Five Segmentation Must-Dos

We’ve all read how precision targeting is the key tactic to creating relevance and engagement. To achieve this precision, you have to focus on your segmentation strategy; here are five points to drive a successful segmentation strategy:

1) Select recipients based on past behavior – including buyer/ non-buyer; RFM Score; previous responder/ non-responder; just completed a purchase, return, ATM transaction, etc.
2) Direct recipients to focused landing pages – perform multivariate testing, creating at least two offers in each email and then testing what works better. If your technology can support it, create dynamic landing pages where you can test more variables.
3) Look at your results in Real Time – Watch how campaigns are performing during the transmission process, refine your results and if you can, make small tweaks (i.e. live A/B testing.)
4) Test different Images – A simple picture change could make all the difference in recipient engagement, swap it out and see how it enhances your results.
5) Words are Powerful – Make sure your call to action is clear, test pricing variables, end dates or other words that may drive people to complete a particular transaction.

Email is a powerful tool; you just need to use it correctly to achieve one-to-one marketing. If you would like to get more information on micro-segmentation strategies and the associated ROI, simply send an email.

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Effective Email Marketing for FIs

How does a financial institution make money? It’s pretty basic, just spread over a large volume – your deposited funds are lent to borrowers with fees for the transaction... the more leveraged the more opportunities exist to make money.

The recent stock market shift had resulted in an influx of cash as investors got out of the game, at the same time fewer people are borrowing smaller amounts – they’re now carefully watching events as well as their money. This shift is the perfect time for the FIs to invest in their email program; the focused conversations would be well received considering the current economic climate. Offer suggestions to the recipient to help them make sound financial decisions – guide them, use bonding streams to encourage savings, investing or additional offers.

Find out what they need from your organization, learn as much as you can about those you serve – you have access to their transactions, but do you know about their aspirations? Accomplish by focusing on three things:

1) Ask them to share their goals with you (so you can learn)
2) Offer financial calculators (so they can create what if scenarios/ ID their end state)
3) Create a plan to target people after they express interest (don’t forget to follow up)

Consumers are sitting on the sidelines searching for news and offers – it’s your opportunity to engage them. Let us know what you’re doing or if you need a Jump Start, simply email us for our whitepaper on how to get (re)started.

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Invest in your Online Program

Thanks to all who joined our Service in Action call last Friday that detailed our Annual Panel of Peers; I wanted to highlight some of the points discussed and general conclusions on our industry.

Overall, the sales or market penetration is down for many businesses yet the web continues to shine. On the selling-side the web accounts for 10-17 % of traditional cross-channel merchants, yet Q1 shows a growth rate of 47-83 % for these companies. On the banking side the number of deposits has increased dramatically because people are disinvesting/ diverting from the stock market. Branch visits and ATM transactions are down – but online transactions have more than doubled since December 2008 mainly because people are paying more attention to their accounts and offers. Consumers are seeking the best offer and most valuable information online so it is up us to present more relevance, better targeted offers and insure that these offers can be easily realized.

To accomplish, all you have to do is invest in your online marketing program – email has to be a driving force towards engagement. Applying precise targeting, effective segmentation, personalization and relevant content are the next levels to gain the necessary interaction… this won’t be accomplished without investing in your people, as attention continues to shift to online, marketers must sustain growth and apply to other channels. This requires added focus and possibly doubling (tripling) your resources on the online channel.

If you would like to receive a copy of the summary presentation detailing our Annual Conference and some of the best practices learned simply email us and make plans to attend upcoming calls and events.

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Carbon Footprints (Across your Inbox)

It’s easy to see how junk mail could impact the environment – those printed direct mail pieces that you find as inserts, mailers and flyers may never make it to the recycle bin so they end up in the regular trash… millions of trees, used to convey expensive, unread marketing messages.

