Mission Impossible?

I witnessed an interesting test at a financial institution – a group of private bankers were given offers by their supervisor at 8:00AM one morning. Inside the envelopes the manager had the script and the offer details; the bankers then proceeded to call their customers and prospects regarding the offer.

The team met again at 10:30, seven bankers sat with their manager reviewing the responses to the offers. To my surprise (not theirs) each banker had been given a different deal to carry to their customers; during their time together, the team settled on three of the seven offers and modified scripts to strengthen these top offers.

The call center manager was then presented with these three tightened offers and the private bankers spent time with the call center staff training them on both the offers and the possible responses. Over the next two days, the call center pushed the offers to their prospects. I suggested incorporating email into the mix – sending a personalized offer to customers/ prospects that the call center was unable to reach by phone as well as a last chance email to those who had initially passed the offer. These emails included testimonials from prospects that accepted the offer and were streamlined to provide three succinct reasons and a single call to action.

In the end, the entire process proved very successful in customer growth, marking/ brand strengthening through multi-channel communication and (importantly for the bank) team unity – the call center even got email stats for recipients who had clicked through for one last attempt via phone.

Oprah YouTube

This week Oprah ran a show completely devoted to YouTube – she recounted how Esmée, a teen in the Netherlands went from singing in her bedroom to opening tours for Justin Timberlake (she was also signed to his record label.) The show included a couple who had performed the famous ending number from Dirty Dancin’ at their wedding reception; their encore performance on Oprah included the addition of Patrick Swayze.

With more than 200 million videos watched on YouTube every single day, this could be a perfect medium for your marketing efforts. In addition to the popularity, there are no software requirements to view or post videos so you don’t need to download or update plug-ins or worry about server space to house huge video files.

If you’re stuck on what to film, maybe you should accept videos… P. Ditty took video applications for his new assistant job through YouTube. He received thousands of applications in 24 hours, but nothing as entertaining as the Evolution of Dance (the currently the most viewed video on YouTube) or Tyson the skateboarding dog.

To help make your video capturing and uploads easier, visit Creative Labs website. We met them at the Internet Retailer tradeshow this month and learned about their Vado Pocket Video Camera, its compact, has great picture quality and includes a USB port for instant uploading to YouTube or your PC – it’s easy enough for the Yogi to use… so watch for videos on the blog soon.

Magazine Marketing

Those clever folks behind the scenes at your favorite monthly mag use very savvy marketing techniques that get you to buy, read and maybe even implement into your lives. Here are just a few examples from the covers that are helping hold down my coffee table:

20 Foods that Fight Cancer
300+ Fall Fashion Ideas
7 New Ways to Be Happy
20-Minute Workouts that Work
6 Ways to Retire Sooner (on the MSN site this morning)

Suppose you know that blueberries (blackberries, cranberries and red grapes) contain antioxidants that repair cell damage… but you’re not really sure about the other 19 foods that could fight cancer. So you buy the magazine and read to discover the unknown 19, or six alternate ways to be happy (inheriting millions was not listed.) The point is that these magazine marketers have gotten your attention and inspired purchase or inspired you to open and read.

This numbers game can also be applied to your email marketing efforts; I’ve included an email sent yesterday by Medical Arts Press, they have highlighted their Top 10 Giveaways under $1. Naturally, I’m the proud owner of a ton of promotional pens but I’ve never gotten a logo toothbrush from my Dentist nor has my little brother (AKA Jacques the Poodle) ever received a pet food can cover from his Vet. The point is that the numbers game in play is effective because it makes the reader think more about what they are reading, it’s subtle but it could be a real marketing advantage.

What's in a name anyway?

That is the question I asked myself after reading about Yahoo Mail giving their email users a choice of new domains. Yahoo announced Thursday, June 19, that they are expanding their email domains to include two new choices - ymail.com and rocketmail.com. This will essentially triple the size of their free email service. (Second article also posted.)

According to Yahoo, their users want freedom of choice when choosing an email address, as it represents who they are as a person. If a username has already been taken, their users have to choose something else, or put a series of numbers after it to make it unique, like "sharmila4655" or "dogsrule957.” Now, Yahoo users who create new accounts will have more choices... for a short time anyway.

