Your First Message is Just Like the First Date

I have had the unique opportunity to provide consulting services to a relationship company, helping them improve their communications. As part of the process I’ve learned a lot of tips that they give their client, preparing the client for the first date.

1) Look sharp, act confident and speak clearly

2) Engage in a back and forth dialogue – ask and tell

3) Pay attention to what your date is saying and doing

4) Don't get distracted by outside influences – focus on your center of attention

5) Don't forget to say Thank You

Digital marketers can also learn from their first date advice, one could even compare those first emails as first dates, because:

1) You have to make your messaging crisp – your content needs to grab the recipient’s attention and you need to clearly tell the recipient why they are receiving your email.

2) Ask the recipient for their preferences, this can be done by their click patterns or when they complete a short survey – keep them engaged and serve content relevant to their interests.

3) Pay attention to what the recipient does after they give you their preferences, for example, if they said they liked the sports section, did they actually go there? You must tie your analytics.

4) Keep the content focused so that the recipient isn’t distracted, allow them to clearly focus on their items of interest.

5) Be grateful and send them a note asking them to give you feedback on the first message via email – was it what they wanted? Was there something else you could offer?

Email is private and personal, so remember that you have the privilege of communicating with them – after all, it’s your first date!

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How to Leverage Channel-Coupling to Connect with Consumers

Many organizations define success by how a consumer is convinced to partake in a marketing offer. You see television ads that try to build brand and drive people to a store. You hear radio ads touting a low interest rate or inviting people to a clearance event. Grocers keep mailing their circulars. And the barrage of mass email continues to torment many an in-box.

Direct mail at home and at work have offers strewn all over them. And even when the consumer unwinds on their social media site there are both ads and invitations to 'special events.' The pursuit of the consumer is relentless. These approaches to engage a consumer are typical of single channel marketing programs. These are programs that are seeking a consumer but not necessarily coordinated. Marketers and businesses pursue the consumer across channels in an attempt to convince and then convert the consumer.

Many organizations are guilty of the 'single channel chase marketing approach.' A random sampling of big and small company offers shows that there is really no connection between their channel offers. Most companies don't list their other channels in marketing communiqués, a few do but there is nothing specific. A rare few give you a compelling reason to go to the other channel. And even those who do drive you to the other channel fail to test things out - the transfer was confusing, perhaps the link is broken, the ATM is no longer at that location, the store has closed, the event was held the week before, or the best one: the approached employee was absolutely clueless!

In an ideal scenario your channels should be aware of each other and this includes the employee. Additionally the employee should be empowered to find things and execute offers.

But to be reasonable, this is tougher than you think. Even if you have a single data warehouse it is still hard to coordinate marketing messages. Also, it is not just about good intent - you have to make it a practice to think about the other channels.

Here is one suggestion. Try Channel-Coupling. Take two channels and start coordinating your approach. Carry the message from one channel to the other. Have a requirement that every single communiqué you send is coordinated with at least one other channel. This means couple your email and direct mail. Connect your direct mail with social media. Send people to your Youtube channel from an ad on TV or radio.

Don't just list your channels - give people a reason to go there.

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Social Integration: Creating Interactive Conversations Across Channel

I recently wrote this article for ClickZ. The focus is on integrating social into your business.

Social media offers businesses a way to attract consumers, an effective way to engage, and an easier way to listen to consumers. The key to success is to integrate social into the overall brand mix.

Sadly, many companies tend to isolate "social" or just banish the responsibility to their digital group. As a result, social gets done in a vacuum; away or outside from the rest of the organization. So while the digital group tends to make great strides with social media, the potential positive impact of social media is greatly minimized.

Social media can positively impact many aspects of your business. It can also help you reduce some of the effort involved. Think about ways your consumer touches your brand. They may reach out to inquire about a product or service, seek an endorsement, look at commercials, review literature, and even provide you with valuable feedback. Think about how you can apply social media to help you with each of these activities.