We all know that SPAM is the junk mail equivalent in the eMarketing world, and while it’s easy to think that the toll on Mother Nature isn’t there – it truly does have an impact. Maybe as a nod to Earth Day (April 22, 2009) eMarketer ran an article entitled, Spam Harms Environment. The article cites a McAfee study, The Carbon Footprint of Email Spam Report, some of the findings include:

= 33 billion kilowatt-hours of energy are used to transmit, process and filter SPAM messages – equal to the electricity used in 2.4 million US homes or the greenhouse gas emissions of 3.1 million cars using 2 billion gallons of gas

= Nearly 80% of energy waste created is from end-users deleting spam from their inboxes

= The average greenhouse gas emission associated with a single spam message is only 0.3 grams of CO2 – a low number, but extrapolated out on an annual basis is equal to driving around the planet 1.6 million times

I’m a sometimes tree-hugger (if it’s a friendly tree) but even I was astonished by the impact a couple deletes make. As a marketer, you have to appreciate the sheer volume of spam and how it impacts your open rates and deters attention your message deserves. So plant a tree for eMarketing – send a valuable message!

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SIA: Best Practices from Your Peers

Later this afternoon we’re recapping the three days of discussion held at our 10th Annual Panel of Peers Conference. This is your chance to interact with attendees and gain the insight of the discussions; we’ll recap the Tried & True as well as New Insights in our multi-channel universe.

SPOILER ALERT: 74% of the world’s digital messages were sent through a mobile device in January 2009 (a statistic up 15% from January 2008.) This finding proves that mobile is closer than you may think. We'll share more facts during the call.

Join us to get the latest on where the eMarketing industry is headed from the perspective of marketers across industries and around the globe.

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SIA: Best Practices from Your Peers

Tomorrow’s Service in Action call is on the heels of our Annual Panel of Peers Conference… maybe you’ve read about it :0)

We’ll use this call to report findings and best practices decided by your eMarketing Peers during our Tenth Annual Panel of Peers Conference. You’ll get the latest on where the eMarketing industry is headed from the perspective of marketers across industries and around the globe.

Make plans to attend tomorrow’s call (2:00 ET) and look for details on our 2010 event – plus, be sure to visit the blog tomorrow for a Results Spoiler.

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Day II: 10th Annual Panel of Peers Conference

Yesterday included great networking and sharing of ideas… it even spilled over into our dinner event at STATS. Here’s the overview for our second day of Panel of Peers sessions covering all aspects of our multi-channel world:

Cohesive Marketing: We’ll examine how an organization can attract recipients to engage at all touchpoints, offer a cohesive message and communicate objectives to executive management while managing budgets and balancing the changing multi-media landscape. One special breakout is the Role of Direct Mail – is it Dead or Alive?

Emerging Technologies: Your users are checking messaging anytime, anywhere – learn how retailers, entertainment companies and financial institutions stay connected and competitive. This session will help you position your organization for the next level of marketing and capitalize new revenue opportunities.

Deliverability: We’ve recruited experts to discuss the changing deliverability landscape and how you can influence delivery in 2009 and beyond. You’ll get perspective on the common mistakes marketers make, behaviors of recipients and learn more about how ISPs handle email.

Data Evolution & Enhancement: We all know data is paramount for segmentation; this session will cover strategies to build a repository, enhance preferences and continue list growth. We’ll discuss segmentation strategies, targeted follow-up techniques and methods to drive business through traditional offers and automated communications.

After our sessions we’re getting an All Access Tour from our colleagues at the Philips Arena – our day ends with a special tour of the home of the NBA Hawks and NHL Thrashers.

Virtually There
Twitter – Join in our live Twitter discussion, we’re making updates from the conference and accepting Tweets, feel free to ask questions of your Peers. Use hash code #POP09 – POP Attendees can Tweet using this code too!

Service In Action – Don’t Forget Friday’s call, we’ll recap key elements of our time at the Panel of Peers.

