Email Yogi

Understanding the psychology of "Likeonomics"

2012-05-29T05:29:00.000-04:00

I had the opportunity to sit and talk with Rohit Bhargava, the author of "Likeonomics," on what building up a brand was all about. Rohit shared his stories of how to earn trust, influence behavior, and inspire action. "Likeonomics" focuses on the five key principles of the TRUST formula and why some people and companies are more popular and "liked" than others.

Rohit Bhargava & Sundeep Kapur at SFIMA

During lunch we spoke about three themes - first, on keeping things personal; second, on being transparent about your business; and third, on making sure that your team works well together.

1. Keeping things personal. Many brands make the mistake of simply asking consumers to rank their product or service without asking specific questions about what was good or bad. You can create a greater impact if you encourage the consumer to respond to a targeted query versus an overall experience. Consumers like to read personal stories (as these keep them engaged) and will remember a story much better than your brand's tag line. So use the story well!

2. Being transparent. If you are honest with your consumers about your company, product mix, and pricing, your customers will appreciate the honesty and in most instances will understand why they should do business with you and at what price. The web has made it much easier for consumers to figure out the true cost of products or services, so by being transparent, you are setting the tone for open communication.

3. Team chemistry. If your team works well together, this chemistry will be visible to your consumers. You can do this by making sure that your employees understand the overall goal of your company and what your marketing or social media program entails. Think of this as a practical, real-time vision statement that continues to generate real customer feedback.

After lunch, I purchased his book and here are two more (among many other) worthy snippets.

Rohit talks about four ways data can become meaningless. First, there is the statistical insignificance of claims that say that a product was recommended by seven out of 10 people. Second, there is the idea of wishful extrapolation by which data can be skewed. Next, there is the idea of inconclusive conclusions where you really cannot draw to a close. Finally, with all the data that we collect - there is a planning paralysis (of there being so much data), so what do you do? This sadly gets people to go back to what was done at the same time last year.

The last tip I would like to leave you with is the whole concept of simplicity. How can you ensure that your message is being understood? The consumer desperately seeks simplicity and expects you to use plain language that they can easily understand.

One of the easiest things you can do is to think about the specific reasons as to why someone should sign up for your social media program. Next, just see that you are meeting their needs.

Rohit has a Masters in English and told me that one of his most enjoyable courses was Irish poetry. He speaks incandescently about visiting Trinity University in Ireland and getting to touch and feel the books that are 400 years old. He is inspired by reading, and I was inspired by the simplicity of his messaging.

11 practical tips to enhance your website

2012-05-16T09:30:00.000-04:00

Your site needs to draw people in and keep them there

1 - Choose an effective color that matches your brand. Have less contrast and use no more than three colors.

2 - Give people a place to go next. Make it easy for them to find things. Keep the confusion out and give people simple options.

3 - Focus on site navigation and the search box is king. People know how to 'google' stuff.

4 - Be consistent with font face and size.

5 - List your content in short paragraphs that are broken up, if you want to offer more in the text, let them click through or offer a download.

6 - Make it easy for people to get in touch with you. List the contact information clearly.

7 - Make your load times faster. Don't give the user an opportunity to tab away while your page loads.

8 - Make your site search friendly with meta - tags - you need to identify the information. Search engines will find it faster.

9 - Be careful about using frames / cascading style sheets - you loose impact. Many search engines don't list pages with frames

10 - Does your mobile site work, it is the least you can do. Be sure to test your site from mobile devices. Just because HTML 5.0 renders okay, it doesn't mean that you want to push excessive content on the consumer.

11 - Keep your content refreshed as you tie in social media into your site. Let your 'social feedback' update your site. Give people reason to visit your site often to see the changes.

5 Proven Ways to Improve Email With Social

2012-05-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

Improving Your Email Marketing with Social

Email marketing managers are looking for ways to increase their reach and enhance their engagement. If done correctly, social media offers an antidote to fix waning engagement. Here are five specific things you should be doing with social media to improve your email marketing.

1. Use it to find the right people. List growth is important, but finding compatible consumers will bring more value to your list. Use your social media sites to feature discussions that will draw consumers back to a preference page. Your articles and discussions on social media should feature information about your brand. In doing so, you tend to attract those who are interested in your brand versus those who have just signed up to receive a free gift.

2. Assurance goes a long way. Your consumer would love to get a testimonial from someone that they know concerning the transaction that they are about to complete. This is the one thing that holds a consumer back from taking the final step. Wouldn't it be more powerful if the consumer comes to a sign-up page and sees that some of their friends or followers are also subscribed to your email marketing program? The same holds true for landing pages - again, show your consumers that their friends have endorsed your products or services.

3. Strip out the rhetoric. Many brands are using social feedback as part of their marketing campaigns. Make feedback more effective by removing brand tag lines and focus on specific feedback from consumers. Many brands tend to build up their feedback by asking consumers to rank their product or service, and then provide a text box for additional comments. You can do a much better job by asking people very specific questions about your product or service, and then guide them to the text box. This is the kind of information that helps consumers make a decision before completing a transaction.