A good way to start is by aligning your business goals to what you are trying to do with social media. Think about the three types of consumers you have; those you seek (prospects), those you already have (existing customers), and those who have stopped coming to your brand (disconnected or disengaged customers). Now think about specific messages you can say on each of your channels to engage, and reengage with these consumers.

A typical multi-channel organization has communication silos where each channel attempts consumer engagement through non-personalized conversations. Think about your interaction at an ATM. The first thing you are asked is to select your language, then your transaction. Wouldn't your experience be more personalized if the ATM remembered your language and favorite transaction?

HDFC Bank is a financial institution in India that leverages the time to recognize, remember, and anticipate the next step. It is driving 70 percent response rates and converting 21 percent on three touch transactions. For HDFC, leveraging the web with social media is just one of many consumer engagement tactics.

Rather than just printing a link to a survey on a paper receipt, think about offering your consumer some kind of incentive that would drive them back to your website. Once the consumer answers the question(s), you can refer them to your social sites to see responses from other consumers.

Businesses need to think beyond the standard set of welcome messages. You need to think about what you would say next to your consumers, meaning your channels need to recognize the consumer, and remember their preferences. If done correctly, your consumer can and will respond positively by providing their feedback on your social channels.

Most online retailers ship merchandise to their customers with a box that includes yet another print catalog. What if they were to add a little trivia, or incentive to the box that was being shipped?

A multi-channel cataloger that sells birdseeds started including trivia questions such as, "Do birds that eat bees ever get stung?" "What bird makes a figure eight with its wings?" "Why do cardinals kiss?" etc. They intrigued consumers to go to their blog to learn the answers. They make sure their blog includes updated articles, pictures, videos, and links to their other social sites. Almost 90 percent of consumers that visited their blog signed up for one of their social channels!

Think simple stuff first! Align your channels with your consumer segments and think about specific messages for your consumers to create engagement. When an engaged consumer speaks, other consumers listen, which can translate into more for your brand.

Here is the original article on ClickZ. If you like the article, do share it with others.

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How to Make Forward to a Friend Super-Viral and Real Time

I did a case study with a cataloger that sends an email 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!)

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 or 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 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.

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 or 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.

Dennis Yu (BlitzLocal), Andrea Zito, Eric Ludwig (Rosetta Stone), Enrique Gonzales (AARP), and I are speaking at the Web2.0 Expo in New York on how to supercharge your brand using Facebook. Stay in touch with us, we are going to share some incredibile ideas and superb case studies on what can work to make your brand more effective.

Here is a link to the event, Supercharging Your Brand on Facebook!

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Leverage these Five Messages to Connect with Your Consumers

Have you ever seen a consumer walk away from a cash register or an ATM without checking the validity of the transaction? Consumers pay attention to transactional messages - transactional emails and SMS's work; I've seen open rates averaging over 75%!

So why not leverage them to create a more effective engagement strategy? Here are five reasons to go back to the recipient:

1) When they sign up – Don't forget to welcome them into your fold; thank them, talk briefly about the virtues of your digital programs and be sure to insert an offer with an expiration date. People didn't just sign up to read your campaigns; they’re usually interested in purchasing something so make it easier for them.

2) Say Thanks – Follow up the purchase with a reminder of why they’ve chosen your company. Send a thank you email with an interesting offer to apply toward their next purchase, a neat idea is to offer them a sample of one of three items – this creates interaction.

3) You want their Feedback – A few days after shipment, ask them for feedback on the products purchased or the service provided. Make it easier for them by making the survey top heavy – solicit open-ended feedback first then progress to the multiple choice items. Be sure to include at least one question to get you feedback on other products (maybe by ranking other products.)

4) When they abandon their transaction – Be it an incomplete transaction or an abandoned shopping cart, you have to go back to them to ask them if there is anything you can do to help them complete their transaction. It doesn't have to be a discount, a simple reminder works wonders. If they still don't purchase, wait and send them a reminder in the future.