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Day I: 10th Annual Panel of Peers Conference

We had a great time last evening welcoming attendees to our 10th Annual Panel of Peers Conference. Today is full of sessions covering all aspects of our multi-channel world, including:

First Impressions: Discussions of the importance of Email Welcome Streams and other Bonding Programs. We’ll offer examples of how best to bring the lost back into the mix and keep all recipients engaged.

Open = Play: Incorporating video directly in your email is an excellent way to make your messages stand out in the inbox and enhance your brand. This session will include a capability overview, best practices and how to get the most out of your video-enabled email campaigns.

Best of New Media – Web 2.0 & Beyond: Like all of you, we’ve seen articles, blog posts and comments concerning the balancing act between email and social media – recent marketing cuts add to the concern and make you wonder what the future of email and eMarketing holds, and how to get it right… We’ll highlight marketers who have earned Gold in their various mediums, share ideal practices and highlight work conducted by our hosts, The Atlanta Spirit.

Testing Strategies: This open discussion of the struggles/ opportunities we face as online marketing managers – we’ll identify what’s normal from business and technical perspectives, evaluate the most effective segmentation strategies, survey methods and offers as well as the metrics to back everything up.

Good, Better, Best Content and Design: We’ve all seen scary email offers, you’ll have the chance to critique… but in the form of how we can improve the examples. We’ll cover common practices in content and design as well as strategies to stay in the top category with every communiqué.

Quarterly Email Review: We’ve worked up a strategy to help you look at your numbers, this open discussion will include take aways on how to start, suggested formats and evaluation tools that you can customize.

Virtually There
Twitter – Join in our live Twitter discussion, we’re making updates from the conference and accepting Tweets, feel free to ask questions of your Peers. Use hash code #POP09 – POP Attendees can Tweet using this code too!

Service In Action – Don’t Forget Friday’s call, we’ll recap key elements of our time at the Panel of Peers.

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10th Annual Panel of Peers Conference

Today is an exciting day for our team – a day months in the making, with countless hours of preparation, invitations, planning, testing and anticipation. Today kicks off the biggest event for our Learning Network, it’s the culmination of blog posts, monthly calls and regional workshops… today marks the start of our 10th Annual Panel of Peers Conference.

The Panel of Peers brings together marketers to discuss industry challenges and opportunities; it’s unlike any other conference because of the brainstorming and networking. We openly discuss the latest developments in the ever-changing mediums of email, mobility and self-service. Attendees gain fresh perspective on the eMarketing landscape and learn the latest solutions to the challenges all online marketers face. It’s also an excellent opportunity to gain feedback on your online marketing efforts and learn how to capitalize on future multi-channel campaigns.

If you’re one of the lucky attendees, we’ll see you tonight at our opening reception. If your schedule didn’t allow you to join us, we’ll do as much as we can to keep you informed. This week’s posts will include conference highlights, we’ll be making live Twitter updates throughout and have dedicated our upcoming Service In Action call (Friday @ 2:00 ET) to share key findings. So join us for one of these virtual components and make plans to attend our 2010 conference.

Virtually There
Twitter – Join in our live Twitter discussion, we’re making updates from the conference and accepting Tweets, feel free to ask questions of your Peers. Use hash code #POP09 – POP Attendees can Tweet using this code too!

Service In Action – Don’t Forget Friday’s call, we’ll recap key elements of our time at the Panel of Peers.

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Things Change

We all have heard the adage that the only certainties in life are death and taxes… kinda depressing, huh? But ultimately this adage boils down to the fact that everything changes – think of your marketing program this time last year, the year before. What’s different – your budget? Sales have shifted and your consumer has definitely changed.

Gone are the days that Don Draper’s Mad Men would “sell the sizzle, not the steak.” Consumers are looking for the cold, hard facts not fluff. As a result, buying cycles have extended, consumers are reading the fine print and evaluating things a little more closely. Before you could have been an available option, but now you’re competing for something else. The proverbial steak may not be filet mignon over prime rib – it might be hamburger.

