Friday, May 29, 2009

Create a Marketing Playbook

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Friday, May 29, 2009

The summer months are an excellent time for you to regroup and plan. Use the time create a plan for the remainder of the year, research marketing efforts of companies you admire, your competitors and your past efforts. Compile this information into a Marketing Playbook – gather your team to help research and review, odds are you don’t need to reinvent… just recycle and adapt.

Here are a few simple guidelines to get you started:
1) Define a clear purpose for your upcoming Campaigns – Are you hoping to a) Increase sales; b) Improve engagement or 3) Grow your list.

2) Plot a Clear Strategy/ Tactics – For example, to increase sales (cross-sells) we will feature products alongside consumer search results. To improve engagement we will solicit feedback through leading questions and seek customer content. To grow the list we will simplify the sign-up process and make it available on all pages, we will also encourage sign-ups through social media sites.

3) Create Super Campaigns – Create a campaign with a hero offer (something that has done well in the past.) Prominently feature the offer and call to action, list related sub offers and customize the landing page. Use this opportunity to test subject lines, be creative, engaging and apply each appropriately to the selected segments. Try to predict the outcome of these tests and remember to measure carefully.

4) Set Metrics – Define goals for upcoming campaigns – email opens, clicks, conversions… even bounces and unsubscribes. Strive to get your list within these parameters so that you’re constantly monitoring and measuring.

5) Update your Calendar – Revisit the eMarketing Calendar you built earlier this year, have you met the marks? Will you meet the upcoming entries? How can you enhance the remaining campaigns to be a cross channel campaign calendar?

If you need help creating your playbook, just give us a shout – we could orchestrate a Socratic Session to help you engage, inquire, learn and prescribe fixes for your eMarketing efforts.
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Thursday, May 28, 2009

SIA: Email Deliverability

Posted by Reagan Taylor | Thursday, May 28, 2009

Email Deliverability... it’s not the riddle of the Sphinx, doesn’t require Dr. Robert Langdon or a SWAT Team to address, but there are tons of misconceptions, misnomers and general mystery associated with the topic. That’s why we’re devoting tomorrow’s Service In Action call to the tips, tricks and ideals you need to address in order to give your campaigns a fighting chance.

We’ll offer something for all levels – from the expert who could justify their theories to novice in need of ammunition to challenge their Delivery Assurance partner. Make plans to join us at 2:00 ET, learn more on the SIA site or send us an email for the access information.
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Wednesday, May 27, 2009

What Next?

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Wednesday, May 27, 2009

As marketers we spend a great deal of time working on the invitation… the direct mail piece asking you to call, the radio spot that encourages you to visit the website or the email that drives you to a landing page. Yet little is done to solidify that next step… what happens when your recipient does what you want? What is their experience?

Does the caller connect with a specialist or just a CSR? Does the radio listener find the right area on your site? Does the email recipient convert or just abandon the landing page after the click through? As marketers we have to spend equal (or more) time developing that next step, making sure that there are no roadblocks to impede the consumer from finalizing the transaction.

One effective strategy is the optimization of landing pages – making sure your landing page recognizes, coaxes and converts those who have clicked through (email or website.) Employing targeted banners on the landing page/ homepage is an effective way to make this a possibility because the ads can be unique to each segment/ visitor and these offers can to be served up across channel.

So think it through and make sure your recipients are being pointed in the right direction…
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Tuesday, May 26, 2009

The Big Sale

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Retailers revel in creating interesting offers – buy one get two free, free fill ups to the first 100 visitors, shop at midnight… the thing that many FIs forget is that they too can benefit from this style of marketing.

An FI I work with created a compelling offer – they offered 500 CDs with a 10% yield on a $1,000 maximum deposit. The results they drew were dramatic, their announcement email was sent at 8:30 AM and in less than two hours they had exhausted the 500 limit and had a waiting list of over 1500 people; by noon they had received more than 7000 queries for this great rate.