5) When they unsubscribe – Mail them after they click on unsubscribe, tell them you’re sorry to see them go. Include a banner to your sales outlet or a special discount at the bottom. You’ll be surprised at the unsubscribed recipient actually makes a purchase.

Do you know that a message sent in near real time can have an average open rate of over 98%, versus the same message sent the next day averages 44%! Real time can make transactional very effective.

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Seven Simple Ways to Use Twitter

Many businesses simply don't know if they should be on Twitter. They know about the buzz and get excited about followers but they are unable to justify whether they should be on Twitter or if they are, they are having some interesting challenges with engagement.

Here are seven simple ways you could use Twitter for your business.

1. Provide updates from your brand. The goal here is to make people aware of things that you have going on. The key is to keep the updates short, and make sure that they are relevant. Don't put a traditional press release out via Twitter.

2. Announce special events or promotions. If you are hosting an open house, or you have a special speaker coming in - you can use Twitter to make an announcement to those that follow you. You can also use Twitter if you have a special offer. Crisp, clear, & concise - this is what Twitter feeds can be leveraged into.

3. Offer some basic tips about your product or service. One suggestion is to take some of your frequently asked questions from your site and make them available to those that follow you via Twitter (with a link to the page with more information). They important thing to do here is to use a little intrigue to get the dialogue going - engage with a question and then offer an answer that is relevant.

4. Offering 'deeper' information about your brand. You can use Twitter to schedule a special online event - some have done well by scheduling power hours where people tweet about a particular topic. This is also used effectively while covering real events.

5. Effective on-boarding. Most people who work with your brand may not realize all that you provide. The best way to make them aware is to get to know them better. You can use Twitter as part of an engagement cycle where you can introduce them to the different things you do (set up timed welcome tweets). Additionally, you can use Twitter for consumer surveys and do a little aspirational marketing.

6. Get more mileage out of print. Start with something you may just mailed to your list and highlight parts of an interesting article. Refer to something specific within the article and try to engage people with a question online. Once you get the hang of doing this, do this for upcoming mailers. Eventually, look to reduce or stop the distribution of a specific direct mail piece. The ROI gained could help you do more with Twitter.

7. Now, try to be cool. Three simple contests work well here. You could put up a picture and ask people to vote on a caption. You could post a question on Twitter and may the first correct answer win. You could also run a scavenger hunt on Twitter - driving people from one spot (or link) to another.

A few things to think about - you can use Twitter for customer service, for FAQ's, to engage people, & yes sometimes be cool. The thing to remember is that you have to be careful about being too cool as you may not be able to sustain it or your brand may not stand up to it.

Combine twitter with mobile for even greater impact.

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Want to Succeed in Social Media? Create an Insiders Club!

An insiders club is a group of people that care about your brand. They tell you what is right, guide you when you are wrong, and stand up to support your brand. These are brand ambassadors and people who will answer questions from other consumers.

Why bother?

A retailer redesigned their web site. They hired an agency who recruited potential consumers. The new site was phenomenal, it was built by feedback, focus groups, A/B testing, & eyeball tracking. They paid the agency $1.5 Million!

A similar sized retailer reached out to their inner circle and solicited their feedback. People were grouped into three categories – those who provided feedback for free, those who provided feedback for a whopping discount, and those who were given a gift card to spend in a certain amount of time. This retailer spent less than $20,000. The first retailer took six months to redesign their site, the second retailer took less than half that time.

Having an inner circle is vital. They are your go to group of people. It takes a little time, some effort, and honest diligence to create an insiders club.

Here is how you do it –

1. List a ‘tell us what you think’ on every message that you send out. Not just email but across all channels. Ask people to rank your product, rank your service, and leave them a text box for comments. Use this information to update consumer preferences, and be sure that you follow up with the consumer as soon as they respond. Thank them for their answer, be genuine, and try to engage them with an email from you or a real person.

2. Offer more than what they have ordered. Rather than just sending them a thank you email for a transaction, ask them if they would like a sample from you. Now reach out to them after a reasonable amount of time and solicit their feedback on the sample sent. Add those that respond to your insiders club.

