. Pointpal recognised early on that relevancy is a critical component of success. They engaged ExactTarget for a way to send and track...

What is Bazaarvoice Social Summit?

The Social Summit is a two day conference, April 11^th-13th, filled with social strategists and executives from top brands.  These leaders will share trends and strategies for using social data in a customer-centric world.  Join ExactTarget in listening to:

• Top thought leader Keynotes
• Interactive session tracks
• Emerging Bazaarvoice initiatives and strategies

Summit Party 

Thursday, 6:30 PM

Join us, Texas-style, in hanging out with Bazaarvoice and the attendees at their grandest Summit party yet.  A showcase of local bands will set the tone for the evening while we...