They played it smart, rather than turning away the rest of the people they offered them a money market account with a 3.75% rate… but to get this offer, the recipient had to provide additional information. This process also got the recipient to pay more attention to their email programs so they wouldn’t miss out on future, great offers – all told their open rate more than tripled.

The FI also created opportunities for their officers; their people were following up with more than 5000 people who had expressed interest in being contacted. Follow their lead, find a creative way to create a buzz and be prepared with a follow up plan for the post buzz too!
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Friday, May 22, 2009

Dunkin’s Next Donut Campaign

Posted by Reagan Taylor | Friday, May 22, 2009

My love for Dunkin Donuts is undeniable – the coffee, the smell of the store even the Fred the Baker commercials from the 80s! I am truly motivated by Donuts… just about any flavor combination (except pumpkin) has a shot with me. So their recent attention has made me even more enamored with their crave-worthy marketing.

Current economic conditions have caused a rise in the need for comfort food so the folks at Dunkin Donuts are playing toward this need with an aggressive new campaign highlighting their long-stilted staple, the donut. Throwing the anti-carb movement to the curb, Dunkin has invited users to participate in their Create Dunkin’s Next Donut Campaign. Site visitors can vote for the top Donut creations, view the gallery of submissions and make their own donut! My creation is included here – a summer-inspired pink lemonade number.

This campaign has been truly successful – generating user feedback, viewer votes and creating a social media tie. They highlight their success in an Advertising Age 3-Minute Video, check them out and be sure to vote for the Next Donut Campaign. Polls close on May 27, and the sm’OREO Donut is in the lead with a 7% margin over its closest rival.
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Thursday, May 21, 2009

Carrying on a Conversation

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Thursday, May 21, 2009

Marketers are often impatient people… we know our elevator speech and happily recite it at any given point, so it’s difficult to accept when your offers aren’t accepted or you lose out to a competing brand. Financial Institutions are definitely included in this mix – if a customer has an existing line of business, why wouldn’t they automatically use your…

We’ve written about how now is the time for all FIs to engage and connect, let’s expand on ways to connect with your emerging and existing base. One of the most obvious ways is your standard billboard example – a big sign that says we do it all.

A second approach could be full list of all the services provided by the FI; effectively used in your print collateral… but this could be overwhelming and depends on the recipient finding the most appealing offer.

A third approach would be to gradually expose the recipient to a series of offers/ messages from your FI. This method is destined for email delivery; it allows you to carry on a conversation and can easily be initiated. The first could be a simple link on an eStatement taking the recipient to a survey or a few offers. A subsequent email could offer a little more detail based on the responses/ clicks and slowly, the FI lets the recipient know that they can help with savings instruments, provide a credit card, help with a car loan, offer insurance or assist with the purchase of a home.

It is a gradual process, requires interaction but can be highly effective when done correctly. The cycle requires both parties to learn to listen… or in the email world, track clicks and feedback. Keep in mind that the interaction may take years to play out, here’s an example from a creative FI.
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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Forget about Paper

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Many FIs continue to carry their message through paper – those expensive, glossy brochures that lay around with low distribution. Next time you’re in your local branch, read through one, odds are there are a few lines that are pertinent while the remaining 70-80% is cloudy, sections are repeated and there is nothing personal or unique about the brochure.

Technological advancements make the delivery of custom brochures a reality, your customers/ members could benefit from collateral relevant to their needs, customized with important phone numbers, useful links and other pertinent information. This could be enhanced by providing a copy via email either via a PDF or get a little more creative, serve a hosted version to allow for updates. Vary the offer each time the recipient opens the email, include current interest rates for credit cards, money market, mortgage, etc. and provide targeted offers to the recipient – imagine the opportunities for engaging the recipient in a dialogue.
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Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Your Social Say

Posted by Reagan Taylor | Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Earlier this year, Web2.0 was in an uproar over Facebook’s redesigned site, countless media outlets reported on the attention the new site design received and how users formed a Facebook fan page to voice their dislike over the change. All told, nearly 600K Facebook users are fans of the page in just nine days – that’s a pretty gutsy, using the medium you’re against to complain.

