Text Message Through Email

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...

Chances are you don’t wear the same kinds of clothing today as you did when you were a teenager. And much like wardrobes, the channel preferences of consumers evolve and mature with age. Without major life responsibilities (e.g,. a job, a spouse, a mortgage), teens have lots of time on their hands to communicate (and dress) as they please.

Teens are more likely than any other age group to use text messaging, Facebook, and Twitter. They are also more likely to communicate through a greater number of channels on a daily basis, picking the right channel based on speed, convenience, and privacy.

When...

There’s no doubt that today’s consumers are mobile. They’re constantly on-the-go, sending and receiving communications of all types, and they’ve come to expect that information be (literally) in-hand at all times. Consumers in the UK and around the globe are no longer sitting at their computers searching for information—instead, they expect information to be available all around them. At the same time, they expect that information to be relevant to their lives.

The hyper-connected consumer expects brands of all sizes and industries to start meeting them where they are. It also provides new...

How do we manage to drive more interaction for email through the mobile device? For email marketers, the key is to deliver content that’s easy to consume on any device, remembering the mobile experience is part of the path to conversion. In other words, marketers should approach mobile optimization by focusing on the overall experience, respecting all inbox environments.

Breaking Down the Mobile Experience

The mobile experience is highly interactive, and every email is viewed in stages. Whether they realize it or not, readers decide to continue or exit at each stage, so it’s important to know...

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, ExactTarget's SUBSCRIBERS, FANS & FOLLOWERS research series has taken an in-depth look at consumer preferences and behaviors as they relate to email, mobile, and social channels. In Marketers From Mars, the 20th report in that series, we turn the tables and look at ourselves: marketers.

As marketers, it’s our job to be on the cutting edge. We were most likely the first among our friends to have smartphones. We were the first to tweet, pin, like, follow, and have a business page on Facebook. We Skype, not Keek. We Google Hangout, not FaceTime. We are the early adopters...

I would like to think we all agree on the ability for the mobile environment to affect marketing strategy. It is a fact of nature, the nature of change. It is a solid fact that the majority of consumers don't leave home without their mobile devices (whether a tablet, mobile phone, or smartphone). Yet mobile is still a relatively young marketing channel. How can you step up your game to gain more mobile customers and interactions?

Promote your mobile program through other channels! You’ve invested resources to improve your mobile presence—whether with a responsive website, mobile-optimized...

Over the past couple of months, it seems the majority of buzz and conversation in our industry has been related to mobile. From our Inspired Marketing Predictions for 2013 to redefining strategy, everything is related to the idea of mobile becoming increasingly important to the strategy of every marketer... especially retail. I debated calling this blog post "The Power of Now," because frankly... we are dealing with the idea of now. 

Give me my product now.

Let me browse products now. 

I want pricing on your product (and all your competitors) now. 

Not long ago, social changed the way people...

Today’s retail landscape is more challenging than ever. Data is everywhere—from Point-of-Sale (POS) to email, Twitter, and Foursquare—but it’s only useful if retailers can find a way to connect the dots and communicate with each customer as an individual.

Managing all this data and using it to create a unified, 360-degree view of each customer may seem like a daunting task. But this week I’m sharing three quick wins retailers can implement immediately to solve your most pressing interactive marketing challenges.

Challenge #3: Disconnected online and offline experiences

Quick Win #3: Capture...

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...

This week, I'm presenting a series of posts that reveal some of the top things consumers want from marketers—backed by solid, statistical data—plus real, actionable recommendations to help you improve your cross-channel marketing program.

Check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series, then read on for today's tip!

TIP #4: Consumers want to interact across multiple channels

Let’s face it—email, mobile, and media social belong together! Consumers don’t limit their interactions to one channel, and neither should your marketing.

According to our 2012 Channel Preference Survey:

• 91% of consumers...

In case you hadn’t heard, ExactTarget launched the Orange Partner Network to our partners at Connections 2012. The Orange Partner Network includes three partner programs with which companies can participate – the HubExchange Partner Program, the Channel Partner Program (which includes our referral network), and the Services Partner Program. 

Happy Birthday to SMS! On this day 20 years ago, Neil Papworth sent the phrase “Merry Christmas” from his computer to the Orbitel 901 handset of Vodafone’s Richard Jarvis, and so began the great SMS race.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “In the developing world, where smartphone penetration is low, SMS remains a key technology, enabling mobile money transfers, the sending of alerts on weather and planting advice for farmers, and distribution of health information for consumers. Globally, SMS traffic is continuing to grow and stood at 7.4 trillion messages in 2011, up 44% from the year...

Recent comScore data has seen a shakeup in the rankings of the big three email providers in terms of worldwide usage: Gmail has now ascended to the top spot; Hotmail tumbled to number two; and Yahoo! Mail settled in at third place.  It is no surprise then that there has been a rumored revamp coming to Yahoo! Mail as they try to revitalize their service to retain existing users and attract new ones. While the latest version of Yahoo! Mail just rolled out to the general public in the middle of last year, new leadership at the company has renewed the focus on one of their most popular services....

Marketers have forever been lost in the false belief that personal communication preferences and marketing communication preferenes are one and the same. The fact is, we've found time and time again that personal communication habits are a misleading proxy for marketers looking for the best way to communicate with consumers.

This is because consumers don’t truly consider brands to be their friends. Yes, they might love your products and services. They may even love the fact that social media allows them to interact with real, live human beings who work for your company. This does not mean,...

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...

The email marketing scene is more competitive than ever. So how do you cut through the clutter and make your messages stand out in the inbox? The first step is with great email design.

Strategic planning and testing are crucial components of great design. Your design should make it easy for readers to understand and act on your call-to-action, ultimately resulting in the highest conversion rate for your marketing campaigns.

Here are a few ways to maximize your subscriber response with design:

1. Design for mobile.ExactTarget research has shown that more than half of consumers (53%) use a...

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...

Were he alive today, Mark Twain would probably have a soft spot for email because, much like the author himself, recent reports of email’s death have been greatly exaggerated. In fact, email is not only alive—it’s the number one direct channel in terms of daily use and consumer preference for both personal and marketing communications. Email is thriving thanks in large part to the channel’s familiarity, flexibility, and universality. A whole new generation of mobile smartphone and tablet users are also driving anywhere, anytime email usage. Indeed, when you dig into the data, any assertion...