4. Track opens, views, and the dialogue. If you are encouraging your consumers to share or discuss your brand along social media channels, you will also need to track their discussions on social media channels. Think about opening up your social media tracking to your customer service team so they can listen and respond to what is being discussed. I have been able to watch discussions on social media even when the consumer hasn't opened the email that I sent. So when I look at my results, I am measuring "opens" across multiple channels - both email and my social media channels.

5. Leverage your brand ambassadors. The forward-to-a-friend link in emails offers one of the worst returns on investments (ROI) on campaigns. Think about removing this link and trying a different approach instead. Start by segmenting your list into those who have Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn versus those who do not. Now segment this list further by prioritizing those that have shared your content along social media channels. I recommend targeting these brand ambassadors with the content you need to go viral. If they like what I am sending them and they feel that I have treated them with exclusivity, they will share my offer with their network of friends.

The best way to communicate with your customers

2012-04-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

You have to raise expectations...

When your customer or member signs up to receive messages from your brand you have been given an opportunity to communicate. If you communicate with relevance, your messaging will be productive.

Email, mobile, or social media - you need to think past the first message so you can begin the dialogue. Here are few tips.

You need to think about an efficient on-boarding process for new members and customers. The on-boarding process could include a welcome stream of messages that make the consumer aware of what your organization brings to the table. You also need to think about “what next” scenarios for existing consumers as they complete transactions or update their preferences.

Many organizations feel that they can know their consumer better by assimilating data into their CRM. Realistically you should be running an “Operational CRM” at the speed of light by pulling data into the CRM through your touch-points in real time, and quickly messaging the consumer with relevant messages across channels.

The key here is two things – first pull data together from your touch-points in real time, and second – message your consumer with relevance.

To do this effectively organizations should assimilate data across channels with special emphasis on recency. Consumers want you to acknowledge their most recent transactions.

Social media, direct mail, self service, email, mobile, your physical locations – they need to work together to engage the consumer. The key is about recognizing people across channels, and carrying out conversations with relevance.

You can only do this if you know the consumer. You can know the customer by creating a preference page that can be updated across channels.

How to create the perfect preference center

2012-04-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

How may I serve you?

When you create a consumer preference center your goal is not just to collect data, you should collect data to build up a repository of actionable information.

Here are some key things you should do:

1. Have one preference page for the consumer versus having one for each one of your channels. The consumer should be able to update their preferences across channel. Keep this preference page accessible across the web, or mobile – it is convenient for the consumer to share the information.

2. Have three parts to this preference page – one that is updated by the consumer, the second updated by your organization, & the third updated by consumer behavior. Don’t forget behavior is not just consumer action but also consumer inaction.

3. Collect the data in real time. Disseminate transaction information quickly to all your channels. Let your channels be aware so they can serve the empowered consumer better.

4. Get your consumer to update their preferences a little bit at a time, tie your surveys back into the preferences. And do this correctly by having a back and forth dialogue.

5. Provide the purpose of each channel to the consumer. Don’t forget to train your employees about the value of each of your channels.

6. Engage the consumer on “their” social media channels by listing all your social media channels including the purpose of each of these channels. Don’t forget to entice the consumer to check out your social media channels – a mere follow us or share this is not effective.

7. Be prepared to greet the consumer on any one of your channels by having their message ready to be displayed. However, adjust your messaging based on the channel that they come to - an email can be long, a text message succint, and a message at an ATM has to be extremely interesting.

The important thing for you to do is to keep the consumer engaged on their terms and keep the information flowing both ways.

How to disengage consumers through poor surveys

2012-04-18T00:00:00.004-04:00

Businesses are committed to knowing you better. They want you to provide preferences at every channel; they even attempt to assimilate your transactions across channels.

They include post transaction product or service surveys. You get this from in person experiences, over the web or phone, at self-service terminals, and even on social media channels. They want to know about your transaction experience. They even want your feedback when you do not transact. They want to know you better.

But stop and think about the approach and the questions. The survey is typically included because the organization “has to” do it, and in most instances the survey seems to do very little to actually engage the consumer. The survey serves the business!

What is worse with surveys is that most organizations are happy with a less than 0.5% response rate. While there is almost always a survey included at the end of every transaction, there is very little commitment from the organization towards getting the survey completed.

The reason we seem to have this issue is because most organizations are focused on the target, the channel, and instant success. Remember the goal of a good survey is to make sure that you are collecting useful consumer feedback – all towards building up that preference center, so you can serve your consumer better.

Five key considerations to enhance your email marketing

2012-04-16T00:00:00.001-04:00

1. Capture consumer preferences. Do you know your consumers' interests - both stated and implied - so you can serve them better? Do you know their ideal frequency for opening your campaigns? Leverage past transactions and interactions to recognize them so you can serve them better.