Twitter may soon be in a similar situation, last week they changed settings removing the user’s ability to see @replies of people they don't follow – basically the conversation you’re a part of will be limited to those you follow/ follow you. For those who are less Twit-savvy, the @reply is your way of replying/ linking a conversation, here’s a page on the Twitter Blog that makes it a little clearer.

Facebook has taken steps to do damage control to quell their recent user unrest and has given the user more control over how information is displayed. Twitter may soon be fashioning similar changes to meet the user requirements… regardless of the outcome these two examples show that the social networks are owned by the users. The free services may be democracies; they just have the occasional threat of mutiny to keep the checks and balances.
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Monday, May 18, 2009

Effective Email Marketing in 30 Days

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Monday, May 18, 2009

So far this year we’ve met email marketers at the Email Experience Council, Marketing Sherpa and DMA; they varied in experience level but all had a shared goal – coordinating an email program that works. Here are the seven steps we shared with them to help jump start their programs and maximize engagement… the best part is that you can see the impact in as little as 30 Days.

1) Focus on your List – Your list cannot remain stagnant; you have to keep things vibrant by continuing to grow your list – incorporating contests, direct marketing programs, social media are all effective ways to drive email and mobile sign-ups. Make sure the sign up stands out on your site so you don’t impede the process.
2) Know More – Ask for information that is applicable, personal and easy to provide (Facebook does this well.) Evaluate the responses/ behavior and cross-check using our reverse preferences theory.
3) Always Segment – At a minimum, create three segments per campaign and gradually push yourself toward a greater number of segments.
4) Always Test – Maximize the segmentation (#3) and incorporate A/B testing – start with offers and subject lines. If your list is too small, create an internal contest with your team and bet on the subject line you think will be the top performer.
5) Think about your Copy – What are your primary, secondary and tertiary offers; is your call to action clear?
6) Clean Landing – Think about the landing page, keep it focused and be sure to test offers on this page too, make the pages dynamic.
7) Evaluate Immediately – Look at your numbers in real time, share them with others and don’t forget about the quarterly review.

There are a couple other items that you can include as well as a white paper to help you Jump Start your Email Marketingsend us an email if you would like a copy.
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Friday, May 15, 2009

11 Ways to make a Winning Video

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Friday, May 15, 2009

Video?!?!... why? That’s typically a part of the conversation from a lot of marketers when suggesting the video route; but there are three very effective reasons to incorporate video into your marketing efforts – 1) Your consumers want to see things; 2) some entertainment/ education requires an “in-person” demo to convey the message – video is the best way to make the two converge; 3) video is expressive and engaging.

The best part is that you don’t have to have TV-quality equipment to effectively use video for your branding – your winning video is just a few steps away, just consider the following:
1) Create brand awareness.
2) Balance the education with the entertainment quotient.
3) Focus on the viewer – how will your message help with the experience/ purchase decision?
4) Showcase your merchandise or offering.
5) Offer interaction – ask people what all they would like to see, let them drive the experience. For example, rather than showing the entire How To video, offer chapters/ sections for the viewer to self navigate.
6) Use the Paul Harvey approach – Tell a little, use intrigue and then drive viewers to a more focused landing page(s.)
7) Tag your video – Key words will be picked up by search engines… they love video!
8) Short is effective – Be crisp and clean, don't drag things out and make sure your video fits in short timeframes.
9) Remember Post-Sale – Videos are good prior to the sale, but are even better post sale because it reinforces the purchase decision and fosters interaction.
10) Initiate a dialogue via email after the video
11) Allow the user to post your video or related comments via social media – just imagine the impact.

Need more inspiration? Search “video” on our blog or spend a little time on YouTube… tell your boss it’s research!
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Thursday, May 14, 2009

One-to-One Client Focus

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Thursday, May 14, 2009

Brand consistency, quality messaging and succinct offers are necessary components to achieving that one-to-one marketing connection… despite best efforts, we’re only human so even the best reps fail to make the offer at the right time.