The only way to ride the next change, which will come, is to stay in tune with your customers and recipients. We’ve talked a great deal this week about analytics, what to look at and what to avoid as well as some new opportunities to consider. The next evolution centers around your connection with your recipients – use this extended buying cycle to connect with your recipients, they’ll thinks change again.

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Fifth Largest Country

Do you know the fifth largest country on the planet?

It’s not China, India or Indonesia… its Facebook. Last week Facebook added its 200 millionth user and if it were a country it would be the fifth largest on the planet. Here are a few updated facts on this new nation:
- The fastest growing segment (January to March 2009) were people from aged 26 to 44
- 100 million users visit the site every day
- On average, over 3 Billion minutes are spent on the site every day
- Users have an average of 120 "friends" in their networks
- Service is available in 40 languages, with more in the works

These are some overwhelming statistics, and as a marketer it’s easy to automatically think – we must be on Facebook. Arguably, you’re correct but consider some of the other points associated with these numbers – first, despite growth users have been reluctant to click on ads served in the community. This leaves brands in a bit of a search to try and find ways to leverage the space.

Secondly, you can never forget that Facebook is a networking site and you have to interact. Just being there isn’t enough… it’s kinda like being a wall-flower at a business networking event; the payoffs are associated with the amount of networking done. This leaves a balance issue between your day-to-day business success and the number of community friends you acquire, don’t lose sight of one because of the opportunity of the other.

My prediction for brands looking to be successful in Facebook is reliant on the social networkers – brands that tap in to the 200 million users spending over three billion minutes there every day will be most successful. But is has to be done in a away the user wants. For instance, offer content that they can post (in your email and on your website,) create an applet or gift that they’ll want, encourage them to give feedback and try to start direct conversations. At the same time, read as much as you can and see where things fit, here are some great, recent articles:

- eMarketer, Facebook Reaches 200 Million Users
- Website Magazine, Are You Socializing Your Business into Obscurity?

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Beyond Analytics

Let’s argue the opposite application of yesterday’s post…

The closing section of the Website Magazine article, Searching Behind the Curtain, talked about how to apply analytics to alternate mediums, here’s an excerpt:

Use what you learn online through your marketing and post-Web analytics strategy to inform offline campaigns. What works well in email might also work with direct mail. Successful online video spots can be expanded into television ads. Do you get a lot of clicks on a particular banner ad? That eye-catching ad might make a good billboard or print advertisement.

These few lines communicate so much – first stressing the importance of using your electronic mediums as the litmus for the more expensive mediums. A quick viral video could be the best test for your commercials; effective emails could generate effective direct mail and at the same time predict the success.

Secondly this excerpt fuels the need for a multi-channel marketing existence powered by the analytics you use on a daily basis. It stresses the need to do more than simply apply the results of one email campaign to the next email campaign – think big picture, look at what your numbers are telling you and challenge yourself to make them so much more.

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Multi-Faceted

Yesterday’s post discussed the differences in traditional eMarketing analytics and how things are measured in the W2.0 world. The elements discussed lend themselves to an article in the May issue of Website Magazine, Searching Behind the Curtain, where Bill Leake writes about the challenges we face when we lose sight of the big picture – the multi-faceted customer.

The article sets the stage to help you integrate your overall business objectives into your analytics. The overall recommendation is that your business goals should serve as your intended destination and the analytics as your compass, from there a marketer needs to balance the importance of available metrics without becoming too ingrained in the process – you cannot ignore the big picture, you can’t forsake all possible scenarios just because of what the web analytics show.

Ultimately marketers need to use their analytics while simultaneously accepting the outside influences that shape the customer – many of the final decisions take place in the real world, void of clicks. Marketers must accept this and use available data overlays to determine the psyche of the customer and accept him for what he is… a multi-channel, multi-faceted and sometimes distracted consumer.