2. Monitor your deliverability. Check the reputation of your IP’s to make sure that you're in an acceptable sending area. There are times when you may have to scale up on the frequency of your campaigns. Have a backup plan in place - I hope you have been nurturing a backup IP address.

3. Plan your messaging streams. Many businesses have planned a series of campaigns to engage with their consumers. Some have planned multiple campaigns sent daily across different channels to target consumers. Be wary about overdoing it and make sure that you're not badgering the consumer with the same message across channels.

4. Offer digital receipts. Train your channels to sell the value of digital messaging to your consumers. This means people channels and all other channels. Highlight the benefits to both the consumer and to you (remember a reduction in costs will ultimately translate to consumer savings and the more you know about a consumer

5. Invite your consumers to join your party. Host special events on your social media site - games, trivia, holiday activities, or simple conversations will go a long way to drive engagement.

12 proven tips for B2B marketing - email, mobile, social

2012-04-12T06:41:00.002-04:00

Ask any B2B marketer and they’ll tell you that their communiqués aren’t the same as B2C – in my experience, they’re partly right…

Regardless of the offer or message the rules are mostly the same – you still have to grab the attention of the reader, it just may need to be done in a different manner. As a B2B marketer you have to convey a different sense of value while still intriguing the user into open, read and click through your email. Here are 12 ideas on building an effective digital engagement program:

1) Online Business Cards – insert a picture of the rep into the email campaign, this helps in three ways, it keeps the rep in front of the customer, it offers consistency (as the company sending the email controls the message) and it looks good. This works nicely in sales environments where the rep is making calls on customers or prospects.

2) Create Personal Reminders – This is the equivalent of a F2F and allows the rep to send out different types of emails. Don't forget tomorrow's call or Thank you for your time – each of these can be packaged into personal reminders that the rep now has at their disposal to send to customers and prospects.

3) Super-Duper Deals – If there is a special rate or promotion, send it out from the rep instead of the company, this creates goodwill and gives the rep talking points when they call on the customer or prospect. Personal coupon codes and private events are ways to execute this.

4) Use a Secret Code – Use a little personalization to drive customers to an event; again this creates talking points, promotes the program and seems to unite the team. Have the prospect use the secret code to get in.

5) What’s Up – Be sure your reps know about the communiqués being sent. I’ve received some great B2B emails, and in three instances I decided to call them back – I struck out every time. Not one of the three people who were listed on these campaigns had any clue about the offer or the email program. I sheepishly crawled away, quickly unsubscribing from their list.

6) Return phone Calls – In other instances I’ve left messages based on email campaigns received, I’m still waiting for my phone to ring. This is across industries; I have multiple messages out there at a resort property, a printer (new brochures) and a software company (looking to introduce a colleague). Common courtesy demands that we pay attention to returning phone calls – especially when it’s being requested. The purpose of email from these companies was to create interest and induce a response… they were half successful.

7) Superior Service – When people request information from you make sure you take very good care of them. Remember, these people have taken extra effort to respond to your email - notice what they clicked on and use that to initiate a dialogue with them. Respond quickly but not in real time else they will feel that they are being tracked.

8) Surveys & Preferences – Surveys work very well in the B2B environment, as recipients are more inclined to answer something that’s not exactly about them. Three very good twists to incorporate include the offer (i.e. copy of a published report), something with mystery(intriguing questions that are slightly off target work well) and the recurring approach – shorter surveys that are quarterly compounded (requiring less commitment from the recipient) are great and can be built upon by saying “this is what you have been saying.” The final example is a great way to leverage interaction using preferences and creating more conversations.

9) Micro-Segmentation Works – You don’t need a big list to get a lot of responses, take the time to target small groups of people with personalized notes – include their rep. Each rep can be provided the reporting of their campaigns and encouraged to contact the customer or prospect based on response. For unsubscribes, the rep should call them up, thank them and try to garner why they unsubscribed. The rep may end up with a new contact, renew the relationship or simply get the real reason. As an email marketer you should always pay attention to this rep feedback and encourage them to keep sharing this information with you.

10) NEVER Rent Lists – The recipient is a consumer who understands CAN-SPAM. While they realize that it doesn't really apply to B2B – imagine the aggravation of getting a campaign that you did not want. This is one of my biggest peeves; as an alternative, challenge people to use other channels – keep emails handy after phone calls, use contests, news articles, product information, etc. Sending an email to someone is the easiest way to alienate them.

11) Copy Rules! – Unless you have an engaging game to share with your readers, focus on text and your copy. It will help you with deliverability and give the reader your message without much static. Keep it short and to the point, longer articles/ details should lead to subsequent pages giving the recipient the opportunity to click through.

12) Non-Perishable – As a marketer, your goal is to educate, interact and engage; creating a relationship with a long shelf life. Mixing useful information with offers encourages the reader to file your emails or print for future reference; B2B emails have a long shelf life so keep the utility principal in mind.