To remedy this challenge, one FI has created templated emails for their representatives to send to their customers, this one-to-one branding helps the rep continue their dialogue and serve others in a better fashion. Follow their lead; create a few communiqués for different events, allowing your CSR or rep to choose the type of communiqué they would like to offer the client. Take it a step further by creating weekly/ monthly client update that could be personalized by their contact (your rep.) It will go a long way to improve the client/ rep dialogue.

Accelerate your program by sharing the results of the email campaign with the reps so they know the client’s interested; this creates interesting opportunities for follow up marketing and makes an immediate cross-channel tie when face to face or on the phone.
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Picking the Right Offers

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Like most marketers, you probably have more than enough to offer… you probably even have other departments trying to persuade you to offer their top products. So how do you pick the right offer to feature; how do you personalize? Here are some ideas to help inspire your selection process:

1) Paul Fredrick’s Shirt Survey – They asked, you selected the shirts you like, they just remembered and served the offers in future emails.
2) Top Sellers – A friend of ours sells rugs, a product that could have a long sales cycle. So if you leave one in the cart, they’ll send an offer with their top sellers – one of the three items included just happens to be the rug you chose. Familiarity breeds interest and drives conversion.
3) The Refill – Do you offer products that need to be replenished or include a component that needs to be replaced – a subscription, apparel, maturing certificate of deposit or even office supplies? Go back to them with the same offer when they’re bound to be running low.
4) The Anniversary – Remember dates, their first purchase, birthday, anniversary or a significant event. As long as you show that you remembered it is effective.
5) The Freebie – If you have nothing else, offer a gift with purchase, shipping incentive or a Skip-the-Wait email that allows them to go to the head in a line.

Applying these ideas to your campaigns will help drive interest and conversion.
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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Minimum Budget Maximum Impact

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Tuesday, May 12, 2009

As business improvement specialists, we are often asked for tips and advice from our clients and friends. Our goal is to help them succeed with their consumer engagement through email and other online marketing opportunities – here is some expensive advice for free, hopefully this will help strengthen your Email Program:

1) Goal Setting – Get your team to agree on what you’d like to accomplish with your eMarketing; brainstorm to identify the top 20 ideas. Now select the top three and give those items your immediate focus.

2) Twit-Turn – Sounds like a corny name, but one of our customers has designated an intern to focus on Twitter and other social media this summer. The Twit-Turn is going to conduct research, initiate social media efforts and create offer streams – a simple, clear path to an offer that coaxes the consumer toward a decision.

3) Mix it Up – List new and older products in your campaigns, highlight top sellers and make sure to write compelling copy.

4) Play with Shipping – What is your magic number? Would $90+ equal free shipping, should a $55 order have a $3 flat shipping rate? Maybe free shipping is earned when someone provides feedback on their last purchase.

5) Treat Buyers Best – Send transactional emails following purchase… the thank you, feedback, coupon/ offer with date etc. keep moving them into different segments and treat them like family.

6) Automate, Automate, Automate – Create campaigns to trigger automatically, a welcome stream, bonding streams etc. This helps reinforce the relationship and moves recipients in a positive direction.

7) Proof Read – Spell check is a no-brainer, but you also need to make sure you validate links, codes and expiration dates.

8) Save Money – Paid search is a huge investment and could be a waste if not properly monitored, devote some of that money to creating conversations with your existing clients.

9) Spy on Yourself – Continually audit your sign-up and unsubscribe processes, validate clicks as well as your other channels.

10) Go Big – Make the time investment, create good creative so that you look like a major player in the space.

There’s one more secret, but you have to email us for the answer…
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Monday, May 11, 2009

Social Networks Work

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Monday, May 11, 2009

Social Networking is contagious, many check their profiles throughout the day to catch up on messages, get updates from acquaintances and just stay in touch. Not only is the usage growing, but so is membership. This increase also includes a number of companies attempting to market within the social spaces… while the ads are one method the better approach would be to incorporate your social media efforts with your existing email program.

