Justin Dawkins

Updates from May, 2008

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  What is the future of email? A very loaded question!

  Justin 11:57 pm on May 30, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: behaviorial targeting, Campaign Monitor, Email Marketing (7), social computing, Web Analytics (3)

  I was recently browsing through some of my favorite marketing and email blogs and came across a post from Campaign Monitor. Towards the end of the article they asked a very good, but loaded question. The question is; Where do you see email going in the future? Of course I have a million ideas of where I think email is going, but to keep things simple I kept my response short.

  Here was my response:

  Wow!!! Where is email going? I think that is a loaded questions, but a good one. I see email continuing to grow as a mechanism for transactional, and 1-to-1 messaging. I can also see email becoming behavioral based, and more integrated with SMS and other mobile messaging platforms.

  With analytics, 4D modeling, advanced segmentation, dynamic web pages, and applications becoming smarter, email can be a powerful mechanism for communication more and more targeted messages to consumers or other businesses. With technologies becoming more advanced and easier to use. Email can hold its position in the internet marketing space. After all compared to other forms of communication email is still a baby. As email matures, businesses and organizations will begin to use email in more and more powerful ways.

  Like I said it’s a loaded question, and I’m sure many people have their opinions. That’s just my two clicks.

  My question to you is; understanding how sophisticated email and internet marketing has become, what related industry (analytics, behavior based applications, social computing etc.) will run parallel and grow with email? Just a sidebar, let me know what you think.

  -Justin

 

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  After the click: Why email and analytics go hand and hand

  Justin 10:22 pm on May 27, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: analytics, Email Marketing (7), lead-gen, life-cycle marketing, Measurement (2), Web Analytics (3)

  OK, lets just hop right into this one. It’s simple really. You have a company, you have a product and you have a website. You use CPC, banner ads, affiliate marketing and many other marketing vehicles to get people to your website, but none of those really matter unless you can understand exactly what happens after a visitor clicks on a banner, or finds your site via their favorite search engine. Ok now you are probably asking yourself; “Well shouldn’t I track and measure everything with analytics?” Well if you know anything about me, you would know that my initial response is “OF COURSE!” Using web analytics with email marketing is a little more special. The great thing about email marketing is that each recipient on your list is essentially their own unique identifier. This means that you can begin to track and measure down to a single user, and then aggregate behaviors to profile your users and market to them with even more precision. This makes analytics and email a powerful combination. The fact is email marketing is one of the most measurable methods of online marketing, and with many of the web analytics tools out there, setting up a campaign and tracking recipient behavior is simple. So you have to ask yourself what pieces of information am I missing out on if you don’t have web analytics enabled during your next email marketing campaign. With these two tools you don’t have to have some robust membership management system or expensive lead generation application, to drive and qualify leads. At least not yet. Instead you can use website behavior data from your email marketing campaigns to gain insight into what, why, and how users use the information on your website. Take a minute to think about it, if you are investing time, energy, and money into your email marketing programs, wouldn’t you want to take the time understand what happens after the click?

 
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  Part I: Understanding your audience - More than just translations

  Justin 9:00 am on April 2, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Email Marketing (7), International Marketing (2), international-email (2), Internet Marketing (6)

  A while back I briefly discussed some of the things you may want to consider when taking your email marketing international. I could dive into the obvious differences and probably should provide you with some back story but for now I will just get straight to the point.

  When considering your international email marketing strategy, the first thing to consider is your audience. After all we’re not talking about your neighbors or even someone who lives within your local community. We are talking about an audience that speaks multiple languages, is built on different principles, has a culture all its own, uses the web in many different ways and most importantly will likely interact with your company differently than most of your domestic customers.

  Because of these differences I have put together, what I believe to be, the top five questions you may want to ask yourself when you begin to write your copy and designing your email creative. Hopefully this will allow you to define a more effective strategy, for your international email campaigns.