Seven quarterly email metrics aka how to conduct a quarterly checkup

2012-04-09T00:00:00.002-04:00

Each quarter you should conduct a deep-dive introspection on your email program – a hard look at what is working, what needs to be improved and then focus on next steps to strengthen your program going forward.

This is a review that should take place among the email marketing team, then presented to your management and (if applicable) incorporate a review with your direct marketing team.

The goal of this exercise is to seek continuous improvement and look to extend the support that email marketing can provide to the rest of your organization. A typical agenda should include:

1) Review of campaigns and statistics - Start by highlighting your numbers for the quarter. Look at opens, clicks and conversions for current quarter (how do they compare to the previous quarter, for the same quarter prior year)

2) Net subscribes - List the number of new consumers that have opted-in, and remove the number of people that have un-subscribed.

3) Deliverability statistics - Check the bounce rate, your in-box rate, and the reputation of your IP's. Make sure that your numbers add up.

4) Un-subscribe audit results - Un-subscribe from your email program through the multiple touch-points that you have and monitor how long it takes you to get off the list.

5) Email ROI - You should have quantitative measures of success for your program where you can actually put a value on your email messages.

6) Quarterly email champion - Highlight people and campaigns within your organization that have done a good job. Reward people for creativity on subject line suggestions or email capture. Highlight campaigns that have been top performers.

7) Observations, ideas, suggestions and challenges - Highlight key observations for your quarter, and list opportunities for improvement. I normally highlight the challenges that I am facing and I try to seek help from other groups.

Finally, always gather ideas from your team – present your challenges and seek their help, debut draft communiqués and or upcoming streams to them to get them onboard along with their feedback.

Seven Ideas to Help You Improve Your Real Time Messaging

2012-04-04T00:00:00.001-04:00

In our right now world you have to put together a program that is real time. And real time doesn’t just mean doing things faster. Here are seven things you should do to create a real 'real time' plan.

1 - Make sure your channels are connected. Make sure that you are collecting information across multiple channels, storing the information into a common data repository, and most importantly – giving all your channels easy access to this information.

2 - Put together “steps of relevance.” Put together use cases on how you may interact with the consumer now that you have all this information about them. So if a consumer has just completed a transaction, your next step might be to inquire about their experience, and follow that up with an offer. (Some of us call these step-by-step campaigns, some call it waterfall series).

3 - Plan your responses on each channel. If people interact with you on each channel, make sure you have a set of desired responses that you can execute on.

4 - Respond in as real time as possible. The sooner you respond to your consumer the better it is for your business. Why don’t you open up the web to your customer service team so they can respond effectively?

5 - Don't limit yourself to one channel. Use the profile & contact information to mix up your messages across channel. It shows your consumers that your channels are connected and helps improve engagement.

6 - Invite the consumer into your home. Encourage them to browse your site, look at your magazine or catalog, subscribe to your email, and lure them into your “living room.” Your living room is your social media channel.

7 – Do not forget to follow up. Many times the consumer is seeking information directly or indirectly from you. If they ask for information, it is easy to recognize their need and follow up.

You should try a two-step follow up - send them information electronically (or by direct mail) and then follow up with a phone call. If they don't ask for information, track their clicks or behavior and use that to build up your response so you can follow up effectively.

Following up effectively is all about being relevant. Being relevant right now is all about achieving real 'real time.' If I respond in real time (less than three minutes) my open rate is above 98% and if I wait a whole day, my open rate drops to 44%! That is dramatic, and really stresses the importance of real time.

Effective Segmentation: Practical Tips to Rank Your Customers

2012-04-02T00:00:00.000-04:00

As digital marketers we look for ways to segment our customers into "micro-segments." It is a very effective strategy to help personalize messages to those we serve. Here are five proven tips that work in retail and can also be applied to your industry.

1) Recency

Check the time associated with the last order and when the recipient became a customer. Flag the most recent transactions and use those to personalize your messaging.

2) Frequency

Recipients who buy once should be encouraged to quickly buy (or interact) again; two-time buyers should be pushed to three, etc. Once the customer is over the five-time buyer mark you should consider putting them into a special category where the goal becomes creating a dialogue with this customer.

3) Average Order Value

Look at the total revenue and margin from the customer, the higher the values the higher you rate your customer. Higher margin customers get five stars, and your goal should be to move your customers further up.

4) Geography

Some of your products may not sell in certain climates or zones so timing and geography become key factors. An offer by a restaurant at 11.00 am or 5.00 pm (their time) is much more impactful to someone thinking about their lunch. Similarly, if you are selling apparel, or gardening merchandise, timing is key based on geography.

5) Payment Method – One of my catalog customers treats their customers differently - depending on how these customers pay. Customers purchasing by check or PayPal are put in a different category than those who pay by credit card (and not all credit cards are created equally.)

Just a few items to think about while developing the right mix for you to create interactive conversations with your customers. Remember, segmentation works well - look for ways to keep improving your segmentation.