Say for instance you send an email each week, if you managed to get a response (open/ click/ conversion) from every recipient each month, you would be a happy eMarketer... but unfortunately, not every recipient is going to give you a response. To try to get to that level, take a few lessons from social networking sites:
1) Target based on Segments – After all a social network is a collection of friends, there is something common among them, find the commonality and offer accordingly.

2) Be Engaging – Discussion is key, ask people to participate, engage them with relevant questions… What is your opinion? Which one do you like?

3) Showcase – Social sites showcase their network, John is attending… Reagan is going to… Sharmila is taking her kids… Apply these same ideas to your email; include user generated content when you can. People like to read real stories and see real pictures.

4) Cover your Bases – Set up all your social networks, to cover the full gamut you’ll need Twitter, Blog(s), Community Profiles (Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn), some Video and Pictures – learn more here, with this BrigthTALK presentation.

5) Build Excitement – You have to generate interest, run contests, reward recipients for paying attention and help them stay engaged. It’s the best way to build community and a loyal stream of customers.
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Friday, May 8, 2009

Hallmark Fights Back

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Friday, May 08, 2009

A few years ago many online greeting companies popped up leaving the traditional greeting card retailers feeling a bit empty, those retailers tried to advertise their array of gifts and their in-your- neighborhood convenience but there was little avail. My friend Kelly manages a Hallmark store and lost many customers to the internet – even to her corporate .com. From a consumer perspective, they had the self-service benefits of sending a quick card anytime, anywhere.

This Mothers Day has brought a new round of advertising geared toward the in-store experience; Hallmark’s TV ads have been bold and engaging, the commercials invited you to visit the store to experience putting your voice on your choice of greeting card. It’s a perfect attempt by Hallmark to re-engage the customer with something physical – for both the sender and the recipient. Hallmark is capitalizing on the experience, the connection; their cards have always been a very personal way to connect with others, they have embraced this by focusing on the entire experience.

To a certain regard, Hallmark has bucked the internet to engage people in their brick and mortar, their site serves as a complimentary channel – with an explanation and video on how to select and send the perfect voice card. But the true underlying win here is that Hallmark’s use of empathy incorporates people like Kelly, allowing her the opportunity to engage patrons and offering her a real chance to cross sell.

This advertising push has everything necessary… email, web, store, consistent messaging and a tangible product – way to go Hallmark and Happy Mother’s Day!
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Thursday, May 7, 2009

F2F 2.0

Posted by Reagan Taylor | Thursday, May 07, 2009

Everyone is wise to the Forward to a Friend (F2F) link; recipients know that marketers are tracking them, so even if they like your offer and want to share, they won’t. This is because your recipient wants to protect their friends more than share your offer, so if they pass it along they do it through the use of the forward function in their email client, or by sending the link in a separate note or mention it in passing… not what you planned.

The good news is that F2F is getting a revival of sorts through Social Media, allowing recipients to post your email content/ offers on their Facebook pages, Twitter etc. This posting allows your offer to be shared with their friends on a much larger basis – because instead of one or two recipients, it’s now exposed to their entire social network. So not only is the exposure greater, the odds of reception are also greater because you’re receiving that third-party endorsement and being seen in a more casual environment, where future recipients may be more receptive to your offer. For instance if one recipient posts your offer on their Facebook page, odds are that their 100+ friends (average profile has 120 friends) will see your offer. This does more than simply push your message to one recipient (traditional F2F), rather it spreads the message and helps you reach much further.

We did a case study with a cataloger that sends to their list about twice a week – in all, about a million total sends each week. They’ve historically included an F2F link in all emails but only had 1142 clicks over the past 12 months, that’s over 48M emails sent. Comparatively, they tested a group of 200K recipients offering links to join their Facebook page or share the email content – all told they had 8,500 clicks on the Facebook links within their campaigns (just a test group!)

