SUBSCRIBERS RULE!

I’m Out of the Office (So Turn Left)

Proof that you should never ask a Welshman for directions via email.

Pumpkins Rule!

Q: What do you get when you have a father/marketer, two pre-tweens anxious to scoop “pumpkin guts,” and an extraordinarily patient wife who is adept at the crafting arts?

A: The world’s first, SUBSCRIBERS RULE!™ carved pumpkin!

Enjoy the pics, and don’t forget — you have until Midnight EST on Halloween to submit your SR!-themed photos and t-shirt slogans for your chance to win one of two Sanyo Xacti HD video cameras.  Enter now!

The official SUBSCRIBERS RULE!™ Pumpkin

NEWSFLASH: Gourds are very subscriber-centric.

Reading Is Soooo Overrated!

As Jeff mentioned in an earlier post, I recently worked with the folks over at Ball State Univerity’s Center for Media Design on a paper outlining personal and marketing communication preferences of 6 commonly targeted groups. It is always interesting to follow the coverage after releasing a major piece of research like this and to see how different people choose to cover it. Here is a short list of the more entertaining coverage we have received:

• “According to research conducted in part by Ball State University’s Center for Media Design…” No mention of ExactTarget on this one. But of course, this was a pick up by a competitor. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
• “… from an ExactTarget-sponsored survey conducted by the Ball State University Center for Media Design.” I must admit, the two paragraphs on page 3 of the whitepaper about the methodology was a little on the dry side. But really, this was a collaborative project where they did some work and we did some work. We even had phone calls and stuff to compare notes, combine findings, and talk about which findings would be the most relevant to marketers.
  

  If I got credit for David Daniel's work!

• “A recent survey conducted by JupiterResearch for ExactTarget suggested that the 18 to 34 age group is more likely to be influenced by email marketing than…” Now how in the world did David Daniels work his way into this one? David does fantastic work and I enjoy hanging out with him at industry events, but c’mon. Wait, that gives me an idea…
• And this from a UK, “It might be worth noting at this point that ExactTarget are an email marketing company, but they did have the academics at the unfortunately-initialled BS University to back them up.” Gotta hand it to the Brits on that one… funny! That said, it is too easy to dismiss research because it was conducted in part by a email marketing company. The goal was not to prove email superior, it was to find the channels most appropriate for different types of communications. There is a clear shift toward social networks and SMS among younger demographics. Our research supports that, but we also found that assuming that subscribers want companies intruding into these mediums is simply wrong. Marketers must be delicate in their approach to these mediums.
• And my favorite from a company specializing in SMS, “I’d rather you text me!”

Perfect! That is what this is all about… preferences! Some people would rather you text them, others may want you to post to their wall on Facebook. But there is a huge problem we came across: it’s nearly impossible to predict! It is truly a matter of individual choice. Emerging channels–especially social networks and text messaging–are highly personal channels that the majority of people feel are off limits to marketers for one-to-one messaging. Banner advertising, okay. Fan sites, great! Promotional messaging, not so much.

To get the full scoop, download the paper and read it. If you really don’t have the time, let me point out the 3 key take aways: 1) Traditional direct marketing channels such as email and direct mail are not going anywhere. They are the foundation of direct marketing communications for all commonly targeted demographics. 2) For those subscribers heavy into SMS and social networks, it is nearly impossible to determine based on demographics alone what channel people prefer for promotional messages–so we need to ask. 3) Try emerging channels such as SMS and social networks, but take time to understand what subscribers expect through these channels and make sure you take permission very seriously. If you don’t, your subscribers will cease to be subscribers for long.

Welcome Morgan Stewart!

It’s my pleasure to welcome Morgan Stewart, ExactTarget’s Director of Research & Strategy, to the SR! blogger fold.  Be sure to check out his killer bio — it’s could go down as one of the greatest of all time.

I mean who amongst us has had a horrible, Ferris Bueller, B-movie knock-off abscond with our identity?  I didn’t think so.  Point, Mr. Stewart — and welcome to the SR! fold.

Email Ed - No Executive Left Behind

Bob Wants to Talk to You

I’m a firm believer that no marketing organization can maintain a subscriber-centric philosophy unless it has the full support of its C-Suite.

Too often, however, the nuances of best practice email marketing are lost on executives whose primary experience with email is their personal inbox.  Accordingly, it is the job of each email marketer to roll-up their sleeves and educate their execs on:

• The strategic, tactical & legal differences between direct mail and email
• The fact that email is a long-term, not short-term, marketing medium
• The dangers of a “batch & blast” mentality
• The need for the email team must have a seat at the CRM & data integration tables
• The fact that relevant, timely & requested email will always cut through the spam clutter

For more thoughts on this topic, check out my article in today’s DMNews: No Executive Left Behind: E-mail Education for the C-Suite.  And if you do schedule a SUBSCRIBERS RULE! briefing for your company’s leadership, be sure to cater in lunch.  Executives luvs them some free lunch!