Consumer Recognition, Cross Channel, & Educating Your Frontline

2012-03-29T00:00:00.001-04:00

We often talk about various channels available to the consumer, your physical location, self service device (ATM or Kiosk), email, call center, printed catalogs or statements, mobile devices and all things internet.

Each of these channels offer multiple opportunities for the consumer to touch you, but as a company it’s not as easy to connect with them – you need their information, their habits and preferences to quickly leverage into a targeted message.

This empowerment shift means that a simple email offer isn’t going to cut it any more, to compete, Marketers need to concentrate on three areas:

1) Consumer Engagement

Social networks, mobile technology, and the emerging confluence of these channels is putting the consumer in charge. Customers now have the ability to quickly find offers, eliminate vendors and learn more than some of your reps before even venturing out of their homes. Make your social media outlets prominent and encourage the consumer to interact with your brand as this will help you build up useful user generated content.

2) Cross-Channel Offer Optimization

The consumer is expecting to be recognized, not only for who they are but as an interested party who wants you to guide them through their interactions. Engage them in a dialogue so they can continue to collect their preferences; optimize the time and offer by creating a conversation – don’t throw everything over to them, send three to five distinct offer components to test responses and facilitate conversation.

3) Educate the Frontline

Customer Service Representatives, Sales Reps etc. are often THE impression for your company; keeping your team informed is the best chance you have to be prepared for the inquiries from customers or prospects. Send your team the offers, emails and associated details to make sure your employee is the expert in the conversation.

The marketing game is changing; by staying current on the evolutions you’ll garner customer respect and hopefully their market share.

How to drive 51% engagement

2012-03-27T00:10:00.006-04:00

I recently spoke at the Search Engine Strategies in New York on how to use digital channels to drive over 51 percent engagement. My presentation was a compilation of best practices that have helped me create interactive conversations with the consumers that I serve. Here are seven key principles to think aout:

1. Intrigue versus incentive. If you offer an incentive to get people to sign up for your email list or give them an incentive to "like" or "follow" on a social network, their attention seems to wane away after the incentive has gone. Instead, think about using intrigue - ask them a question that will make them want to know the answer. Follow up by asking more questions to get to know them better and use this information to create segments. Also, smaller incentives tend to increase loyalty more so than a one-time larger incentive.

2. Create expectation and build anticipation. Show your consumer what they will be getting by signing up for your digital program. Tell them about the type of content they are going to receive via digital and the value of that content. Use your channels to show the excitement and build up anticipation - this way the consumer looks forward to interacting with your brand.

3. So they told you (but is that what they did?). Your consumer listed a few of their preferences; they told you what they liked and what they didn't like. You need to observe their preferences to see if they hold true. Use this interaction history to confirm what they originally told you and build up a rich repository of preferences that can be leveraged for future dialogue.

Here you go to reach the entire article on ClickZ...

Real World Tales of Multi-Channel Mayhem

2012-03-23T00:00:00.003-04:00

We ran into an interesting predicament as we ordered a TV stand online from a “significant” retailer. We purchased it because of the “big brand,” the “perceived convenience of multi-channel,” and a very timely email. Our TV stand arrived on time but was missing a couple of minor parts. Unperturbed, we drove over to their local store to see if we could get the parts or perhaps even exchange it at the store.

No such luck! We were told to call their toll free number and schedule a pick up with a package company. After a lot of needless banter, we chose to return it to the online division of the “significant” retailer and decided to pick up a similar stand from a competitor. Of course, the “significant” retailer continued with their barrage of emails – first thanking us for the purchase, then asking us about our experience, then apologizing for the inconvenience, followed by numerous other offers. We were even engaged on Facebook for our opinion.

Not to be outdone, a major online supplier of college textbooks got my son to purchase his books for college. They got him to notice them by advertising their ‘convenience’ on Facebook. The books arrived on time, but three out of seven were significantly damaged during shipping! We called (and called), we emailed (at least five times), we even poked them on Facebook - we finally called the credit card company to get their attention. Only then did this book merchant respond. They apologized and offered to exchange the books but with a small condition. They had to receive the books before they could ship us a new set! With college starting within days, the exchange seemed difficult, so we decided to return the books and pay a premium at the college bookstore.

I visited my ‘favorite’ financial institution thrice in a week – they were busy because of the “holiday” crowd. They were short staffed (for the foot traffic) and I waited for a long time like everyone else. It was humorous to watch their reps pitch online banking – they seemed to read a script to a consumer that was already irritated by the long wait.

Today consumers have many choices to purchase what they want. They can order online, order from a catalog, or simply go to the store. Whether you are using social media, the web, or simply going to the store, companies have made it easier for the consumer to find the items they are looking for. They need to strive to make it just as easy to return things as well. If a consumer purchases something online, and they don’t like it when they receive it, they will most likely go to the local store to try and return it. As easy as that sounds a lot of companies do not operate like that.