Don’t be a Wallflower
Incorporate social media with your email campaigns – if only to take advantage of the new F2F trends. First figure out where to play, get in the game by creating your top social media pages (Facebook, Twitter etc.) and provide adequate content to get the user engaged. Once you’re set, here are a few additional points to consider:

1) Make it Easy – Check with your ESP, a few are now providing the code necessary to include in your campaigns. A simple inclusion can make your email shareable in the various Social Media outlets (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flickr, Digg, StumbleUpon and Del.icio.us) and help your recipients offer your message – even if you don’t have a corresponding corporate social profile. Be sure to include links to your sites on your website, in your welcome emails etc.

2) Get Creative – Obviously some campaigns are better positioned for sharing, keep this in mind and be sure to offer a catchy, shareable campaign or design element when you can. This increases the likelihood of your recipients spreading the word.

3) Stay Engaged – You have to provide consistent information, think of your Social Media profile as an extension of your website, they should work together although they may have different features/ offers. Consider offering something specifically for your Facebook Friends or a great offer (quick expiration) to your Twitter Followers. This allows you to elevate the importance and attract recipients. You could also use these social sites as a teaser – pre-announcing an event or even the next edition of your newsletter.

4) Know the Measurements – Keep in mind that your Web 2.0 technologies yield only basic metrics, you’re tracking interest and activity not the traditional open or clicks. Remember that you’re dealing with a broader universe and metrics span browsers, applications (i.e. widgets) as well as destinations like walled social networks (i.e. Twitter)… you’re watching for interaction, the number of times someone looks or engages with your offer.
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Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Conducting A/B Tests: Subject Lines

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Ask any email marketer and they’ll likely agree that testing subject lines is a good practice… but ask them if they are running split tests and you’ll probably end up with a number of good excuses – our list is too small, it’s hard enough to come up with one good subject line, there’s not enough time, we’re not sure it’s really worth it or they simply don't know how.

A good friend of ours had those same thoughts, but then he learned that a simple A/B split test could lead to additional ticket sales. He was marketing tickets for Friday events; his average open rate was 14% and he mailed three times a week. Then started testing his offers – two small groups would get the same offer but a slightly different subject line. The better performing subject line drove the rest of the email list; over the course of ten weeks he has sold 7,200 extra tickets due to the slight increase – average of 3% per send.

Keep these suggestions in mind when it comes to choosing a subject line – Don't wait until the end to come up with a subject line for your campaign, start with a concept and post it so that your team (co-workers) can give input. Take their suggestions and start narrowing down the top two or three possibilities. Even if your list is too small to do a split test, choose a few subject lines and have your team bet on their favorite one, by keeping others engaged (especially your front-line) you’ll build interest and solicit their best input.

Your subject lines should be persuasive and have some intrigue (without being deceptive.) If you’re selling, numbers work very well – include the price (lowest possible) or the number of seats remaining. Make it timely – include a deadline, sell-out date etc. to create a sense of urgency.

There are times you have to rush to get a message out, leaving you no time to test. You could remedy this by running a test amongst friends, maintain a list of first responders – people who give you feedback on your offers, send it to them first or simply ask them for their opinion.

We Test Too
For our upcoming Service In Action call on Deliverability (May 29) we did a subject line test on the call invitation/ announcement – Deliverability: Unlock the Mystery and Mystery no more, Deliverability Tips and Tricks. Which of these works best for you? Let us know either through a comment or live on the call while learning about deliverability best practices.
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Tuesday, May 5, 2009

E-Statements: Go Green/ Save Green

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Tuesday, May 05, 2009

E-Statements are good for the environment, they’re convenient and secure (no one can pilfer your statement from your mailbox.) Your e-statement can be easily personalized with relevant information and used by the FI as an opportunity to get to know you better.

The typical road-blocks to launching a successful E-statement program are 1) getting people to convert, 2) including elements to create a compelling read and 3) developing the statement so that it becomes an effective communication vehicle.

