Direct - Latest Comments

Re: Text, Online Behavior Often Overlooked Sources Of Data

Amanda Moore — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:58:21 -0000

Tracking customer feedback beyond transactional data seems like a very useful source of information. This would allow marketers to personalize their communication even more. I think one often overlooked source of customer feedback is what is being said on social media. Businesses should track what is being said about their company (good and bad) and use that information along with transactional data to enrich their customer experiences.

One thing that this article does not mention is exactly where they are farming this feedback from. Is it through emails, comments, FAQ's?

Re: Protect Your Text Campaign with Dedicated Short Codes

Derek Johnson — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:23:03 -0000

Tom, a little misleading.

Your company brand could wind up associated with someone or some organization to which you would rather not be tied. --- I've never bought into this theory that if your short-code is the same as another you will be associated with them. Look at other social media channels like Facebook & Twitter, both porn starts and ministries all go the same URL. No problems.

If you do not own the code, you do not own the data that are gathered, thereby costing a great opportunity to better understand your customer. --- At http://www.tatango.com the client owns all of the data that we collect from their customers.

Most important, there is always the risk that you will be adversely affected because of another company's abuse of the code. --- That's why it's very important to pick a text messaging provider that follows the rules. The company your references wasn't blatantly violating the rules.

I've never seen a good reason for simple text message marketing to have their own short-codes, especially as the price is significantly higher.

Re: Having His Say: You’re Doing Email Wrong

MikeC — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 05:54:26 -0000

Ummm! Have you not seen the unsubscribe link sent in EVERY email from major e-mailers? The beauty of email is, you don't have to call the cops -- just unsubscribe.

Otherwise, ignore.

Re: Broker Roundtable: Hot List Segments for 2011

Joshuabraska — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 08:40:11 -0000

The "hot list" is the list of leads that is worked correctly. First, know your target market and get a list of those leads in your area. Second, come up with a stradegy to reach those in your market, whether it be by mail, web, phone, or guerrilla marketing plan. If you have done your homework, targeted the right demographic, and properly primed them for the sale, then your list should be on fire by the time you get face to face.

Re: Rx for Ailing Email Response: Reduce Frequency

The Free Radicals — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 11:39:51 -0000

Or... in my experience.... keep the frequency of email contact the same, but reduce the amount of sales messages, and increase the number of emails that pass on useful, unique and engaging free content.... whether it's tips, advice, opinion or links to useful (non-monetised) resources.

Re: Facebook Credits a Winning Incentive for Shoebuy

Amanda Moore — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 22:29:26 -0000

Interesting article. I was unaware that Facebook Credits could be used as an ad incentive. I was also unaware that such a large part of the Facebook users were participating in these games.

Pairing the Facebook Credits with Facebook Ads seems like a great match. Also, it was a brilliant idea to offer the opportunity for Facebook users to share how they got the credits, it's like free advertising. Advertisers would be wise to get Facebook Ads with credit incentives to appear for a targeted demographic of gamers. I wonder if the credits will be subject to inflation if If this type of advertising becomes popular.

Re: Spam Traps and Spam Complaints: How to Steer Clear

Andy T — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:50:58 -0000

Only the consequences of sending to badly managed and/or bought lists will stop them, because it's profitable. Take away the profit by taking out their deliverability through reputation.

Re: Why Email Needs to Enter the Social Circle

Tamara — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 11:11:50 -0000

I agree with you fully. Although, what you have provided here is an idealistic approach to email marketing. Do you have any real suggestions of HOW to this? Maybe a few commonly used techniques, or creative examples you can illustrate?

Thanks!

Re: Using Uplift Modeling to Slash Email Marketing�s Hidden Cost

Joshua Rothburd — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 21:26:23 -0000

I think this article definitely reinforces what most marketers know. However, thousands of retailers lack the ability to segment their visitors into specific personas and tailor their email messaging campaigns to meet the specific needs of each audience segment. Fortunately, technology is catching up and becoming significantly more accessible to marketers looking for a solution to this challenge. It is certainly something I encourage business owners and other thought leader in e-commerce to explore.

Re: Ten Key Ecommerce Strategies for 2011

Dydacomp — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:36:13 -0000

Good Points! I think that number two,three, and four were big players in 2010 and i look forward to seeing where they will go in 2011. I think that mobile business is going to continue to grow and expand as more and more stores move to mobile eCommerce!

Re: Broker Roundtable: In a Social World, What's the Long-Term Viability of Direct Mail Lists?

Pete Carney — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 17:44:08 -0000

data, data, data, there is so much more information out there than say 10 years ago. there is not one single channel that seems to replace any of the others. So with that being said, i think a blend of the different channels is what is needed. and direct mail should be the foundation data! it's the only channel that we know the open rate (if you have a mailbox) that has a 100% open rate! useing direct mail as the driver. Meaning direct mail done properly can drive consumers to the web or to thier cell phones. we in the mail side of business have all the demographics and response info to make the other channels work better!