All companies have the challenge of connecting with consumers; turning someone away does more to hurt the relationship you’re attempting to build. The consumer, whether they are window shopping or purchasing doesn't care about the channel that they bought from – if the labels are the same, why does the channel matter?

Allow your channels work in harmony, focus on the consumer and close your loopholes. As far as the consumer is concerned your different channels should work as one unit. A satisfied consumer will feel respected, and will come back. Try and make them become a future customer.

Why your email reports matter to every department

2012-03-21T00:00:00.002-04:00

Email’s ROI is leading to more extensive use by organizations – for the standard reasons, ability to track and personalize, speed of communication, dynamic content and lower costs. This increased focus is also getting the attention of other groups within your company.

Your added popularity is an excellent setting to incorporate a cross-functional element into your email reporting. Regardless of industry, invite members of your call center, merchandising, creative, circulation, human resources, public relations and finance; recap your quarterly numbers and offer them the ability to use the medium. Here are a few possible applications:

Confusion in messaging often increases calls to the call center; include them as part of your email approval team. Let them help you proof your campaign.

Merchandising can track the performance of products; a simple survey on their behalf regarding what items to purchase for your catalog or store will help them qualify buying decisions.

Creative should get involved to provide input on the look and feel – they will get instant feedback based on the campaign performance and will have the opportunity to test print campaigns online.

Likewise, Circulation can test various markets and offers by email before going to print or alternate mediums.

Human Resources could solicit feedback through surveys or send internal notices about company-related events (i.e. annual healthcare information) therefore saving time and money.

The PR team could leverage consumer feedback as they approach the market with various announcements.

The Finance guys will always look at numbers. Having them there will help you show them the results that you are driving and will hopefully get them to invest a little more in your digital magic.

If done correctly, this group involvement should increase awareness, strengthen your campaigns and help cut costs in quite a few areas.

Five messages that most consumers pay attention to

2012-03-19T00:00:00.002-04:00

Transactional emails work; I’ve seen open rates averaging over 65%! So why not leverage them to create a more effective engagement strategy?

Here are five reasons to go back to the recipient:

1) When they sign up – Don't forget to welcome them into your fold; thank them, talk briefly about the virtues of your email program and be sure to insert an offer with an expiration date. People didn't just sign up to read your campaigns; they’re usually interested in purchasing something so make it easier for them.

2) Say thanks – Follow up the purchase with a reminder of why they’ve chosen your company. Send a thank you email with an interesting offer to apply toward their next purchase, a neat idea is to offer them a sample of one of three items – this creates interaction.

3) You want their feedback – A few days after shipment, ask them for feedback on the products purchased or the service provided. Make it easier for them by making the survey top heavy – solicit open-ended feedback first then progress to the multiple choice items. Be sure to include at least one question to get you feedback on other products (maybe by ranking other products.)

4) When they abandon their transaction – Be it an incomplete transaction or an abandoned shopping cart, you have to go back to them to ask them if there is anything you can do to help them complete their transaction. It doesn't have to be a discount, a simple reminder works wonders. If they still don't purchase, wait and send them a reminder in the future.

5) When they unsubscribe – Mail them after they click on unsubscribe, tell them you’re sorry to see them go. Include a banner to your sales outlet or a special discount at the bottom. You’ll be surprised at the unsubscribed recipient actually makes a purchase.

Transactional emails are tremendous revenue generators; you have to leverage these opportunities to drive enagement.

Practical tips on tying social media to your other channels

2012-03-16T00:00:00.004-04:00

You can increase engagement by inviting your consumers to join you on your social network across all your channels.

Tie it to print. Offer your consumer tips on products or services by using the three-step, "Paul Harvey" approach.

Step one: grab their attention by intriguing them to want to read more from a direct mail piece they received.

Step two: direct them to your social media channel(s) to read the rest of the story.

Step three: solicit their feedback by closing with a question. Some charities do an excellent job by describing the difference they are making in a person's life. The short story with a picture is compelling to the extent that it results in the consumer becoming more engaged and involved on their website. You can try this with your postcards and other direct mail drops including catalogue inserts.

Empower your people. Ask your team what drives people to come into your store or branch or even call your call center. Take the most commonly asked questions and have…

Proven Consumer Acquisition Strategies for Banks and Credit Unions

2012-03-14T00:00:00.004-04:00

Here are practical tips that I have successfully applied at both credit unions and banks to grow their consumer database.

Creative Credit Union Contest

A credit union I work with came up with a unique way to engage local youth during the summer, they told their members (in credit union lingo customers = members) to give their kids a special summer writing project. To participate, they had to submit an essay describing what they would do with $250K as the mayor of the city, charged with creating summer youth programs.

Parents submitted the essays and included the child’s age, education goals, etc. as part of the entry form. All this information was maintained in a database that allowed the CU to market education, insurance and car loan products to the member’s for their kids. All members were asked to judge – so everyone was involved.

How well does your bank really know you?