3. Use intrigue to connect. ‘How much does a family of four spend on drinks if they eat out a restaurant once a week throughout a year?’ This can lead to a calculator that is then used to help the individual come up with saving possibilities. ‘How much do you spend on gas in one year? What if you saved just 5 cents a gallon? What if we can find you a location that gives you cheaper gas?’ A question like this could lead to a site where you can find the best deals on gas. You could run a caption contest on your social media sites as well. An intrigued consumer can become an engaged consumer.

The important thing in all these scenarios is to connect with the respondent with a follow up message from a real person. Next, segment them into a special list, and stay in touch with them over time. Reward them with previews, sneak peeks, and exclusive discounts (if you can). Set a goal of ‘x’ number of responses per campaign and do this across channel.

A Credit Union with a member base of 200K has about 13,000 insiders. A travel company has a list of over 2 Million, and an insiders club of 60,000 names. A retailer has over 50,000 go to insiders who give them counsel. The key is that they did it one insider at a time.

Many set up real time insider clubs on social media sites like Facebook & Twitter. These people are a valuable group of followers. Just keep in mind that when you communicate with them on social media sites you are in their space and that they are not in yours.

Intrigue, engage, & thank each person who responds and watch your insider list grow!

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Once Again: 15 Burning Issues for Email Marketers

1) How do I get higher conversions or clicks from the people who’ve opened? How to boost sales?

2) How do I make sure the data is segmented correctly?

3) How do I improve my deliverability?

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?

7) How do I really get ahead with social media?

8) How do I integrate social media marketing in my overall marketing efforts (print)?

9) How do I reduce the time spent on executing email marketing campaigns?

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?

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 the consumer be targeted?

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

15) How to grow the list (effectively)?

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Three Reasons People Buy From You

Prospects become your customers for three reasons. First, it is the functionality that you provide. Second, it is the price that you offer. Third, it is based on the relationship that you can maintain with the consumer.

When you feature a product or service, make sure you can explain what you do as efficiently as possible. A picture or video goes a long way in grabbing someone's attention. If you market to consumers (banks, retailers, credit unions, travel companies) then try to show a lifestyle image (where the consumer is enjoying your product or service). Add your product images and make sure that the copy you write to support your offer is crisp, clear, and concise.

Your price is also important. If you cost more, you should be able to articulate the advantages of why you are better and how the value of your product or service far exceeds that of the competition. Some add loyalty points to the equation to show the consumer how much they have 'earned' or 'saved.' The key here is to show the consumer that you are a better deal or that you are worth the difference.

Relationships help build trust, establish expertise and create interactive conversations with those that you serve. The key is building a relationship as this relationship allows you to explore functionality with your prospect and allows you to negotiate a price.

Think about your marketing messages - how much effort do you put into each Tweet, Email, or Facebook update to build up trust with your customers and prospects. The ultimate relationship is when your prospect or your customer seeks you out by soliciting your advice.

That is relationship marketing.

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Need ideas for content that will help you connect?

Many marketers have the challenge of marketing to customers who only make one big transaction a year; they’re unsure of what to sell and how to promote but want to make sure that they are in consideration whenever the recipient is in the market again. My suggestion is to keep the recipient engaged with information, good customer service and useful tips. Here are a few examples from different industries:

Your customer has just purchased a vacation trip, start by asking for feedback about their trip, offer lifestyle and food tips from other destinations. Make email communiqués reminiscent of the travel channel – offering a virtual get away with every newsletter. Include information and numbers that they can call about destinations but don't force them to buy, simply remind them that you are there.

Your customer has just purchased a large piece of furniture; follow up the purchase with a sincere thank you. Then ask them to send you pictures or feedback of how they like the purchase, how it fits with their existing décor. Keep communicating with them offering design tips and ways to spruce up their home. Share stories of how other people have transformed their homes with similar or complimentary products. Keep them in their same segment but offer smaller gifts that may be perfect for their friends and family.