What does this mean to us email marketers?

• Email Deliverability by Domain – To track Yahoo deliverability in total, you may want to add some addresses using the new domains. As a best practice, take a look at your overall email list to see what domains represent the majority of your list. You may notice the ymail.com and rocketmail.com domains increase as users set up accounts at those new domains and perhaps migrate away from their Yahoo domain. As a result, we may see an increase in inactive yahoo.com email accounts as users migrate over to the new domains. (That is, if they are really unhappy with their existing "dogsrule957" email address and really want just "dogsrule.")


• Email Performance by Domain – For those who track email performance by domain, you'll want to add these new domains to your tracking so you get the full view of email performance for Yahoo.

What does this mean for everyone else?
If you have an existing yahoo.com email address, and don't feel it truly represents who you are, now is your chance to change it! Opt for something at rocketmail.com if you want to be hip and cool, or something at ymail.com for a more professional address. And, hurry up - the good names may already be taken!

Ketchup with cereal?

I’ve flown to India twice this year – once for a conference and now for vacation. On each trip to India the attendants served Indian food, unfortunately these US-based flight attendants didn’t really understand the cuisine. The menus were very descriptive, but the items served weren’t correct – both flights (different airlines) served the snacks without condiments. Instead the chutneys that were described in the menu were served with the salad as an additional dressing; when I questioned it, the attendant laughed and said she didn’t know what each dish was.

Unfortunately, the same can happen to an email program. It’s easy for us in the industry to tell when the groups in merchandising fight for product space in an email – the myriad of products are squeezed in and the ensemble doesn’t match. If your program incorporates recipient preferences, there is a good chance that the email may have a vast array of products. If you’re showing an array of products on purpose, try to categorize or… maybe it’s time to evaluate if the ketchup should be advertised with the cereal.

Oh yeah… and make sure your front line knows how things are presented – menu, offers, etc.

Paper or Phone?

I don’t think we’ve had a week this year without news concerning the airline industry; their struggle with the costs of fuel, new mandates etc. are front and center in my mind… mainly due to the amount of time I spend on a plane.

Needless to say, any news outside of these concerns is what I read first – one of the most interesting stories of late is from the Atlanta Journal Constitution on Delta’s planned introduction of electronic boarding passes which will be read from the passenger’s web-enable phones. Domestic passengers will be able to check in through a special site and will receive an electronic bar code that can be scanned from the screen of their phone by the TSA via special scanners. Their hope is that these changes will ease the travel pangs of the business traveler, the airline’s target market due to the rising costs.

I have multi-fold interest in this announcement – as a passenger, I like the potential time savings. As a marketer, this is just another step towards making the mobile device more accepted. I’ve seen examples of how mobile devices are used overseas as debit cards, paying tolls and parking charges. I welcome that future in the US – mainly because I am a Smart-Phone addict. Finally I like the simple poll that was included in the article; I appreciate the phrasing of the responses and, best of all, I’m not alone with the welcoming of the eBoarding. Too bad I won’t be using an eBoarding pass on today’s flight.

Email for Emerson

I wanted to share a fun article for this Friday post… according to an MSN article by Anu Garg (founder of Wordsmith.org, an online community of word lovers) the first use of the word e-mail was in the 1800s, around the time of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Unfortunately, Emerson was unable to share early drafts of Transcendentalism with his editor… he didn’t even have a phone. But it would seem that Emerson and others knew of e-mail. At the time, e-mail meant enamel from the French word émailler which still means to enamel as in applications of glossy paint to pottery or metal etc. Consider the mail portion of the word to something akin to the mail in chainmail – one of the rings of which armor was made.

In a somewhat related topic, today’s SIA call will cover the latest in CAN-SPAM regulations… the newest evolution in the history of email, Ralph wasn’t invited.