Better Subscribers, Better Relationships - Papa John’s

Normally, when the phones aren’t ringing at a pizza place on a Friday night, it’s a bad thing.  At Papa John’s, however, it’s a sign of the times.

As one of the first pizza delivery chains to fully embrace online and text-based ordering, Papa John’s has been quick to test the power of emerging one-to-one channels both to promote its products and to enable customers to place orders.  The result?  Earlier this year, the company reported that it had eclipsed the $1B sales mark from online ordering alone.

While at Connections ‘08, we caught up with Nigel Travis, Papa John’s CEO, and Bob Ford, Interactive Marketing Manager, to learn how their efforts line-up with the SUBSCRIBERS RULE! philosophy and why they are bullish on turning over more control of email marketing messages to their franchisees.

The resulting interview may leave more than a few email marketers wishing that they had a CEO as engaged and aware of the individual subscriber’s value as Nigel Travis.

Why Email Marketing Segmentation Matters This Holiday Season

When the national press takes the time to write an article about email marketing, I pay attention.  The reason is that national reporters rarely understand the nuances of the medium and are, therefore,  a far better conduit for what “real people” think about email marketing.

Last week’s AP article entitled “E-tailers push e-mail discounts to lure shoppers,” is a perfect example.  In discussing how e-tailers are planning to step-up their email efforts due to email’s low cost/high return, the reporter asked a consumer what he thought of this anticipated trend.  The response should serve as a wake-up call to any email marketers who aren’t segmenting their subscribers and personalizing their offers:

“I find them annoying,” said Cory Porter, a Web shopping fan from Washington D.C. who says he now receives about seven per day, twice as many as about two months ago. He had signed up with about nine retailers including Barneys New York, Banana Republic and Safeway to receive e-mail promotions, but thought they would be customized to his needs.

“I am a 32-year-old guy who lives in an urban area with no kids,” Porter said. “In other words, I don’t need blouses, high heels, or kid’s juice boxes.” As a result, he’s opted out with some stores, directing the rest to his spam account. [emphasis added]

Cory’s experience confirms that consumers aren’t using a legalistic definition of spam.  To them, “spam” includes emails that they have requested but prove to be irrelevant to their interests and needs.  Indeed, recent research from MarketingSherpa and Q Interactive found that over 50% of consumers have used the “Report Spam” button to unsubscribe from permission-based email that they found irrelevant or too frequent.

The fascinating flip side to this story is that many marketers have the data that they need to segment and personalize their messages — but they don’t do it.  From the AP article:

The big problem, according to Stephanie Miller, vice president of market development for consulting group Return Path Inc., is that less than 20% of retailers’ e-mails are customized even though stores have the capability of targeting their messages. She thinks it’s because marketers don’t get the resources they need. That will change, she said, because just stepping up the frequency is not going to work in this challenging environment.

There is no question that email volume will increase this holiday season.  The real question is which companies will invest the extra time and effort to segment and personalize their messages.  Those that do will undoubtedly see far better results than competitors who desperately cling to a batch & blast strategy.  Moreover, they won’t have to deal with post-holiday, deliverability hangover caused by consumers who use the “Report Spam” button to unsubscribe.

So if you haven’t implemented those segmentation and personalization plans, now is the time to start.  The coming wave of economic, seasonal & desperation-fueled email marketing will provide a huge opportunity for those who put in the extra effort to serve each individual subscriber’s needs.

Gary Vaynerchuk Loves His Subscribers

Gary Vaynerchuk and yours truly throwin' some SR! love.

For those of you not familiar with Gary Vaynerchuk, he is the spitfire, whirling dervish of marketing passion behind Wine Library, Wine Library TV, GaryVaynerchuck.com, and some of the best keynote presentations that I’ve seen on the digital marketing circuit in the past year.

Thanks to the good folks at MarketingProfs, Gary not only keynoted today’s Digital Marketing Mixer in Scottsdale, Arizona — he also participated in an excellent session entitled “Email & Social Media: True Love Always.”

For someone such as Gary, who has made his name in large part thanks to social media, his take on email’s place in the marketing ecosystem was truly refreshing.  His team at Wine Library doesn’t treat it as “cheap paper,” but rather a critical part of their customer service and communication efforts.