Another financial institution I work with sent an email campaign with the subject lines (split testing) What if you won the Lottery? and What if you won a Million Bucks? The campaign was used to launch a dream giveaway – recipients were asked to tell what they would do with the winnings.

Obviously the email got attention; there were many clicks to the landing page designed to capture the responder’s lifestyle choices or products – things they could buy or do if they had a million dollars.

The landing page also included a calculator, to help the customer learn how much they would have to save to reach their financial goal(s.) They tried to make the interactivity as real as possible – asking for more and more detail from the customer and showing them the steps to attain their financial goals. All information fed the bank’s marketing database and used today to create personalized marketing programs for each customer.

In both of these examples, the CU and Bank made connections with their customers – they created conversations and fueled their marketing efforts for years to come.

How Credit Unions Should Leverage Social Media for Effective Member Engagement

2012-03-12T00:00:00.004-04:00

Most organizations go through a great deal of effort to convert prospects into “customers.” For Credit Unions (CU’s), the challenge is even greater as CU’s strive to get consumers to become members.

The overall cost of conversion can be quite high – TV, radio, bill-boards, print, direct marketing, online – it all adds up. The prospect finally walks into your branch (or store), or calls your call center, or even fills out a form online. You have done a great job bringing them in, and you did convert them. Congratulations! What next?

Your challenge now is to stay connected and engaged with the new member. Social media can help, and here are a few suggestions on best to do it.

For starters, engage the member in a welcome stream of messages, an interactive dialogue that is best delivered across channels, specially your social media channels. When we say social media channels, we’re talking about everything from Facebook, Twitter, a blog, YouTube, and even LinkedIn. It helps if someone at your credit union is specifically tasked with managing this process and these channels.

Give them valuable information, insight, & tips. The most important thing to remember is to “EXCHANGE INFORMATION.” Have them start filling out a personal profile form (Facebook style with likes & dislikes).

While they are doing this, ask them if they have any questions. Keep in mind that you don’t want to make the process cumbersome by asking them all questions up front. Instead, you should be engaging them in three to five conversations. Ideally, you should be engaging them on the same “profile form” across channel.

As you learn more about your member and your member learns about the value your credit union brings to them, remind the member about where they can find useful information from your organization.

They already have your web site and phone number, they may even know about all your physical locations. Now make sure you clearly spell out your social media channels. List your social media channels and the purpose of each of these channels. Remind them that it could be another branch in terms of gathering information and learning. Make it easy for your member to be aware of all your member services.

Offer your members clarity as to why they should follow you on Twitter. Encourage your members to find “important and useful” information on your blog. Enthuse your members by making them show your stuff off on Facebook.

Now do three things on these social media channels – listen, respond and learn.

1 - Keep your eyes open for trends, member questions, and member suggestions.

2 - Respond to these in the best possible manner - respond on the phone if you have to.

3 - Most importantly do one more thing – you have to keep adapting to what the member needs from you – you are trying to learn from them so you can adapt your program to meet their needs. Always keep learning.

Your social media channels can be used to grow your sphere of influence with your members. Not only are you going to be able to engage your existing members, you are hoping that your members do their bit to carry your brand out to their contacts.

I will be running a social media workshop at the NAFCU Growth Conference - looking forward to the opportunity to teach and learn.

Proven tips to improve on your Twitter tactics

2012-03-09T00:00:00.002-05:00

Twitter is turning into a launch pad of how a lot of people are planting tweets, re-tweeting, but rarely listening.

Here is some useful information from a survey of brands that Tweet. I asked my colleagues at these brands to share feedback on how they are using Twitter, and what their results from Twitter really are.

These brands have been fortunate to get a fair amount of re-tweets. Unfortunately, the re-tweet is simply a blind re-tweet without much else. Translated, this means that fewer people are listening.

There are more applications that are being launched that allow people to reuse tweets, this allows business and individuals to reuse Tweets and repackage old information as they reach out to people.

You need to go back to the basics and remember that Twitter brings together the power of now, merging both your computer and mobile. You have to go back to the fundamentals and create interactive conversations.

To do a good job with Twitter you have to focus on three things –

1 - you have to learn to listen so you can participate in conversations,

2 - you have to build trust so your followers will click through on what you provide them,

3 - you need to communicate relevance.

Think about assigning Twitter to your customer care center. They can start the dialogue, and keep the consumer engaged.

Really Bad Stuff: The last chance email!

2012-03-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

I received three Last Chance emails from three different companies – you know, Sundeep, this is your last email, unless you... curious to see what would happen if I didn't do anything.

The first company was a small retailer, I had never purchased from them only signed up for their emails because I met the owners at a conference. I kept getting their emails and then eventually stopped opening them… a few months later I received a message with the subject line Sundeep, do you still want to hear from us? I never responded and that was the last I heard from them.

The second company was a research organization that prescribes best practices. Similar to the first company, I eventually stopped opening their emails. Eventually I received a message saying that this was their last email to me – three of them actually, each said I would be taken off the list. Despite their three separate threats to take me off, I still receive their emails every single week.