A customer makes a large financial investment – a bond or CD. Like the furniture purchase, thank them and then keep them abreast of what is happening in the market. Engage them in a dialogue by getting them to share information about their family, their financial aspirations and how you can help them get there. If you keep them engaged they will pay attention to your communiqués including your offers.

Regardless of the industry or purchase, the key is to keep people engaged with content that they perceive valuable and applicable to their daily lives… regular interaction could be your answer.

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People who burn Social Media

Here are some really bad examples of people who are 'twexperts.' Sadly, they are hurting their brand more than anything else.

Five personal tweets from a person running Corporate marketing for a respectable company...

1. Watched all three videos, can't decide - my vote for the idol is ….


2. RT @xxxxxx Yes, bitches, there is a new Bxxxxx 2nite. D reveals his fool proof system for getting any woman. #Bxxxxxnite I am assuming she was still at work, because her next tweet said...


3. Home from work…did nothing...but I do have a really bad headache. But I am glad she started working again, because...


4. How much money does your company budget for digital spend? I am trying to figure it out here….


5. Back to the grind tomorrow. Could watch videos all day, Thank God for YouTube…

I like the way she mixed up business and personal tweets. Her Twitter description tells you where she works!

Five tweets from a Cataloger selling dog food & accessories

1. Join our dog days of summer sale (link….)


2. Great treats for your furry friends (link….)


3. Make the dogs happy with our great grooming products (link….)


4. For your pooch, poodles, & little pets add a little style (link….) & then the dramatic finish…


5. Great doggy styles, check out our Facebook page (link….)

No wonder, people get concerned about Facebook.

Two Tweets from a Financial Institution -

1. Our rates come with a guarantee - lock this in for the next 30 days, 4.9%... Within five minutes, the rate changed...


2. We have great loan rates, really low, 5.3% The real reason this happened is because two people were tweeting from the same handle without talking to each other. Tweeps!

Three tweets from another Financial Institution -

1. Learn more about money, demystify your finances, get approved on the first attempt, keep your credit scores high, keep your loan rates lower (140 characters…)


2. Join us on Thursday March 11, at our Newberry location from 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm for education, fun, & low interest loans to get what you want (140 characters…)


3. Call Megan at xxx-xxx-xxxx, ext xxx to sign up for this special event, please do not reply to this message as this mail box is not monitored (140 characters…)

So I called Megan, even though I was upset I couldn’t tweet back an RSVP. She had no idea about the workshop, and put me on hold, I waited five minutes, my call got dropped, so I called back - got her voicemail, and never got a call back from this FI. Not sure what happened, but a classic case of left hand not knowing what right hand was doing. I tweeted back to the FI handle, that wasn't responded to either.

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Is Recency the Most Important Factor to Drive Engagement?

RFM or Recency, Frequency, & Monetary - these are three typical measures of how a direct marketer targets their customer.

Recency refers to how long ago your customer purchased from you, Frequency refers to how often the customer has purchased, and Monetary refers to the amount of money that the customer has spent with you over time.

All three are key drivers of how lists are put together by direct marketers. This is how catalogs are typically mailed.

Customers are assigned scores from 1 - 5 for each category. So a very high Monetary customer might get 5 compared to a low value customer who gets a 1. Similarly, a recent transaction might get a 5 and very frequent buyer might get a 5 with the 1's being given to those that score low.

If you are a bank or a credit union the same formula can apply. New customers and interactions equal Recency; repeated transactions equal Frequency; more than one service relationship equals Monetary. The way a direct marketer can apply this formula depends on the business.

Marketers then assign these numeric values to their customers. A perfect customer score is 5 x 5 x 5 = 125. Similarly an average customer might be at 4 x 3 x 2 = 24.

The scoring of these customers drives marketing programs. The high scoring customers are well treated and courted often. Monetary is very important and it shows the lifetime value of that customer - this is the ideal customer. As Frequency builds up it shows that the marketer is beginning to earn the business of the customer. From a one time purchase the transactions continue and the overall Monetary value adds up.