  1. How does my international audience use email? (How frequently should I email my international customer base?)
  2. How does my company currently interact with my international customer base? (Online only, via one-to-one communications, website feedback loops, etc.)
  3. What cultural differences should I consider when designing my layout? (What works for some, may not work for others)
  4. What are the laws around SPAM in countries outside of the US? (Stay legit, some countries carry rules that are tighter than the US)
  5. How will I track, measure and manage my email metrics once my email is deployed?

  Of course there are many others, and this assumes that you have already asked yourself, the important questions like; “How do I measure my ROI?”, or “What are the goals and objectives of my email campaign?” Hopefully this will simply get the conversation going in your marketing department, or when you sit down with your sales team to discuss your global sales and marketing tactics. It’s important to remember that understanding the differences between your US customer base and your international customer base will determine your success in the international email marketing space. Let me know what you think, did I leave something out, what else would you add to the list?

  Next up I’ll cover, Part II: Going International – The message and the delivery. In this portion of the series I will review some of the design principles and standards you may want to consider, and how to find basic demographic information about your international recipients.

  Until next time,
  Cheers

 
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  Social Networking Sites Killing Email?

  Justin 7:04 pm on March 16, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Email Marketing (7), Social Media (3), Social Networking

  Ok ESPs, inbox providers and ISPs, relax. Email is just fine, I just wanted to get your attention, but you should still pay close attention to the question. Here’s an excerpt captured from a recent article I read;

  For the first time last month, traffic to social networks overtook traffic to web-based email services in the UK. Top networks Facebook, Bebo and MySpace took 5.17% of all UK Internet visits, with only 4.98% going to email services including Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and Gmail.

  If you pay close attention you will see that this took place in the UK, where email already gives way to SMS, but I have to wonder whether we will see a similar trend in the US. If so, then the first question I have to ask is; How will this shift in communication preference influence eMarketers that use email as a primary point of communication?

  Another reason this is particularly interesting, to me, is because I previously wrote a post about how social networks started with email. In that article I made mention to the fact that social networks, were a mashup of web 1.0 technologies, that simply faded away in late last century. This, recent, statistical observation reiterates my point, and raise another very big question; are social networks just the evolution of email, or the Texas sized asteriod that will crash into the Planet Email and kill the now pre-historic communication medium? Ok, i’ll admit it’s a bit dramatic, especially considering email is still a baby compared to other forms of communication. Nonetheless, as technology evolves you have to wonder, does the exponential growth rate of technology mean that we will see the product life cycle of internet technologies become shorter? Or does it simply mean that the product evolution cycle will become more and more obvious. I’m not sure, but there is plenty of room to imagine where this is all going. Just something to think about. What do you think?

 
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  Taking email marketing international

  Justin 11:34 pm on February 7, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Email Marketing (7), International Marketing (2), international-email (2)

  Over the next few weeks I will begin to focus my energy on the things to consider, when taking your email marketing international. Going international requires more than just translation of your messages. It requires a deeper look into localization, behavior trends, email usage and a little bit of creativity. These articles are specifically for persons who are seriously considering taking their communications messages international to; draw more business, increase global awareness, or to simply inform more people. Here is a summary of what’s to come.

  Taking E-mail International

  Part I: Understanding your audience – More than just translations
  Part II: Going International – The message and the delivery
  Part III: Get Creative – Think simple, effective, and local
  Part IV: Delivery – Not just another inbox

  There is entirely too much information to cover in even this four part serious, but they may be a good place for your to start.

 
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  Email doesn't work?

