Just In: Gmail Introduces Inbox Priority

Gmail has introduced a new way for its users to combat spam and unwanted emails called ‘Priority Inbox’. This new feature is currently in beta, but will be rolling out to its users within the next week.

What is ‘Priority Inbox’?
Priority Inbox is a way to organize a Gmail inbox using the user’s interactions to decide whether an email is important or not. Gmail will automatically categorize emails into three sections, “Important and unread”, “Starred” and “Everything else”, depending on a number of factors.

Priority will be given to those who are emailed the most, emails that are opened and replied to and those that the user choose to increase priority for. Gmail users can also decide which emails they want to increase or decrease priority on.

What does it mean for Email Marketers?
The new feature may impact Gmail open, click and conversion rates if the emails are missed in the Inbox due to the new categorization structure. To overcome this new challenge, marketers need to make sure they are sending timely and relevant emails that users want to receive. Segment out your Gmail recipients and include a customized message to tell them to make sure and give priority to your emails so it doesn’t get lost in the Inbox.

For more information about ‘Priority Inbox’, read the Gmail blog.

Many thanks to Sharmila Sorenson for this important & timely update.

Read more >>

You Have to Operationalize Your Segmentation

Many organizations have plans in place on how to segment their consumers & most of these organizations succeed in putting their consumers into segments. The two key challenges are to make sure that you have made the right assumptions as you build segments & very importantly that your segmentation strategy is operational. Having an operational segmentation strategy means making sure that the segments are working correctly.

Here are a few checkpoints & examples to make sure that things are being done correctly:

Make sure that the segments are being served up appropriate content. My son (18) signed up to receive emails from a electronic game company. The first few emails were targeted and incredible. We purchased things from them. He is now getting offers that are more appropriate for a kindergartner. (We have no one at home that matches that profile.)

Check to make sure that there is no 'overlap' - that your segments are not getting multiple offers. I got two offers to sign up for digital wireless - 40% off, followed by a 35% off - all within 15 minutes. While I was thrilled that I got more, I did wonder if someone else got 50% off.

Make sure that your segmentation strategy is recognized by all your channels, especially your people channels. It makes no sense to call a consumer 'elite' and then make them trudge through long lines, give them the wrong seat, or mess up on their rooms. One of my friends called his credit card company, stayed on hold forever despite being a member of their preferred club. The minute they recognized her, a supervisor took over, apologized, and expediently rectified the issue. Recognize and reward your segments within transactions.

If you mess up, have a plan in place to follow up in near real time versus sending letters / calling when nothing can really be done. This causes even more resentment & moreover diminishes the value of your 'expedient' channels. A cataloger called a customer to apologize about sending the package without gift wrapping three weeks after the 'gift' had been delivered. This just opened up old wounds.

Automate whatever you can and do check up on your higher value segments. You can create rules to check and see 'when' your 'special' segments are going to touch your brand. That way you can follow up with them. Do the same thing on the way out as this will make sure that nothing falls through the cracks. So for example if a high value customer anonymously logs into their internet banking application, adjust your messaging & acknowledge them as they complete their transaction.

If your systems are not able to check on how your segments are traversing your 'sites,' spend money to make them operational. Write use cases on how you think the consumer may traverse or interact with your business. Validate these use cases with your team & test them continuously to make sure that things are working correctly.

Make sure that your people are aware of your segmentation strategy, and give them the power to do things. This way your people are aware & empowered to take care of the most important person - 'your customer.'

Read more >>

Segmentation Snafus

A good friend of mine was two nights away from achieving 'super-elite' status with a particular hotel chain. He checked into the hotel only to be banished to the basement. When he checked out (two days later) his invoice welcomed him to the 'super-elite.' Sadly he was acknowlegded by a computer and not by people.

