Crumbs from the Scone
“Email marketing is thriving—especially for businesses who can adapt it to the changing world,” writes Veronica Maria Jarski at the Daily Fix blog. In her post, she gives a sneak-peek at material presented by Silverpop’s Loren McDonald in MarketingProfs’ Email Marketing Essentials online course.
Here are a few of Jarski’s takeaways from the course—tips on keeping email relevant to the times:
Promote following and sharing within all your email communications. You need to go where your customers go, and—like it or not—they spend their time at social networks. “Branch beyond the newsletter by letting people ‘like’ the content on Facebook, forward it to a friend, post it to Facebook, or tweet it,” says Jarski. “And don’t forget to use social media to grow your email database. For example, on Facebook, provide email opt-ins for existing customers (and potential new ones).”
Design your email marketing for people on the go. “Don’t just picture people reading your email marketing pieces in front of their office desk,” she says. “Imagine them waiting in traffic, grabbing a spare moment or two at their children’s swim meets, traveling on trains.” In other words, picture them everywhere.
Make sure all your emails are relevant to the reader. Your subscribers have inboxes filled with vibrant content. “That’s because, thanks to smart filters, consumers now avoid spam altogether—and have their inbox prioritize their mail according to their reading habits,” she explains. “If a consumer reads your stuff, your emails will start gaining a higher priority in a person’s inbox. (And if they don’t, your emails will start being pushed to the bottom of the list.)”
Keep adapting. If you don’t evolve your email programs with the times, the times may well leave you behind.
Source: Daily Fix.
Crumbs from the Scone
Many marketers can’t resist a shiny toy. Whether pay-per-click in the mid 1990s, Web 2.0 in the early 2000s or mobile marketing in the late 2000s, we want it—and we want it now. “But at what price?” asks Laura Patterson at MarketingProfs. “I’d suggest at the price of our credibility and the opportunity to be perceived as a strategic player.”
“When our enthusiasm (or that of our colleagues) convinces an organization to experiment with the next shiny toy without understanding the strategic implications,” she continues, “as marketers we are doing a disservice to the organizations we support and we’re presenting marketing as a primarily tactical function.”
To ensure a shiny toy also makes strategic sense, be sure to ask questions like these:
- Has our target audience adopted this new channel, or will we get there before they do? “Being first on the block may be irrelevant if the markets you serve or want to serve aren’t ready,” explains Patterson.
- Does our company have the wherewithal to exploit the new channel? “If a successful implementation requires complex new skills, and if it is too time-consuming or costly to acquire that level of competence, it may be too soon for your organization to tackle the new channel.”
- Will we see a return on our investment? “The adoption of a new channel may require configuring systems, upgrading technology, or even adding new systems and training employees,” she notes. In other words, you need to be reasonably sure that it’s worth it.
A shiny toy can quickly lose its luster if it fails to boost your bottom line—so refrain from what amount to impulse buys.
Source: MarketingProfs
Crumbs from the Scone
“The recent Epsilon breach that exposed millions of email addresses has the potential to create a very big problem for all email marketers and will demand development of new best practices in the world of email marketing,” writes Candyce Edelen at PropelGrowth.
Although the phishing danger is most pronounced for banks and brokerages with retail-facing business, fallout from the attack affects everyone, especially for the following reasons:
Hackers captured email addresses, company names and full customer names. “This enables a much more effective fraud tactic called ‘spear phishing,'” Edelen explains. “The fraudsters know that jdoe [at an email address] is John Doe who has an account with Citibank.” With that much information, a phisher’s message sounds far more convincing.
Phishers are producing better content. Phishing used to be easy to spot—badly designed email rife with grammatical errors, strange syntax and odd requests. But, reasons Edelen, “If the hackers that broke into Epsilon’s database knew what they were stealing and are planning spear phishing attacks, then it’s likely that fraudsters using this data are going to get more sophisticated in their approaches.”
Repeated warnings have made customers leery of legitimate messages. “The affected Epsilon clients rushed to inform their subscribers of the breach and tell them to be suspicious of any email purported to come from them,” Edenlen notes. But that approach could work too well. For instance, a routine transactional email with a new call to action might—mistakenly—raise a red flag.
Arm yourself. Whatever your product or service, it’s important to develop best practices that address the ramifications of attacks like the one against Epsilon.
Source: PropelGrowth.
Crumbs from the Scone
“Unless you were raised by wolves in the wild,” writes Karen Talavera in an article at MarketingProfs, “at some point you learned that it is polite to say thank you. It’s not merely proper etiquette; it’s just downright considerate and gracious.”
Customers need to know you’re grateful for their business, and adding thank-you emails to your marketing “illuminates the human side of your brand,” she argues.
Talavera breaks down the thank-you email into three categories:
The Immediate Thanks. It’s important to acknowledge any transaction or communication right away; be sure to do it in a tone, style and design that match the channel in which your customer took action. And don’t skimp on the gratitude if they spent lots of money. “Match your thanks, in magnitude, to the action you are thankful for,” Talavera advises. “The last time I bought real estate, for example, I received a huge housewarming gift basket, not a lame postcard or text message.”
The Seasonal Thanks. Holidays—especially Thanksgiving—are a natural time to thank loyal customers. “[B]ut go beyond national or religious holidays,” she suggests. “Are you also thanking your customers on the anniversary of their relationship with you? Of their first purchase? On holidays relevant to them (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, New Year’s Day, Veterans Day, Grandparents Day)?”
The Surprise Thanks. Even the most jaded customer will likely appreciate an expression of thanks that comes for no particular reason. “To start,” she says, “weave a quarterly or (if you’re ambitious) monthly thank-you campaign to reward repeat business and customer loyalty.” You can establish a regular schedule, keep customers guessing or tie the program to behavior.
It’s OK to show you’re grateful. Like friends, your customers won’t feel valued if you contact them only when you want something from them. Thank them once in a while.
Source: MarketingProfs.
Crumbs from the Scone
Are you going to wait until SOPA/PIPA passes and THEN complain?
Crumbs from the Scone
In a post at the Neuromarketing blog, Roger Dooley recalls trying to minimize wait times when his company oversaw a small call center. “We knew (from those times when we didn’t have enough staff in place) that the longer callers waited to speak to a representative, the higher the probability was that they would abandon the call,” he says. “And, if they hung up, they might never call back.”
Everyone knows the exasperation of calling a toll-free number only to wait—and wait, and wait—while listening to elevator music, ads for products and services, or disingenuous messages about the importance of your call. “Instead of those common and boring solutions,” suggests Dooley, “try something a little different: building in ‘social proof’ messaging might actually keep callers on the line and, when the call is answered, boost conversion rates.”
In other words, tell callers you can’t answer their call because so many people are clamoring for your product or service. Using this philosophy, Colleen Szot famously tweaked infomercial copy from the standard operators are waiting, please call now to if operators are busy, please call again. “This seemingly trivial change caused sales to skyrocket,” notes Dooley.
How can you give your message some social proof? He offers this example:Due to high order volume during our holiday sale, our wait times are a little longer than usual. Thanks for holding. As a bonus, customer might even feel fortunate if their call is then answered swiftly.
With a social proof strategy, putting your customer on hold might not be such a bad thing. But, warns Dooley, “[t]his kind of message will wear out its welcome over time. Regular rotation is a must.”
Source: Neuromarketing.
“Email marketing is thriving—especially for businesses who can adapt it to the changing world,” writes Veronica Maria Jarski at the Daily Fix blog. In her post, she gives a sneak-peek at material presented by Silverpop’s Loren McDonald in MarketingProfs’ Email Marketing Essentials online course.