  Justin 2:08 am on January 23, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Email Marketing (7), Internet Marketing (6)

  I recently visited one of my favorites sites for e-marketers and ran across and article entitled; “Why email marketing doesn’t work!” My first reaction was to jump on the defensive, because as an email marketing professional, I take great offense to such an absurd statement. After realizing that the article was merely a plug for an email marketing alternative, I quickly decide that it would be better to simply point out just a few pros to using email marketing. This is what I had to say…

  Some really good reasons on why email marketing DOES work

  1. Customer Relationship Management – Email marketing is a great tool for customer retention and customer communications. Why? Because it can be extremely cost effective compared to call centers, or even traditional direct mail campaigns.
  2. Targeted Reach – For retail companies, email marketing is a great way to remind, or inform, customers of the great products, promotions, or services that your company may provide. If done correctly, the effectiveness and reach could make for a very profitable campaign.
  3. Cost efficiency – Email is great way to communicate to regions where the local infrastructure does not support traditional mail or communication, efficiently. For instance one of my clients that is a VERY large transportation company based out of Atlanta, only communicates with customers in the Asia-Pacific region through email. Why? Because it’s targeted, and much more cost effective than sending letters or developing out a multi-million dollar call center, or even outsourcing those call center needs to local providers.
  4. Sales Growth – Email marketing is a great way to up-sell and cross-sell existing or potential customers. The fact is targeted and personalized messages, based off of customer behavior has proven to be an effective way to generate additional sales and sales opportunities.
  5. Viral and Flexible – Also, email marketing offer the flexibility of personalization, but can be an extremely effective way to go viral. If an email has the right promotion, a recipient may just forward that information on to a friend that may be in the market for your product or service, even if the original recipient is not. It’s the next best thing to word of mouth, which is one of the most effective ways of marketing. I mean when was the last time someone re-mailed a direct mail piece. Never! It just doesn’t happen.
  6. Highly Effective – Lastly email marketing can be effective without large lists. Of course many email marketers would love to have a large list to blast messages to, because it increases their reach, but I can’t think of a single marketer who wouldn’t love a list of 10,000 people where, 50 to 60% actually took an action on the mailing as opposed to a list of 100K and only 3 to 5% actually even opened the mailing. Why? Because it’s about relevance not volume. Buying a list may increase your volume, but it will do little for your effectiveness, and will surely hurt a consumer’s confidence in your brand.

  I could probably think of at least 10 more reasons why email marketing “works” but I’m starting to think that this article is merely here to plug an alternative. That is ok, I just think that taking an obviously biased opinion for a site devoted to e-marketers is just a quick way to get criticized or ignored, but hey maybe that’s what you are going for. Nonetheless interesting perspective. I’ve heard someone say the same thing about SEO, buying ads, creating affiliate programs etc, but the true marketer will use a variety of mediums to find the best marketing mix. That’s Marketing 101.

  What do you think? Was the article out of line, was it simply biased, or do you think that there are some solid points in what the author had to say? Let me know, and I will shed more light on what APML is… after the break.

 
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  At A Glance:

  Justin 4:30 am on January 16, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  

  One of the founders of Gooruze, a social network for eMarketers, recently wrote a compelling and educational article on some of the things to consider when preparing for a product launch.

 
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  At 30,000 Feet: Set your own benchmarks

  Justin 1:48 pm on January 2, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Measurement (2)

  As you begin your new year, you have probably spent a very large amount of time on planning your online marketing mix. You have started to look at new technologies and maybe even new ways to showcase and inform people about your product or business. Well I just want to share a bit of advise about benchmarks from 30,000 feet (A High Level Perspective).

  While planning your goals and setting your measures of success late last year, you may have taken a look at some of the many industry reports that are available. You may have even started to look at the performance of your marketing tools and began to compare your stats to the those found in industry analysis reports. Before you get too deep in to the year may I recommend that you take a minute to review your current plan and look to set benchmarks based off your own data, instead of published benchmarks. I believe it to be a very good practice to set your own benchmarks and measure your success off of the milestones you set for your emarketing programs. Industry standards, or benchmarks, may be a good place to start for measuring the success of your marketing or business plan, however there is one important variable many reports leave out. Your business.