SIA: CAN-SPAM Updates

Are you ready for the proposed CAN-SPAM Updates taking effect in July… do you even know what’s on the docket? Tomorrow’s SIA call is an opportunity to discuss proposed changes to the legislation, your responsibilities as marketer and how to make the appropriate updates to your current approach.

Visit the Service In Action site for specifics on the Friday call; you can prep for the discussion by reading the FTC Summary of the changes or… if you’re having difficulty sleeping, check the full report.

We look forward to hearing you on the call!

Collingwood vs. Geelong

While in Australia, we attended an Australian Rules Football game (AKA Footy) – their AFL Series (Australian Football League.) It was a high scoring match-up with the underdog making win big, Collingwood beat Geelong 132 to 48. Their stadium was packed with 78K people on Friday night, breaking out in songs at every chance.

The match was exciting, even though we were confused outsiders – Australian Rules games are slightly different from the typical American version. There are more players on the field, they don’t wear the helmets or shoulder pads (but are just as rough), there are more goal posts and players can throw, kick or pass the ball – making it a weird combination with elements resembling our basketball, soccer and football. Like basketball, each player is guarding another from the opposing team; one of the more interesting pairings was right in front of our seats – these guys must have really hated each other, neither gave the other a break, constantly pushing, punching and shoving although the ball was at the other end of the field, our hosts called it niggling.

In addition to educating us on the game, our hosts were a major AFL sponsor and host a little league Footy mini-match during the half. The mini-match was the exhibition game from the leagues of kids/ young adults participating in matches throughout Australia, leagues that partially serve as training-grounds for future footballers.

So what all can an email marketer learn from this? For starters, segment your lists based on interests and interaction. As people join your program, carry them through a bonding stream to set expectations (this keeps them from feeling like the Americans at an AFL Game.) Make sure your recurring campaigns leverage all stages – introduction, product/ service interest, post-purchase follow-up etc. Take a positive spin on the niggling; make sure your recipients know you’re there… but maybe without using your fist. Finally, try to evoke some passion into your work make your campaigns a welcome addition to the inbox for your recipients and yourself… you may even inspire a song or two.

Businesses Embrace Blogging

Well it’s no secret that we at the Email Yogi are blog fans, the approach is a great way to build your brand, increase your natural search and incorporate user generated content into your marketing mix. We also realize that the first step into the blog-isphere can be a difficult one – for many companies.

According to an article by Rich Karpinski in the June 9 edition of BtoB Magazine, only about 12% of Fortune 500 companies are running a corporate blog. The article went on to discuss more than numbers, there was a great deal of insight on best practices, the evolution and importance of the medium and how to measure successes.

We echo Karpinski’s best practices approach (listed in the print edition):

• Start Small – Start with monitoring conversations from customers/ prospects.
• Make a True Dialogue – You need a two-way conversation, not just a repository for your existing marketing materials.
• Find the right Mix – Dedicate a “chief blogger” and incorporate subject matter experts, executives etc. as needed.
• Maintain your Blog – Respond quickly to comments.
• Have fun – This ties back with the dialogue needed, state your POV.
• Don’t Stop – There may be more to enhance your blog – video, wikis etc. Keep adding as necessary to fit with your marketing needs.

In addition, we recommend monitoring other blogs to help you find your style and approach. Get out there and good luck.

Science, Art, Tact & Luck

The strength of any marketer’s efforts is based on information and leveraging data appropriately. Many sign-up sites simply collect email IDs – the focus for all of us should be a lot more. You don't have to make it mandatory to get extra information but every little bit can be leveraged in your marketing endeavors.

Couple information provided with information you gather – they provide their name and email ID, you should date/ time stamp receipt in your database. Monitor the source code, did they sign up on your home page or specific product page, did they come from other channels or a search, were they passed on by a friend or did they enter a contest? Having the source code is vital to your list maintenance and growth as it helps you know where you should spend to get more names.

Try to know their preferences, Paul Fredrick asks about the type of apparel you wear, AAA Carolina's asks you about your interests and Herrington wants to know what your passion is. Try to collect other demographics – ask them about their gender if it is appropriate to your brand; a subtle way of doing this is to revert to the British by asking the recipient how they would like to be addressed – Mr, Ms. or Mrs.