A major financial institution took time to segment out their super elite. They created very compelling offers for these people. The men got cuff-links, women got scarves, & the address labels for the package that was mailed was hand written. The FI wanted to get the attention of the recipient and an in person meeting for their investment officers. Very stylish & elegantly done. When they designed the letter, the salutation placeholder read, 'Dear Rich Bastard.' Unfortunately when the final letter was printed it still read, 'Dear Rich Bastard.' The customers found out first!

My son (18) signed up to receive emails from a electronic game company. The first few emails were targeted and incredible. We purchased things from them. He is now getting offers that are more appropriate for a kindergartner. (We have no one at home that matches that profile.)

I got two offers to sign up for digital wireless - 40% off, followed by a 35% off - all within 15 minutes. While I was thrilled that I got more, I did wonder if someone else got 50% off.

A colleague of mine who enjoys 'jeweled' status with his airline got assigned a middle seat '43B' on a six hour flight. With no chance of an upgrade, he was told that there were no other options, yet he was horrified to see empty aisle seats as his plane took off. They even ran out of food (for purchase) by the time they reached him. He doesn't stand in lines, his phone calls are answered immediately, & the web site gives him really personalized messages. Yet, what failed for him are the people channels.

If you have a segmentation strategy, you need to test things out to make sure that your segmentation strategy is operational. Don't miss tomorrow's post on how and why you should operationalize your segmentation.

Read more >>

Can your consumer read & understand your policy?

Yesterday's post talked about the content in your privacy policy and the need to keep it up to date; today's post focuses on the internalization of your objectives regarding email (and eCommerce) with your team and recipients.

I am the recipient of many privacy policies, from credit card companies, financial institutions, our travel company and even a few retailers. They’re all intimidating reads, long and obnoxious… legal lingo just alienates your recipient. You can put out the legalese to CYA but then you can add a little section that explains things in plain English.

The challenge here is that these policies have all been written to protect the sending company, they’re intentionally hard decipher. Just when I thought all was lost, I received this email – look at the ease with which it’s written. This style is reflective of a dialogue… do this and not that. It’s a nice change of pace for those of us who receive tons of these policies and it helps build loyalty to the company.

If you’re not ready for this style, at least train your CSRs to put it into a conversation – they’re the front line of your brand, your experts… make them look as such.

Read more >>

How to update your Privacy Policy

When was the last time you read your Privacy Policy? My recommendation is to treat it like a dairy product, keeping it fresh eliminates a world of problems. Here are a few points to help you update or overhaul:

1) He Tells a Friend… She Tells a Friend – Many subscribers worry about residual signups as a result of enrolling; alleviate this concern by stating that you don’t send unsolicited messages, SPAM or unwanted email. State that you send transactional information and messages you believe will benefit the recipient. If there are partner sign-ups (i.e. your parent company), list them.

2) You’re Outta Here – Detail your unsubscribe policy, state that recipients may unsubscribe by clicking a link or by mailing, faxing, calling or emailing a request. Include an escalation path and state the number of days it may take to fulfill requests, this covers you in the event that you’re not processing the unsubscribe requests immediately.

3) Hey, look over there! – If you link to other sites (in your emails or from your site) note that you do not (cannot) control the content on that site or their Privacy Policy. Also state that you will try your best to provide the recipients the best possible information.

4) Pay Up – If you accept credit cards, detail your process or Secure Socket Layer (SSL); state whether or not you are PCI Compliant (you better be) and how you protect the information both internally and externally (then make sure you do).

5) Keep Current – Tell users how they may update information through your site or other channels.

6) That’s the Law – Inform recipients that while you will make every attempt to keep their information private, you are legally obligated to assist in certain processes and under certain situations you may need to disclose their "private information" to comply.

7) Is Your Address Correct – Be sure to provide contact information, an address, phone number and/ or an email address – regularly audit the process to make sure it’s working.

8) Here Ye, Here Ye – Include notice that there will be updates and tell them how you will let them know about these changes – be careful, because if you tell them you will notify them in writing, you have to. The easiest way to do this is to state that you will list the changes on your site and provide a 30 – 45 day notice before the changes to privacy policy go into effect.