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eEvolution

We recently completed a series of blog posts entitled Email and… focusing on combination strategies to integrate your Email campaigns with Video, Twitter, Mobile, Facebook, Surveys as well as tactics to integrate these approaches into your eMarketing and move your recipients to the next level of interaction.

These integration tactics help fight email fatigue with your long-term, loyal recipients while simultaneously yielding a viral component – extending your reach and helping to attract new readership. Email is truly the best suited vehicle to launch (or enhance) a successful social media push because it is the lowest common denominator in the eMarketing realm. Social Media has also benefitted email, moving the medium along the continuum and forcing email to be a more personal, one-to-one message.

During this time of change eMarketers need to bear in mind that not all metrics are the same. For example, Web 2.0 technologies offer a cutting-edge, wow-factor for the user but yield only basic metrics for the eMarketer. This is because Web 2.0 doesn’t operate the same as traditional online marketing – in the W2.0 world you’re tracking interest and activity across a broader universe. Metrics span web browsers, applications (i.e. widgets) as well as destinations like walled social networks and services (i.e. Twitter)… moving beyond the single location (i.e. landing page.)

Pre-W2.0, measurements focused on the simple entrance/ exit from the landing page. Web 2.0 technologies center on micro-events – measurements become how many times people click, hover or mouse over an item. You’re watching for interaction, the number of times someone looks or engages with your offer.

Although it seems trickier, this shift is much better for eMarketing – tomorrow’s measurements will center on the whole customer. Marketers will be required to combine known email metrics with the recipient’s offline behavior, their mobile phone and human interaction etc. The shift is moving toward individual profiles to help you determine wants and balance engagement... are you ready for the future?

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Does IM Make U Dum?

I came across a funny, informative article by Martha Brockenbrough on MSN’s Encarta that asked – Does IM Make U Dum? There are a couple great points made in the article – first, is that we all abbreviate and use contractions. The second is that everything has a place and time…

To illustrate the second point, she asks you to imagine a guy in a Speedo standing in a public place. Odds are that someone is going to say something to him, but if the same guy were standing next to a pool, he wouldn’t be out of place. IM can be thought of in the same manner, it’s perfectly natural to abbreviate or maybe make up words when you have a limited amount of characters or there are few keys on your phone. It’s less okay to allow the IM-speak to be your standard vocabulary (see the example that the English Professor received.)

IM has been used effectively in a number of ways; I attended a tradeshow session where a rescue-mortgage company helped the un-/ under-banked population. Their members could IM with CSRs and share sensitive information/ personal questions about their financial situation with anonymity.

Similar abbreviation rules apply with SMS; you have a limited amount of space to convey an important offer or message. So figure out where and what to abbreviate… cuz it wud be bad 2 IM in EM!

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Blinded

Earlier this week we blogged about ignoring segmentation when setting up a campaign, but that seems to be one symptom of a larger problem... According to an eROI study in eMarketer, 18% of US e-mail marketers aren’t tracking the campaign effectiveness – even though the data is available.

We all know that email is the most effective medium to measure interest, effectiveness and document ROI, so why would an eMarketer fly blind when the results are only a click away? According to the study, the varied reasons include not knowing how, lack of time/ budget.

This population isn’t even trying, they probably also wonder why they have no sales… so take advantage, use your reporting to improve your campaigns and strengthen your efforts. Capitalize on the circular nature of reporting, analyzing the numbers and then use these numbers for future segmentation efforts. By stepping up your game you could easily put their marketing to shame or take a way some of their customers – odds are they’ll never even notice.

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More Conservative

“Consumers may grow conservative but they don’t vanish.”

This quote is one of many great points in Website Magazine’s article Brand Marketing in a Recession. I saw the application of this quote on Monday afternoon at a local mall; you would think that on a given Monday the mall would be pretty quite (regardless of the economy.) However, there were more people than expected, most with purchases.