Here are just a few of the email marketing-related bits of wisdom Gary shared with attendees:

• Wine Library trains all sales associates to ask for email addresses at time of purchase.  Consistent failure to do so has resulted in the termination of several employees.
• If your content is rich and your audience is passionate, your emailing frequency can break all the rules.  In fact, Wine Library emails its subscribers 7 days a week while still maintaining a stellar sender reputation and deliverability rates.
• If someone unsubscribes from Wine Library’s email program, Gary or another staffer will personally call them to determine the reason and make sure that they are aware of their monthly and more segmented email subscription options.
• Gary still personally responds to all the email he receives — some 1,000 messages a day.  Why?  Because if they care enough to write, you should care enough to respond.

The bottom line is that Wine Library treats email as it should be treated — a two-way communication channel.  And perhaps more importantly, they don’t forget that the email relationship is just one of many a company should have with customers.  By supplementing their email interactions with face-to-face and telephonic follow-ups, Wine Library builds the kind of life-long loyalty that far bigger brands struggle to attain.

Courting the “Subscribers First” Vote

Much like The Atlantic, we here at SUBSCRIBERS RULE! are “of no party or clique.”  Accordingly, when we see a candidate for Vice President of the United States throwing the SR! gang sign, we are sworn to document and report it.

Now, if we could only get someone to photograph Barack Obama and/or John McCain wearing an SR! foam hand, well…that might win a Sanyo Xacti or something.

Sarah Palin courts the "Subscribers First" crowd

Think Again (About theAtlantic.Project)

Think Again - theAtlantic.Project

It’s not often that the redesign of a print magazine gets marketers talking, but the redesign of The Atlantic may prove to be the exception to the rule — and yes, it has a subscriber-centric angle.

For those not familiar with The Atlantic, it aspires to:

…derive[] its sensibility not from a single editorial voice or theory of how the world works, but from its regard for its readers’ intelligence and wit, for their curiosity and their hope that the world might be made a better place.

To better convey how this mission connects with the new redesign, The Atlantic has launched theAtlantic.Project (a.k.a. “Think Again”) in which regular folks are asked to answer a number of thought-provoking questions such as:

• Do We Consume Too Much?
• Can Selfishness Save the Environment?
• Is Google Making Us Stupid?
• What’s the Cost of Being a Nerd?

The resulting blog, photographs, and video interviews are extraordinarily engaging — perhaps because it’s so rare to hear regular folks respond to questions that are a bit off-the-beaten path.  Give yourself 10 minutes to dig into the site, and I think you may just agree.

When viewed in combination with Microsoft’s I’m a PC campaign, I can’t help but feel that something positive is building in the advertising zeitgeist.  Individual consumer voices are being heard, amplified, and respected — and that could only be a good thing for those who aspire to promote a subscriber-centric philosophy within their own companies.  That’s cause enough to think again.

Messaging Behaviors Whitepaper

I’m pleased to share that two of my colleagues at ExactTarget, Morgan Stewart & Chip House, have just released a new research whitepaper that explores one-to-one messaging trends among today’s consumers.

Entitled Messaging Behaviors, Preferences & Personas, the research was conducted in cooperation with Michael Bloxham and Michael Holms of The Center for Media Design at Ball State University.

Notable in its definition and exploration of several consumer “personas” and their preferences with regard to marketing via email, SMS, Instant Messenger, and Social Media, the whitepaper certainly confirms that consumers are the ones in charge of their various inbox relationships.

If you’d like to review the findings for yourself, click here.  And stayed tuned for more analysis in the days and weeks to come.  Combined with Morgan & Chip’s prior SUBSCRIBERS RULE! whitepaper, there’s a lot to chew on.

You Have BrainMail!

I'm sorry, my brain inbox is full.

Fresh from the “strange but true” inbox here at SR! comes a report from the Discovery Channel that:

The U.S. Army is developing a technology known as synthetic telepathy that would allow someone to create email or voice mail and send it by thought alone. The concept is based on reading electrical activity in the brain using an electroencephalograph, or EEG.

If you thought spam was a problem today, wait until the unfiltered thoughts of C-Level execs and undisciplined marketers rain down upon an unsuspecting populace like a thousand tiny migraines.  It will make Minority Report look like the Colgate Comedy Hour.

So, if you needed another reason to educate your company as to why now is the time to commit to a subscriber-centric marketing philosophy, look no further that a future in which UCBM (Unsolicited Commercial BrainMail) literally competes for mindshare.

My instinct?  Just as they do today, consumers will opt for relationships with the companies that don’t give them headaches (buh-dump-bum).  Thank you!  Remember to tip your waiters & waitresses…I’m here all week!