To address the first challenge, FIs usually offer incentives (cash) or disincentives (fees for paper statements) to get people to convert. Instead of this approach a more structured path would be an appeal to the consumer’s sensibilities – assure them that the e-statement is secure, that they will get it instantly and that the money saved will ultimately result in higher returns.

Create compelling content by focusing on the inclusion of dynamic offers related to the individual recipient. If someone already has your credit card, don’t try to give them another card – instead use a simpler approach to engage them in a survey, this will help you learn about their aspirations and give you information to then create a more targeted offer.

To achieve effective communication status, you must track the ROI and make sure the recipient is being served the appropriate elements. Tout the money you have saved (internal team) and track the clicks and recipient feedback to make sure you have followed your good communiqués with additional, relevant information.

These same rules apply for non-financial companies…
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Monday, May 4, 2009

Driving Cross-Channel ROI

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Monday, May 04, 2009

When you walk up to an ATM the first few questions are typically for your language preference and what you want to do. Few users change their language preference, and most stick to their one or two favorite transactions, so the Q&A routine required by most ATMs consumes valuable time – and represents a valuable opportunity for the FI to engage the user in a dialogue.

If only the ATM knew a little more about you, maybe gave you a customized offer in addition to remembering your favorite transaction… if it was truly connected, maybe the offer could be based on your preferences. Only a few FIs lead in this market – one of the leaders starts with a welcome screen (after PIN entry) that offers favorite transactions. While processing the transaction, the ATM serves a custom offer to a coffee shop in the neighborhood and offers to email the receipt to the address on file. Later that evening, when the user is checking email he sees the receipt and a couple links with offers on the FI’s website. The clickthrough triggers a direct mail piece, a call, more targeted email or invite to a survey – essentially their current next step.

We posted an article last week discussing Effective eMarketing for FIs highlighting that now is the time to show true value – reminding customers/ members that you are more than just a safe repository for funds. Harnessing your information and leveraging cross-channel data can give your institution a smart, competitive advantage.

Even if you are not an FI, serving relevant offers, seeking more and knowing more about your customer is vital in creating a bond. Applying preferences can show how much you know and help you build trust as you mentor the recipient towards the end state – wouldn’t you think highly of a company that treated you this way?
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Friday, May 1, 2009

Twitter, Twitter Everywhere

Posted by Sundeep Kapur | Friday, May 01, 2009

Twitter is gaining more press coverage each day, it’s easy to use and an effective way to communicate; the challenge many businesses face is how to use it correctly, here are a few points to keep in mind when seeking to create an effective Twitter presence.

First, as a business you should create a Master Personality on Twitter – your business name, to serve as the ultimate authority and your company’s official spokesperson. The tweets from this profile should be authoritative, offer insight into the business and be focused on brand building.

Second, identify proponents of your business; those key people in your organization who can add to your presence. Their Twitter profiles should have two sub-goals, the first is to follow the main personality and the second is to espouse the benefits of your brand. Their tweets should drive specific segmented interest, each could assume an area of responsibility for your business to try and appeal to the different followers/ verticals and act as your brand champion.

The third step is to create one or more Twitter profiles in the service related aspects of your business; their function is to address the how to questions about your product/ service. They could also serve as extensions of Customer Service, in the event that someone has an issue with an invoice or wants to know about upcoming events. Specific service related questions should be handled expeditiously to deliver great service.

Continue to update your Twitter pages with relevant information to stay in touch with your followers, your tweets will serve as an overview for potential followers looking to connect with you. You should also look to add new followers (that relate/ apply to your business) as this may lead to additional reach.

Finally, try to add a little more Twitter is limited to 140 characters, but you can easily incorporate a link to a targeted landing page, portion of your website or link to your latest blog post.

Want more Info?
Here are some past posts on How to get started with Twitter and how to Leverage Twitter in your Email Program. You can also follow the Timber Frame Business Council and our page, The Email Yogi. Tweet with you soon!
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