I also started thinking about other articles I’ve read about marketing in a down economy… all have the common theme that things will eventually change, to be smarter about your marketing spend and to try to stay the course as much as possible. This last point is carried through the WM article, because eventually things will turn around and when that occurs the companies that stayed in touch and built relationships will be further along.

Look through this article and pay special attention to the mental shift referenced – the author, Peter Prestipino, points out that the bottom line is less important than the relationships built. He also suggests using the time to identify new markets and ultimately stay the course (within reason) to keep your brand strong and healthy.

Send other tips you’ve seen about Marketing in a Down Economy, and be sure to search this site for other, related posts.

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Haste is a Waste

All too often we’re too busy to apply best practices – so today’s email campaign isn’t segmented, or it’s only sliced up (without past purchase history or behavior history.) As a result, you get lack-luster results and promise that next time it will be different… but that next time could also be impacted because of your recent exclusion.

A recent Website Magazine article, Email Segmentation for Higher ROI, sites findings from a Forester Research and Shop.org study stating that 92% of retailers are using email marketing but only about 58% segment on customer purchase history and/ or preferences (although they know it’s a best practice.)

This study also recounts the latest ROI counts associated with various online marketing efforts -- $6.85 cost per order for an email marketing campaign, $12.27 for affiliate marketing and $19.32 for paid search. This obvious differentiation makes you wonder how much more effective your marketing could be with a little segmentation…

Looking for more tips? Check out these posts on segmentation strategies:
- Segment… not Slice & Dice
- Writing Use Cases for Effective eMarketing
- RFM, CPM and OCC

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Email & the Next Level

Our recent posts gave ideas and insight to help extend the life of your email campaigns… but there’s more, each of these is also a way to reactivate those who may have disengaged. Adding Video clips, Tweets, Mobile components, Facebook ties and Survey invitations to your campaigns is an excellent way to extend your reach.

Incorporating other media elements add a new twist and help fight the fatigue your members may experience from time to time. Pay attention to your results after you add a new element – do you see more clicks after a video? Do you have higher web traffic after posting an update on Twitter or item on Facebook? Are you receiving advice and customer insight from your surveys?

Although you’re incorporating new elements it’s unlikely to immediately move someone from zero to sixty – it’s not everyday a non-opener makes a high-dollar purchase. So concentrate on those who are moving from one level to the next, are routine openers becoming clickers? Are clickers becoming buyers, etc.? Use the new media inclusion to move recipients from one level to the next; the addition is a great way to see what motivates your recipients – track it and interact accordingly.

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Email & Survey

Quick Question: Are you surveying your customers/ prospects?

If you answered no… then you’re missing out. If you answered yes, but don’t use the information gathered… total waste. Unfortunately, there are many marketers falling into this second category. There are endless opportunities to gather customer insight, feedback and strengthen relationships with your recipients – some of the most popular Survey Thresholds we know are:

• During Sign-Up
• Tell us what you think link (each email)
• Abandoned cart
• Post Call/ Order/ Shipping
• Out of the Blue – 3/ 6/ 12 months into the marketing relationship
• Post/ prior to an unsubscribe

Let’s examine the first item on the check list – your sign-up page. Return Path recently completed a study on the sign-up process of a sampling of nationally-known companies (whitepaper: Creating Great Subscriber Experiences.) Here are some of their findings:

• 70 percent of companies examined asked for more than email address at sign up… three-quarters of the companies that collected this additional information didn’t use it to personalize or customize their email messages


• Sixty percent of the retailers and 20 percent of the companies as a whole asked for only the subscriber’s email address

Don’t treat your recipients like carbon copies – especially if you have the information available for inclusion. The fastest way to engage your recipients is through the application of relevant personalization and preferences, the easiest way to gather that information is to survey your recipients at one or more points in the recipient lifecycle. Your recipients have invited you into their inbox – never forget that.