Re: Five Marketing Resolutions to Make—and Keep—in 2011

Mark Simpson — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 12:19:44 -0000

Engaging with a conversion optimization solution can make achieving numbers 1-3 on this list a snap. Marketers (#1) have the ability to gather valuable real-time information about their customers with A/B multivariate testing (#2) can reach their consumers in the mobile environment by implementing the conversion optimization solution across all marketing channels, and (#3) can use website personalization to tailor messaging and content to meet individual customer needs by gathering data about how customers are using the site, past transactions and browsing patterns.

Re: How to Revive a Dead Email Campaign

Spiro Malamoglou — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 07:52:06 -0000

Nice ideas Hal, I am particularly inspired by the top 10 post and doing a similar one of your subscribers choices. Food for thought indeed!

Re: Edith Roman's Grdodian, Longo Leave Company

Lmao — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 10:41:22 -0000

Edith Roman after being one of the most respected list and direct marketing firms in the world is now a joke with these two running it.

Re: Email Registration: Best Practice vs. Common Practice

Cheri — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 10:34:39 -0000

This article doesn't say anything about double-opt-in vs. single opt-in. Can you shed any light on statistics for these two types of registration?

Re: Tips to Get Inactive Email Subscribers Responding Again

Bill Kaplan — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:13:11 -0000

Great advice, Sherry and Andrea. Inactive customers might just be the most misunderstood and neglected segment of your customer database. Given that most inactive customers are the result of improper email address registration practices or annual email address churn rates of ~30% per year, it's not safe to assume that these customers aren't interested in a relationship anymore. It's simply that you've been leaving messages at email boxes people no longer read.

Accordingly, the excellent re-engagement tips listed in your article will be of no value if no one's reading these emails. The key, therefore, is to update your inactive email addresses with the current preferred email addresses of your customers, which can be done easily and cost-effectively through an ECOA (Email Change of Address) service.

For some additional ideas on when to drop inactives from your file and how best to re-engage them, check out the following article, which features additional industry experts, including Jeanniey Mullen (Global EVP of Zinio), Loren McDonald (VP of Silverpop), and Chip House (VP of ExactTarget): http://biz.freshaddress.com...

Re: First Impressions: Four Tips to Make Your Welcome Email Sing

Carter — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:02:39 -0000

Good article. I think it's equally as powerful to leverage #4 into getting them excited for subsequent emails. In my previous experience, I have seen strong conversion rates for welcome trigger emails, but with the offer as the opening pitch, the lifetime value diminishes significantly. By having a high quality welcome email that talks about the subscriber getting exclusive deals and discounts, especially last minute blow out deals, the un-subscribe rate plummeted and attrition rate/lifetime value was much higher.

Carter
www.bluecloudsoltuions.com

Re: Broker Roundtable: Will a new Postmaster General change anything at the USPS?

Michaelmuoio — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:35:39 -0000

3 day a week delivery and a 25% cut in rates would be a good start!

Re: Edith Roman's Grdodian, Longo Leave Company

Access — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 12:52:13 -0000

RIP ERA

Re: First Impressions: Four Tips to Make Your Welcome Email Sing

Spiro Malamoglou — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 08:00:51 -0000

Thanks for the clear cut, no-nonsense post. Nicely written with real takeaway advice

Re: Why Email Needs to Enter the Social Circle

Justin — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 12:54:41 -0000

Although I don't necessarily believe companies have to provide an incentive to share or retweet content, I do agree with you that marketers need to make it more effortless for social media users to identify what their friends are doing . If I sign up to receive emails from L.L. Bean then it should be as easy as clicking a "like" button to share that information with my network. And, L.L. Beans should consider creating such an option because as you mentioned above people who received content from a friend via social media are more likely to engage with that content. http://multichannelmerchant...

Re: "Friends and Family": Big Payoff from a Few Small Words

Spiro Malamoglou — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 10:06:08 -0000

Thanks for the post Erin, I results that you mention speak for themselves, it's time to re-embrace the friend and family campaign and reap the benefits.

Re: Postholiday Email Campaigns to Consider

Spiro Malamoglou — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 09:52:29 -0000

Thanks Sherry for your post, I think it's a great idea to offer gift cards and then follow up a short while later with special offers and the chance to use the voucher then. Often gift cards fall by the way side because they aren't followed up.

Re: Using Uplift Modeling to Slash Email Marketing�s Hidden Cost

Spiro Malamoglou — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 03:30:44 -0000

Perhaps this article is intended as more of a re-confirmation of what many e-marketers know but are maybe still not applying it? That aside, I enjoyed how Mark presented the customer audience segmentations, it's spot on.

Re: Welcome Emails: Best Practice vs. Common Practice

spamratings — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 08:25:33 -0000

An interesting article illustrating why so many email marketing campaigns fail. If the email is personal and cares about the receiver then the receiver is more likely to read it. Just think about it; when did you last ignore an email from amazon? How about your best friend? Making an email personal stops the email being treated as spam by the receiver and consequently not just deleted without reading.

Spam Ratings performed some research on this, have a look here - http://www.spamratings.com/....

Alex Robinson
Spam Ratings