When someone is making a purchase, ask them if it is for them or for someone else. This can be achieved indirectly by offering to include a gift message or gift wrapping the item. Ask them where they live, you can ask for their address or just a state or region. Collecting location helps product targeting (it’s hard to sell tulips in Tucson.)

Again, couple information provided with information you monitor – add transactional information about the customer; track buyer versus non-buyer, openers versus non-openers and clickers versus non-clickers. Keep the bounce history and remember to run the name through your SPAM trap database.

Attaining email nirvana is a combination of science, art, tact and some luck – the science part is your database.

Yogi makes 300

Today is an exciting day for those the behind the scenes crew at the Email Yogi Blog, you are reading our 300th post.

We began this journey in November 2006 and since then have brought you insightful tips, invitations to events, the occasional spunky story and passed along a great deal of praise for campaigns, practices and articles we admire. We’d like to share some of our must reads, the top five articles that can catch you up to speed on the past 299 posts contained here:

Don't Do This! Here are a few tips to employ when establishing your eMarketing mantra (om… om... om...)

Thou Shalt... read this article for advice on constructing a strong subscription page.

Survey Insight is just a click away, learn how to ask the right questions and get the most useful information to leverage in future communications.

My Customers, My Fans… if you’re looking for loyalty, start with your customers. This post tells you how best to turn your loyal customers into raving fans.

… and who can forget the infamous Rick Stroud, here’s a link to one of his most enjoyed contributions CustomerPower named in the Mitchell Report. This is just a little glimpse into the cast of characters we have based in Columbia.

Thank you to all our readers, hopefully you’ll be on board of the next 300.

Quarterly Check-Up

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 the email marketing group can provide to the rest of the organization. A typical agenda should include:
1) Review of campaigns and statistics
a) Brief on reporting numbers for the quarter
b) 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
a) Number of new people opted-in
b) Number of people who have unsubscribed
3) Deliverability statistics
4) Unsubscribe audit results
5) Email ROI
6) Quarterly email champion
7) Observations, ideas, suggestions and challenges

The Results
Create charts to illustrate trends – enhance the raw numbers with additional measures, like which subject lines were top performers and why. Evaluate why some campaigns gained a higher click through than others. Determine which campaign resulted in more visits to the landing pages and what happened once the user arrived there. Monitor net subscribes, the number should be a positive (if not, dig-down to see what’s happening.)

Evaluate processes, what were the main deliverability issues you’ve faced, plug existing holes and ensure you are adhering to white-listing standards. Audit processes, make sure unsubscribes are being honored (via phone, fax, mail-in, email and/ or the single click.)

Assign an ROI for your campaigns, compute by removing your total cost to email from the margin for your sales. If you are using this to cut down on costs for direct mailing – write down the amount saved and the impact made (opens and clicks).

Assign a quarterly email champion – pick someone from the store, or call center or another department, thank them and highlight how they helped.

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.

Top 10 Gifts for Dad

Father’s Day is just four days away, and one of the last calendar holidays for retailers before the end of the year push. We’ve seen a number of interesting campaigns including Absolutes for Dad and Must Haves – retailers have pulled out all the stops to get the end-user to bite.

Stand-Out Campaigns
A mid-western retailer sent a series of campaigns listing the top 10 gifts for Dad, the first campaign had two gifts listed and the subsequent four campaigns all listed two gifts each. The final campaign recapped all 10 but with an added twist – the landing page included testimonials from recipients of the gifts from the last year.

A bank sent a campaign encouraging recipients to a landing page that carried the tag line: “Put $100 in the bank, take Dad to lunch and tell him what you did!” The messaging went on to tell how happy Dad will be; the campaign was sent to young professionals and included different subject lines depending on the segment targeted.

In the days leading up to fathers day, an insurance company in India asked people to write about the best thing their Dad had done for them as they were growing up. Some submissions were run as a series of TV ads; others were listed on YouTube and in plain text. Engaging the recipients did a lot to build their brand.

Good luck this Fathers Day and best wishes.