9) Keep Current – One of the top considerations is the "freshness" of your privacy policy, review the policy every quarter (minimally) and update it with the statement: THIS PRIVACY POLICY WAS LAST UPDATED ON DATE. This keeps your policy current… regardless if anything else changes.

10) Legal Eagles – Remember these are global suggestions, your company has hired experts to protect you… use their expertise!

Read more >>

30 Do's & Don'ts to Engage the Email Recipient

Last week, I had an opportunity to participate in panel discussion on email marketing best practices. The workshop was part of a day long event hosted by the Email Experience Council (eec). Jeanniey Mullen (founder of the eec, not pictured on the left) the CMO of Zinio & VIVmag moderated a discussion amongst us to look for nuggets of best practices. The two other panelists included Aaron Smith from Smith - Harmon (now a Responsys company), & Debbie Kane from Active Interest Media (Yoga Journal is one of their publications).

As Jeanniey kicked off our discussion, she talked about the fact that reading emails became much easier. Our consumer has real time access to our messages across multiple channels - the smart phone, computer, e-readers, & kiosks - plus our consumers can access the information in near real time. What is also interesting to note is that digital readers of all kinds offer color, expansive content, video, & are extremely mobile. As we think about design, we need to consider all of these factors to design our messages.

Perhaps the most significant aspect is to realize that the same message can be opened across multiple devices. We need to make sure that we are not cluttering the smart phone, or making the larger PC look skimpy. Most importantly, we need to think about the concept of continuous engagement.

Debbie highlighted her five do's as - 'Test' the message, 'Analyze' the results, use 'Web Designers,' have a clear 'Call to Action,' & keep important stuff 'Above the Fold.' She emphasized taking the time to test & analyze results as we put together campaigns. The key consideration was to make sure that the email design was not just a direct mail piece that was converted - she saw clear differentiation in results when an effort had been made with web designers.

Aaron highlighted his five do's as - check your 'Preview Pane,' see how the email looks 'Rendered,' create an iron clad 'Process,' run a 'Test' with every send, & focus on the 'Three Fundamentals.' The three fundamentals were - 1 - what is this email about? 2 - Why do my subscribers care? & What do they do about it? Aaron wanted us to think about how our emails would be rendered if the images were to be turned off.

My five do's were - think about why the consumer should 'sign' up for the email, using intrigue to engage the consumer, tracking both what people 'do' & 'do not do,' run subject line 'tests,' & using social media to 'drive up' open rates. The two fundamentals I stressed were to have a plan - the best way to have a clear mission is to ask yourself (and your team & your customers) as to why one should sign up for the email program. The other key thing was to leverage interactive social media content to drive up engagement within emails.

Aaron's five don'ts were quite thoughtful. He wanted you to make the un-subscribe process 'uncomplicated,' not to say too much with 'one' email, not let email become a 'silo' channel that doesn't pay attention to what the other channels are doing, think about the 'landing page,' & keeping in mind that what works today may not work tomorrow (or vice versa). I really like the way Aaron emphasized the landing page as that is the consumer destination - we need to think in terms of steps - about guiding our consumer to a landing page where we can try to persuade them to do more. If we do this right, our conversion will go up dramatically.

Debbie is an extremely busy marketer. She is trying to get a lot out as quickly as possible. Her don'ts were - not to assume something 'works,' not to 'overcomplicate' the email creative, don't 'over-mail' the list, don't 'under-mail' the list, & she then re-emphasized the importance of not just using a print piece for email success. The best way to find the perfect frequency is to use a control group to see how that group responds. If you would like a paper on how to come up with an ideal frequency send me a note.

My five don'ts were about not ignoring 'reports' or your 'front line,' about not over-mailing your 'non-responders,' about having concise & intriguing 'subject lines,' about making sure that you don't forget a 'call to action,' & about the importance of being 'timely.' I even suggested making a deliberate mistake in your copy and rewarding the first employee to find that mistake. This way you raise the awareness of your campaigns, solicit good feedback, & usually find other unintentional mistakes.