To learn more about the items in this series and the offerings from Return Path, make plans to join our 10th Annual Panel of Peers – we’re just a few days away, but still have a couple registration slots available.

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Email & Facebook

Each day Facebook users average over three billion minutes on the site, they update their status over 15 million times and become fans of a company, brand, product or person over 3.5 million times. The demographics would surprise you too – it’s not just the college kid postponing that paper.

Many B2C companies are joining in the parade, offering fan pages to update their customers and prospects on the latest information on their offerings. The challenge is that this and other social networking sites don’t act like traditional eMarketing metrics. A recent eMarketer article, All About Facebook, included stats on the habits of social networkers – apparently 43% never clicked on ads (on average, 80% of other Internet users click at least once annually.) This also translates to purchase history, of social networkers who did click only 11% made a purchase (23% for the non-social population.)

The guys at Gardener’s Supply and King Arthur Flour have made excellent progress with their fan pages on Facebook – offering classes, fostering discussions and posting images that are in line with their brand. Their work is one example, check out their pages and keep these points in mind when looking to interact with the 175+ million active users on Facebook worldwide (these also apply to other social networking sites.):
1) Communities/ Fan Pages – Be sure to offer something relevant to your target group, these cannot be product-specific. The focus of your presence should be centered around brand building, not necessarily sales. Use the forum to foster interaction, awareness, increase loyalty and stay top of mind.
2) Tie with Email – Offer your email recipients the option of posting your message on their individual page, this is essentially the new F2F option and is an easy way to spread the word on your email offers.
3) Offer Exclusives – This cannot be a restatement of your website; give your fans a reason to engage and still read your email messages.

Most importantly, never forget the power of a stable email program; email is your common denominator and the one thing all your “friends” have in common.

Need more?
Search "Facebook" on this blog for additional articles, tips and ideas.

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Email & Mobile

The term Mobile means different things to different people, which is understandable considering all the capabilities the average smart phone offers. The term includes emails and SMS messages sent/ received and those cool applications that make everyone drool.

We’re becoming an increasingly mobile society, according to an eMarketer article Three-Quarters of the World's Messages Sent by Mobile. Stats include that 74% of the world’s digital messages were sent through a mobile device in January 2009 – 15% higher than January 2008. Other stats include that on average, Japan sends 40 out of 100 emails from a mobile device; in North America 69% use email on their mobile daily (the worldwide average is 43%.)

Don’t factor out SMS, according to a Nielson Mobile study, the typical cell user sent/ received 357 text messages per month while placing/ receiving 204 calls (2Q08.) eMarketers are beginning to incorporate SMS into their mix, gathering cell numbers online as part of the email sign-up, including text to codes in their advertising – BravoTV has done a great job with their SMS strategy, coupling mobile notices about upcoming shows, mobile clubs, games and voting with regular emails.

The applications are growing exponentially – even if you exclude the hundreds of iPhone apps available. Delta has released a mobile check-in option and other companies have probably developed something new in the time it’s taken to read this post.

So here are a few things to keep in mind for Mobile:
1) Email – The email best practices are a little different for mobile viewers. Subject lines have to be much shorter, 20 characters or less (compared to the 30-45 characters that can be used for PC-based emails.) Sizing is also a factor; a standard PC email width is 600 pixels, mobile offers 120 pixels (if you’re lucky.)
2) SMS – Rules for opt-in and opt-out are different that with email, some best practices are common but for the most part they are completely different animals.
3) Applications – There is always going to be something new/ cool but unless you’re offering value focus on the basics – nothing is worse than a failed app due to non-interest.
4) All Mobile – Start tracking who wants to receive updates via their mobile device – the easiest way is through a poll/ survey.

Most importantly, never forget the power of a stable email program; email is your common denominator and the most accepted medium despite current evolutionary indicators.

Need more?
Search "SMS" or “Mobile” on this blog for additional tips and ideas.

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