The third company was a major retailer; I quickly lost interest in their campaigns and eventually received their message asking if I wanted to continue receiving emails from them. I never responded but I’m still on their list and even received "follow up" Last Chance campaigns.

If you’re considering the Last Chance Campaign, an alternative suggestion would be to send a campaign with a possible subject line, It’s been a while... Include a personal note about how the person became part of your list (i.e. signed up from our site), include the reasons you want them to remain on the list.

Begin sending them emails less frequently – allowing them to rest and receive only your top campaign or offer each month. Study their behavior and see if they should be targeted more often, less often or along with the general population.

The challenge with the Last Chance email is that you truly have to follow what you promise or you will risk looking foolish with your prospects and customers – especially if you never take them off the list.

Proven tips to increase the value of your digital program

2012-03-05T00:00:00.002-05:00

Value exchange is your not-so-secret, secret ingredient in email marketing. Valuable information helps you earn the recipient’s attention, gets them to open your messages, and hopefully respond to your messaging through “positive” clicks.

Here are proven and successful themes that continue to work well:

Give them Three Reasons to Sign-Up for Email -Highlight the three reasons why someone should sign-up stressing the convenience of your email program, if it’s simple and clear people will respond.

Give them an Incentive - Reward loyal customers and get new sign ups by offering them money off their order; remember to include an expiration date.

Run Contests - A contest can be an effective way to gather preferences on your existing recipients and acquire new IDs while generating buzz for your brand and program. Do not forget to have a multiple “small” prize winners, and be sure to make the announcement of the grand prize winner via email.

Print and Skip the Line – Bring a printed copy of our email and you won't have to stand in line. Again, you are elevating the importance of this channel and offering convenience to the recipient.

Instant Exchange – Offer something that can be accessed immediately in exchange for an ID, like a whitepaper, tips or free day-pass.

$50 in Your Account – Often used by financial institutions, this strategy is an effective way to get customers to sign up for email and electronic statements. It saves the expense of paper statements or mailing but more importantly it allows the marketer to track what the recipient is clicking so they can personalize messaging and get recipients to pay attention.

Go Green – Appeal to the recipient’s ecological side and stress the importance of your program. People are beginning to accept email as a legitimate channel.

How to train all your channels to engage via social media

2012-03-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

For a brand to connect with a consumer, they have to be persistent and interesting without becoming bothersome. Once the consumer's interest is peaked, she will start paying attention to your brand. You will then need to think about how to keep the conversation going with the consumer and solicit her support to grow your influence.

Utilizing more channels, brand representatives, and ambassadors creates a greater level of difficulty in being able to stay connected with your consumers. Start by auditing something simple - make a list of all the channels that you have and list the message that each channel provides to the consumers that you serve.

Your goal now is to now do three things: make sure that the messaging is consistent, see if you are grabbing the consumer's attention, and have a plan in place to validate the effectiveness of your efforts.

Is the messaging consistent? Are you driving your consumers towards… (the rest of the article is on ClickZ)

Can your brand pass the online litmus test?

2012-02-29T00:00:00.002-05:00

Think about why consumers transact. Here are the top five reasons that prompt the consumer to transact online:

1) Convenience – Consumers feel that they could shop or transact from their home or office without having to go to the store or branch

2) Options – Consumers like being able to see all the available options without having to “walk” around in your store or branch or even “talk” to your people

3) Speed – The consumer appreciates the fact that they can complete their transaction at anytime and always be first in line

4) Trust – The consumer is willing to provide you with their personal credit details and other information only if they can trust your brand

5) Price – Consumers want to make sure that they are getting the best deal. This is one of the top motivators, because online shopping makes it easy to compare prices from other merchants.

Here are the top three reasons that consumer avoid online transactions:

1) Touch and Feel – When it came to certain items, consumers were reluctant to buy without being able to touch the product or see the true color.

2) Fraud – In some instances, consumers were worried about the check-out procedure or worried that the site may not be legitimate.

3) Return Process – Being unfamiliar with the company and their return policy often made the shopper reluctant to buy.

Apply this research to your own brand and see how you stack up. Your key to driving digital engagement is to win the consumers trust.

How a multi-channel retailers email capture rate is over 75%

2012-02-27T00:00:00.002-05:00

A multi-channel retailer I work with does a great job collecting digital information; at check out, the store employees ask customers for their email ids. Their approach has been perfected over time and is extremely successful.

These are some of the scripts that we use –

1) If we add you to our database, you will be able to look at your purchase history online

2) You will be able to return or exchange items without a receipt

3) You will get advanced notice of sales and special events, before everyone else

Their capture rate is above 75%!

This program has been successful for a few good reasons.

First, the customer contact information is tied into purchase history.

Second, their email messages can be personalized with the data collected into unique offers.

Third, the entire store team supports the program with a level of enthusiasm that is unprecedented in the industry.