Web 2.0 and You

Web 2.0, User Generated Content, M2.0… it’s all the same and it’s been around for quite a while too, Tim O’Reilly first coined the term in 2005. Despite its longevity and overall buzz, many companies are stuck on the brink of integrating User Generated Content into their marketing plan.

This is completely understandable, because it seems like some new wiki, blog, Twitter or Flickr-thingy finds its way onto the radar each day. When you combine the available options with your overall needs, it’s no wonder Marketers are stuck wondering which step to take. Unfortunately, there is no single answer… everyone’s path is different; because every company targets a different customer need.

Taking that first step will become much easier when you focus on the customer – what would benefit him or her most? Would a brief update from Twitter fit the bill, or maybe a YouTube posting with visual “how to” example. The communication doesn’t have to be outbound, accept comments/ user reviews from your customers or host a contest with photo or video submissions. Here are a few additional ideas and examples from an M2.0 series of posts we ran in May:

M2.0: YouTube
M2.0: Social Networking
M2.0: Twitter
M2.0: Blogs

Subscribe to our Newsletter by visiting the Service In Action, Panel of Peers or NCR eCommerce sites.

Little Danny Riordan

During our trip to Australia, Reagan and I had a day to do some sightseeing. We drove to the town of Lorne, about two hours outside of Melbourne, had lunch and wondered around the main street. One of the buildings was a hardware store, with a chalkboard just inside of the open doors, written on the chalkboard was: What goes up slowly and comes down fast? (Answer on the other side.)

Curious, I walked in to see the answer; which was An elephant in an elevator. Smiling, began to browse the aisles and was greeted by the store manager, Danny Riordan. A charming guy, he told me that he had been running the store for the past 15 years and his focus was on helping his customers. The joke of the day is something that gets people to come into the store; it was his way to help everyone feel engaged, smile and to help reduce any anxiety they may feel.

As the customer walked in, he didn’t ask them what they needed, he asked them if they liked the joke and would then offer his help. His customers love him, coming back to the store again and again.

The same can apply to email programs, imagine creating an anticipation of Danny's next joke. Engage the customer by intriguing them and make them relish the experience as they become part of your email campaign. Apply the same principle to prompt an open, a click-through or added time on the subsequent pages… figure out your way to make each contact prompt the next step.

Send x 4 = ?

Sometimes, the frequency of your email campaigns determines how well you can engage a customer, but there are other factors to weigh against the quick interaction, low costs and track-ability.

I recently read how a major cataloger leveraged frequency; during a six month period they would mail four times a day. Their list included over 2.5 million recipients, the entire list would receive their 8:00 AM campaign, then at 1:00 PM the non-openers would receive it a second time. The process was repeated at 6:00 PM and then followed by an encore at 11:00 PM (all times were eastern.)

Their thought process was that if you hadn’t paid attention to their morning campaign, they would get your attention before the day ended. As the weeks wore on, the direct marketer found it cumbersome to exclude openers – so they excluded clickers but retained the same time strategy.

Their measure of success was to compare the cost on a direct mail drop with the costs of an email campaign. They also compared the production time; it typically took three weeks to produce a direct mail piece but less than five hours for an email. With marginal costs and warp speeds – they were able to get increased attention from their recipients and a phenomenal ROI… but it came at a cost.

There were three key issues they failed to address, the first was the number of unsubscribes, a hefty portion as a result of the approach. The second was the issue of aggravation; they upset a number of their prospects and customers with this steady barrage of messages. Finally was the wake created for other email marketers – to eke out a gain, they jeopardized relationships with partner companies and others in the industry.

Their CEO was pleased, but this is just one example of how a marketer needs to look past the instant gratification and build a sustainable marketing strategy.

Targeting with Relevance

I receive emails and alerts from a major airline; in addition to my weekly newsletter, I receive information about different destinations and numerous partner offers. They send info about flights, including updates on gates and whether or not my pleas for an upgrade have gone through. They send 12 to 20 emails a week and occasionally leave a voicemail or send a text to my cell (usually it’s the same important message.) I have been trained by them to look at the subject line only, and I’m certain that I’m coded as a non-opener in their reports.