Jeanniey summarized our discussion best when she spoke about the impending arrival of so many different new devices & how consumers were intuitively adopting these devices. She wanted us to be 'email ready.' Big emphasis on testing, big emphasis on design, & a big emphasis on user experience.

All 30 tips are available on the eec blog @ 30 Do's & Don'ts.

Jeanniey (the real Jeanniey Mullen pictured to the right) stressed the importance of not only testing how your emails looked across multiple devices (and browsers), but she talked about the value of testing different offers to see what could drive better results.

Many thanks to the eec to pull this event together. If you are looking for a place to learn more about email marketing, network with you peers, & share best practices join us at the Email Evolution Conference 2011. More information can be found at EmailEvolution.org.

Read more >>

Designing the perfect 'Welcome Message'

As a marketer it is easy to focus on the 'normal' email campaigns, these are the ones that you most recently perfected, received management buy-in and the ones with current response data. Odds are you’re planning a couple weeks in advance too, never looking too far back so it becomes easier and easier to forget the welcome campaign that you created a while back… or inherited from your predecessor.

These welcome campaigns may be years behind your current design work or they could be doing only part of their job. Think of the campaign(s)) as your first impression, it’s the best chance you have for the recipient to add you to their safe sender list; your chance to highlight something they may have overlooked while on your site or simply introduce them to your full experience – either through a purchase, survey or social media offerings.

Evaluate these campaigns often; make sure they are serving your organizations needs:

· Show recipients a sample of what to expect

· Provide them with important information (something that will want them to keep your email for a while)

· Collect information from them – i.e. a simple survey (fill-in from the registration page)

· Push them toward other items – cool/ underappreciated part of your site or social media outlets

· Generate sales – this could be your best chance to convert!

· Don't think about just one campaign - plan a series of welcome campaigns, perhaps two to three messages to your new prospect become part of your family

· Mix it up – drive your campaigns to them through mobile, social, & email.

· Most importantly, remember to message them right away.

You need to use this first impression to start a dialogue with your consumers, it is the best way to learn about them, it is the best way to communicate, it is the best way to market - all towards creating interactive conversations.

Read more >>

False Advertising?

Your email program is supposed to engage the recipient. A welcome message in real time, intriguing subject lines, & good content keeps the email engagement cycle going with the consumer. The challenge is that many companies are trying to expand relationships with their consumer and make some 'deliberate mistakes' in their communiqués.

Here are five that I would like to share with you.

Subject Line: Your news personalized…
Really, I never really did personalize what this news portal offered. In fact, the only reason I set up an account with them was to get a copy of my free birthday horoscope. I never told them about sports, or business, or the type of news. Yet my email had news articles that had nothing to with any of my interest. What was worse was that they didn't even include my horoscope.

Subject Line: We miss your online orders - & we want you back
I received this message from a place that sells food online. While I have signed up to receive their emails, I have never ordered online. What is interesting is that I have ordered from their 'store' but it would be impossible for them to associate the email id with my in-store contact information. When I questioned their store about the email message I was told that they were trying to be 'inclusive' and make everyone part of their 'family.'

Subject Line: People who bought table cloths also bought…
Yes, we did purchase table cloths for our formal dining table. We purchased two different table cloths and the company knows that we have a table that can seat eight. I opened the email in eager anticipation to see what other accessory they were recommending - I expected table mats, chair covers, perhaps table accessories. The body of the email offered us a wide selection of wind chimes! Wind chimes! Were they expecting us to blow the wind chime to get served?

Subject Line: Your subscription is about to expire
Intrigued, I opened the email to read the following copy. We recently mailed (direct mail) you a subscription offer to 'Magazine.' Our great offer to you is about to expire. How can an offer become a subscription? Where did they find my email? And how do I un-subscribe from something I didn't subscribe to?