  Like I briefly mentioned before, industry benchmarks are essentially averages or the summation of data acquired and manipulated by someone outside of your organization. Sometimes the formulas they use, don’t take into account the variables your business model experiences or plans for. Industry benchmarks are important because it can give you a snapshot of the various marketing tools and how they perform across the marketing industry, but your business should really be measured on your own performance metrics and at your organization’s own pace. Let’s take email marketing for example. The open and click-through rates, detailed in a email marketing benchmark report, are aggregates and averages across various business models and sometimes business verticals. This can lead to a very skewed perspective and may even lead to beign misinformed about your customers’ preferences or behaviors. Instead of comparing your open rates on generalized standards, try monitoring and observing your own opens and clicks based off of metrics you define. By doing this, you can included variables that are likely left out of the industry benchmarks. Things like; seasonality, subject lines, dynamic content, communication preferences, personalization etc. If you measure from, quarter to quarter, month to month, or even campaign to campaign, you will undoubtedly find out more about your marketing performance and customers, than any benchmark will supply. This may seem like a regular practice to some, and foreign to others, but try it out if you haven’t before. Taking baby steps to improve your email marketing click-through rates or changing the links structure on your website for SEO, may take a little more time than you would like, but doing so will give you greater visibility into understanding your audience, even at 30,000 feet.

 
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  Getting Americans to spend 60 billion.

  Justin 7:36 pm on December 26, 2007 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Internet Marketing (6), Internet Marketing Strategy, strategy

  Apparently, retailer are hoping that Americans will spend 60 billion dollars on post holiday season sales. One estimate is that nearly 24 billion of that will come from cashing in gift cards. The only question I have is; “When are they going to spend it?” Many are focusing on cutting prices and capitalizing on the post Christmas sales, but in my opinion, spending “stored dollars” becomes increasingly important to customer’s retention and customer loyalty, not just a way to clear out the storage closet.

  Reminding customers that they likely got a gift card, during the holiday season, and that it is a welcomed form of payment for their next purchase, may be a way to strengthen the conversation between retailers and consumers, particularly online. Consumers may appreciate the fact that their favorite retailer, or potentially new favorite retailer, reminded them of their stored value cards, and can recommend products or service that fit their lifestyle and preferences. Integrating this information with your CRM can be a great way for marketers to target promotional communications and generate more revenue opportunities. Imagine receiving a target email communication that says; “We know you probably have a gift card, why not come spend it on some of those technology things you like and more.” You may just be willing to click on a few call-to-action buttons in the email and purchase some things. Sure consumers are spending dollars that someone else has already spent, but what about that additional $50 power cable, or the $100 spa membership that their friend or loved-one would not have bought. The upsell and crossell opportunities, could be huge. Now that consumers have nearly 60 billion dollars stored away, your sales team can focus on selling additional services or products to compliment a customer’s primary purchase. As a customer, I would much rather spend 50 bucks on the accessories for my iPod, than the 300 bucks for the iPod and accessories (Assuming a $250 price tag on the iPod, and the gift card is valued at $250). On top of that, let’s face it, as a retailer you are taking a better margin to the bank on the accessories and service offering than you are on most of the primary purchase products, anyway.

  Many retailers may think that this is a bad idea, but I see this as an awesome opportunity to capture a new customer, or even learn more about an old one. Increasing a customer’s spending, even if it’s stored value, increases the likelihood of that customer returning for future experiences, and buying similar products or service to compliment their previous purchase. It may even rekindle an old retail-customer relationship, that has been dormant for a while. Maybe I’m thinking too much like a consumer, but if the possession of a gift card gets a customer in the door or on my website, as I retailer, I’m happy you have it. Gift cards simply act as Mr. Opportunity knocking, it’s just up to retail to answer.

 
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  Email-Standards.org

  Justin 1:52 am on November 30, 2007 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Email Design

  I was perusing through my favorite blogs and websites and ran across a great new site. David Greiner, of Campaign Monitor, recently announced the launch of Email-Standards.org. This site is a great resource for anyone trying to get a grasp on how the major email clients, support CSS and other design elements of email. This site acts as a digital advocate for email design standards across the major email clients. The best thing about the site is the fact that it exist. It lets you know that there are other professionals that want and see a need for email marketing design standards. If you get a moment go check out the site and be heard. You may actually learn a thing or two. I did.

  -Justin