These multiple messages are typically a sign of an email program owned by many departments… this isn’t uncommon, but it can be remedied by targeting me with relevance, maybe these ideas could get them started:
1) Send a level-set message, something like… Sundeep, you are going to receive one email a week from us – this is going to include your updates for the week, you might get more, but only if there are important changes.
2) Create a confirmation strategy, a personal message the next time I touch one of their channels – speaking with a person at the airport, call center, direct mail or even inbound email.
3) Use very specific subject lines – something like, Information, offers, and confirmations for xxxxxx2162. Adding my frequent flyer number to important updates would get my attention.
4) The content in the email should be dynamic, and they should leverage different sections of the email – a newsletter approach with sections on upcoming trips, important city information, current point balance and partner offers (instead of separate emails.)
5) The newsletter sections should include landing pages that coax recipients into different sections; they have already gotten me to a portion of their site… why not keep me there with destination images/ information, special offers and/ or partner offers specific to the destination? Keeping these pages simple and clear would inspire additional time and click-through and could house their own ads.
6) All messages should encourage an account log-in.

These are just a few ideas that could transform the airline’s communication strategy – creating an interactive dialogue would be so much more effective than just throwing out a bunch of offers…

How To (Part II)

I was online last night shopping for a pair of replacement pants – my dry-cleaners ruined my favorite pair of Brooks Brothers… somehow it’s always the nicest ones. Thankfully, my cleaners have an excellent replacement policy and this is only the second garment they’ve damaged in five-plus years.

While there, I saw a portion of their site that coincides with Monday’s How To Post, they included a play-by-play of how to tie various scarf knots. Granted that the style is a little too uber-polished (even for me), but it was a nice way to demonstrate an abstract concept and add value to their site.

In addition to the scarves, Brooks Brothers themed their site for Father’s Day shopping, categorizing gift ideas based on your Dad’s style – Classic Dad, Active Dad, Casual Dad or Executive Dad. These are just a couple great ideas to help make your retail site a little something more.

Kitchen Symphony

Email Reengagement is a major theme of late – requests to update preferences, reevaluate alternate mediums and/ or simply remind the recipient of the importance of the messages.

A couple recent examples received are from P.F. Chang’s and Gardener’s Supply. The P.F. Chang’s example incorporates great language – “You receive a lot of emails… and delete most of them.” This is how they start the message, they continue by asking what would interest you most as a recipient of their emails – their food (in-restaurant or at home recipes), their decor, inspirations or the behind the scenes kitchen symphony that goes into preparing your meal. This email is the opportunity to stay top of mind and suggest possible options that you may have never considered.


My second example is from Gardener’s Supply Company, this email invites recipients to take a quick survey to verify catalog preferences. This invitation is multi-fold; initially providing an opportunity to gather customer/ prospect insight while showing the full array of products available. The second reminds recipients of the available, alternate channels, a third is Gardener’s commitment to the environment, providing catalogues to those interested in receiving them.

Inspired yet… or just wishing for Lettuce Wraps? Take a hard look at your current marketing stream, maybe it’s time to reengage your recipients.

How To

We focus a great deal on multi-channel marketing, adding value and aiding customer insight – today’s post features a single example that encapsulates all three principles.

Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, Equifax provides financial solutions for businesses and individuals. The individual consumer offering includes solutions to manage their personal credit information, protect their identity and maximize their financial well-being. Their offering is enhanced with seminars that focus on topics including How to Read an Equifax Credit Report and Online Security to guest lecturers and industry trends. The image included is an invitation to the Credit Report FAQ session – this gathering adds value, increases the consumer’s knowledge and creates a multi-channel environment. It also extends the value of a product previously purchased.

Maybe your products and services don’t warrant a special seminar series, but I’m certain that you have FAQs that could be packaged in a specialty communication – or better yet a Q&A that you could record as a podcast. Feature a company expert in a Q&A interview session, use colloquial phrasing and real-life examples to illustrate your top FAQs, the value added will be huge in the eyes of the customer.