Subject Line: Welcome to our newsletter
Impossible is what I said. I expressly remember having ordered a graduation gift for a colleague. I had put in my email id for the order confirmation & expressly unchecked the box to receive their email newsletter (full of discount coupons, great deals, & timely information). I was even impressed when I received a confirmation phone call from them about the order. Once again, I was asked and I declined the 'valuable newsletter.'

We need to be quick to get the consumer who signs up on board with our newsletters, but we also need to be careful about what we are sending them. The examples above range from a 'false' sign up to mailing of incorrect offers, or the company making assumptions about them knowing what they think I am interested in.

Isn't this False Adverting?

Read more >>

13 Resolutions for an Email Marketer

Here are a thirteen resolutions for every email marketer. Every one of these are absolutes and will help with our programs.

1. I will create transactional triggers – think about specific messages for specific transactions. Create these messages and automate the sending process. Review your results weekly.

2. I will work hard on growing my list – you need to set realistic goals and involve your team in growing your email list across all channels. Remember the transactional triggers – enable them for your non-web channels as well.

3. I will create a preference center – a real cross channel preference center that will solicit recipient preferences, update preferences based on user interaction, & keep the preference tables updated through surveys.

4. I will watch the frequency of my campaigns – so as not to startle, or numb the recipient from the excessive barrage (or the out of the blue email) of messaging. You can make this effective by tracking your open rates per consumer across multiple campaigns and not just one.

5. I will keep surveying the consumer - include a survey link in every email to solicit recipient opinion. Leverage other channels into collecting user preferences. Think hard about the questions too – don’t use the survey to score how well you are doing. Use the survey to connect with the recipient.

6. I will survey the non-buyer – reach out to people that don’t buy from you and try to get their opinion. Make them a priority – you will learn something good about your program, get an opportunity to try new things on people that don’t seem to respond, & perhaps convert someone.

7. I will work with the call center, brick & mortar channels – yes, we all resolve to do it each year. But here is what you should do – first engage them by pushing offers their way, & two show them all the different ways you can track people. The more involved they are in your campaigns the more they will support you.

8. I will test before I launch – test each campaign before you put it out. Have three types of tests – first – a sanity test on what the campaign should do, second involve your team to see what they think will work (and let them find errors), third – test it out on a sub-section of your recipients before you send it out to your entire list.

9. I will work on subject lines – these drive open rates and engagement. A good subject line can also be leveraged into Facebook or Twitter. Take some time to come up with them rather than just slapping them on last minute. In fact, set a goal to solicit subject lines from your peers and narrow them down with testing.

10. I will monitor my deliverability – watch your delivered and blocks on every campaign. Don’t mess this up – keep your IP’s clean by keeping your customers and prospects on different IP’s.

11. I will monitor my metrics – for all my campaigns. You need to look at all your numbers across channels. Innovative marketers this year will actually start measuring success across channels – start campaigns on one channel and transfer people to another. Also, share your reports with other people in your organization.

12. I will integrate social media into my email. Social media is an effective way to engage the consumer. Integrating social into your email will help you build relationships, increase engagement, & drive some very powerful results.

13. I will be a customer. (Take a look at your campaigns as a consumer). Make a checklist of things that you like about your campaigns. See if the path makes sense, and if the marketing is up to par. Track your subscribe & unsubscribe process.

Good luck with your campaigns. All you have to do is converse with your consumers. After all, marketing is all about creating interactive conversations.

Read more >>

Social Media: Rules of Engagement

You can't just go and buy a social media program! And you certainly cannot be successful with a half hearted approach to social media either.

Five years ago, I had the opportunity to visit a boutique retailer - I went to their store to deisgn and personalize a bag that I use every single day. While they do accomodate 'men,' the store is primarily for women. Though I was intimidated going in, my experience in the store was amazing - I had about nine 'designers' offering me suggestions and only one of those people actually worked at the store.

I soon collaborated with this company to replicate that 'in-store' experience on the web. Their social media strategy was about engagement - it was about creating a dialogue amongst customers with occasional participation from employees.

Two years ago, a cataloger undertook an initiative to create a 'playground' for its consumers. This playground brought together multiple social channels and consumers. Their social media is replete with text, pictures, & video. Plus there is a contstant dialogue amongst consumers.

A financial institution is thinking ahead - they don't see the consumer coming into their branch, they see even fewer transactions at the ATM, but they would like to see their consumer almost everyday. So they have undertaken a 'revolutionary' (in banking circles) initiative that simply allows them to create communities of interest leveraging social media.

The consumers of all of these companies pay 'significant' attention to messages that the brand sends to them. Here are five lessons we can apply to our own social approaches:

1 - Build relationships first - that is what will help you drive a 'sale.'

2 - Create a community of interest and then join the community.

3 - Communities are grown - you invest time in them everyday.

4 - There is a difference between lecturing & facilitating on a community.

5 - Content is key to the success of your community.

You can do well by building your email & direct marketing programs off your social engagement strategy. Build relationships first, then strive towards 'selling the consumer.'

Read more >>

17 Hot Issues Facing Email Marketers

Most email because it is cheap & quick. A few email because messages can be tracked & personalized. The email elite leverage this channel to create one on one dialogue that can drive people across channels. Yes, email is emerging as a very powerful and effective way to communicate with consumers.

As we talk to marketers, here are 17 key issues that keep email marketers awake at night:

1) How do I get higher conversions/ clicks from the people who’ve opened? How do I boost sales? How do I measure transactions?

2) How do I make sure the data is segmented correctly? How can I test my segmentation?

3) How do I improve my deliverability? Do I even know the 'true picture?'

4) How do I truly integrate different channels; where should I start? How should I combine the cross-channel data collected?

5) How do I deal with unsubscribes – reduce the number and deal with those who want to drop off?

6) How do I best explain our eMarketing program to management? How can I secure additional funding? How can I stop management from 'machine gun messaging?'

7) How do I really get started with social media? What social media channels should I pull into email? How can I measure the success of this program?

8) How do I integrate social media marketing in my overall marketing efforts? Can I really make it work for print?

9) How do I reduce the time spent on executing email marketing campaigns? What messagingin can I automate?

10) While analyzing results, what should I look at first? Who else should analyze results?

11) How do I reduce marketing spend without leaving out impressions? How often do I remail before dropping someone?

12) How do I deal with email being perceived as SPAM?

13) How do I make sure the recipient is not receiving too much email? How often should he/ she be targeted?

14) How do I survey the recipient? How do I ask questions? What should I ask? How often should I survey the recipient?

15) How do I grow the list (effectively)? Should I purchase or rent lists? Would an append really work?

16) What other groups in my organization should I involve in my email marketing program?

17) How do I get rewarded for my efforts? (get a raise, get a promotion, get recognition)

I am sure there are many more, but thank you again for your feedback - these are the issues we will continue to address on our learning network.

Read more >>

Once Again: Don't Sell Past the Close!

Congratulations! You have just converted the prospect into a customer. You have convinced them to purchase a product or a service. You proceed to thank them for becoming a customer. You also decide that it is time to up sell them with offers that are relevant.

Timely emails are awesome - email marketers know that transactional emails have higher open rates, and usually have a higher rate of conversion as the customer is already in a buying mood. A few businesses do a great job in the further up-sell. Most do nothing at all. There are others that actually help 'un-sell' the consumer resulting in the original order or service being cancelled - the customer is back to becoming a prospect and the pursuit continues.

While some do a great job selling an extended warranty after the purchase, a few have lost the sale by reminding the new customer about the 'two month money back guarantee' or an upgrade to something else or the 'free trial being extended.' Worse yet, some organizations welcome the first time buyer into an open forum without really checking the content on the forum. The new customer is faced with more options, gets an opportunity to meet dissatisfied past buyers, & at times just waits for a better deal.

In B2B situations the rep may continue to list 'feature - function - benefit' after the prospect has agreed to purchase. The rep feels compelled to sell because they feel that the prospect hasn't heard everything that the rep has to say (or has prepared to say). The rep feels they still haven't sold all the virtues of the product / service. It is very easy to loose the prospect.

A suggestion to sellers - take a look at your post sale messages. Do include the 'thank you' but take a careful look at where your up-sell might lead the consumer. Think about setting up a recurring stream of thank you messages where you can lead your customer towards a goal state one message at a time. Think about having two sets of messages - one for the first time buyer & one for your regulars. The two groups react differently.

Learn when to stop selling past the close. Too many opportunities are lost in 'excessive' translation.

Read more >>

Five Ways to Grow Your Business (Now)

You can drive up your interaction by growing your reach and also increasing your engagement effectiveness when you can get your consumer to pay more attention to what you are presenting to them. It doesn't matter if you are a financial institution or a retailer or anyone in between - trust, engagement, & relevance will drive an increase in interaction.

Here are five things you should do to drive this increase -

First, look to create personalized experiences. Don't just address people by their name. Don't even try to 'insert' the consumers name on a product you are trying to sell them. Instead focus on the basics - remember their preferences, remember what they purchased, & also remember what they browsed. Now go back to the consumer with a custom offer.

Second, leverage real people feedback. Don't just tell the consumer to take your word on a product or service. Instead get your consumers to vouch for you. You should keep soliciting feedback from your consumers and use this feedback to reinforce interest in your brand. People like to hear from their peers and not (just) from your brand.

Third, make it easy to go across channels & devices. While the mantra of converged channel is being espoused by many, organizations are still struggling with the practicality of how the consumer is segmented, targeted, & how the information is delivered. For starters, think about consistency in how you engage the consumer across channels. Next, make sure that your messages work across devices (mobile being key).

Fourth, focus on real time. Consumers expect and acknowledge quick service. They are in a hurry for information, so if you see a consumer touching one of your channels looking for information, be sure that you can capture those preferences with a relevant engaging message.

Fifth, be real. Be sincere in how you engage your consumers across channel. If you adopt social media to engage consumers in a dialogue - be sincere in your approach and be responsive to service concerns.

Read more >>

Welcome to the 2010 Panel of Peers

For the past 11 years we have had the privilege of hosting an interactive learning event - The Panel of Peers. We invite people who affect consumer marketing to participative in a discussion around best practices.

It is a discussion around how best to engage consumers leveraging both digital & traditional channels. The interaction is spontaneous as peers chime in to share their personal brand interactive experiences.

This Panel of Peers gathering facilitates a level of networking & idea exchange that is far more effective than any class, workshop, or seminar I could ever go to. It is how many of us learn - so we can better engage consumers across channel. We use these ideas to enhance our communication strategies, and to help create interactive conversations with those they serve. This is direct feedback from people who participate.

This year we will have over 80 diverse marketers from different industries participate in the two day interactive learning event. Representative attendees this year include financial institutions, retailers, catalogers, travel companies, casinos, the government, & even religious institutions. It is going to take us only 15 minutes to get off the 'structured agenda' & then the interaction gets phenomenal.

Remember the idea here is not meet 100's of people, but to meet a few people, & interact a lot. It is like a big staff meeting amongst people who are passionate about consumer engagement.

The five key areas we will focus on (again, this is direct feedback from our marketing executives) includes - mobile, social media, email, self service, & optimizing people to people transactions.

Yes, financial institutions are looking for ways to sell at self service devices, and retailers are looking for ways to learn more about the consumer. The convergence of channels is fascinating, where the market is headed is revolutionary, & what these two days will bring is going to be very insightful.

I have more information listed on the Panel of Peers web site. Keep your eyes open for articles that will capture the insight from this years attendees.

Read more >>