Recency is all about timing. The more recent customers are often courted with offers in attempt to drive the next transaction, followed by more, ultimately leading to the 'ideal' high Monetary customer. Apply these simple tips to build up a simple RFM scoring model for your customers. Of course there are other factors that drive how data is stored and prospects are scored. Tomorrow, we will talk about scoring email prospects.

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Do you know what demographic responds best to mobile messaging?

What core demographic responds best to mobile messaging? This is one of the most common questions that a business has to answer. As you talk to different experts, study usage, and conduct surveys - you get an answer that is a little 'all over the place.'

Teens do text and they are phenomenal at it. In fact, they are quick, they use short code, and most importantly they are able to multi-task while texting. Young adults respond to mobile messages in droves. They are quick to respond and wear their phone as an attachment to themselves. Thirty something's carry their phones as if it was part of their body. They are able to look things up very quickly using their mobile devices.

Forty something's feel connected to their mobile device. Not as much physically, but the phone gives them a feeling of comfort and an assurance that they are not going to miss anything. Fifty something's look for convenience. Something easy to use, not too cumbersome to carry, and easy to find in their purse, bag, or pocket.

Sixty something's look at mobile as part of a routine. And of course, those who are seventy or more look at it as a really cool device.

We are going through a revolution of sorts. The smart'er' phone is becoming a norm and the utility of the phone continues to increase. The consumer interacts well with the phone. Many international countries lead the world in mobile, they have more users per capita with mobile devices, and the business applications of these devices are tremendous.

If you really want to see how the phone is going to be used to you need to consider three things - first, see how different demographics in different parts of the world have responded to messages over the past few years, second, look at the emerging intuitiveness of the newer devices including the applications, third, consider the phone as something you won't leave your home without.

With the phone being so personal, and the availability of relevant applications - it is going to be like the TV. Everyone is going to have it, know how to use it, the key will be how relevant is the content that is being served.

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Five things that continue to sink brands on social media

This is a compilation of things that I continue to see in the industry. The purveyors of this garbage are armchair social media experts who know little but cause a lot of damage. Here are the five worst things you can do to kill your digital engagement strategy!

1 - Create billboards, & print collateral advertising your social media presence. A big bank, inspired by the Got Milk commercials, created a simple billboard - 'www.BankXYZ.com' - no call to action, nothing. Just the banks web site. They thought fans would rush in while stuck in traffic.

2 - Creating interactive games on your web site & blog to show how 'cool' your organization really is. These brands do not think about consumer engagement, instead they think about ways to make the brand look 'kewl.'

3 - Not willing to join conversations - they want to lead conversations and start conversations, but it is beneath them to monitor these conversations to answer consumer questions. We can all learn a lot from SouthWest Airlines & their Twitter initiative.

4 - Focus on quantity of fans & followers, versus quality of each connection. Ivory Towers just want to grow the list!

5 - Having the approach of 'build it, & they (fans) will come.' Amazingly, emails, & other collateral is created demanding that the brand be followed on the social channels - no real reason why?

Brands that indulge in this have a hard time valuing conversations with fans. It is beneath them to listen. There is no value exchange for the fan.

If you really want to create a good network you need to give your fans a reason to join, and humbly join conversations. Social Media is about engagement and creating a buzz through that engagement - not the other way around.

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Are you charging your consumers enough?

Today’s article is about trying to figure out how much you could charge for a product or service. For that matter it is also about trying to figure out who you could target with a particular offer. I have successfully applied this principle at a number of places and would like to share with you some examples; I hope you can draw from this some examples and try to apply them to your own business.

A travel company features destinations to their subscribers. They do it in two unique ways – first they simply list images of different destinations in their email campaigns. They also run a column & every week the author of the column shares her experience having visited a particular destination. They track the clicks on each city, plus they track who is reading the column. After three months of campaigns, they analyze their click throughs to gauge who is interested in which destination & who is reading the column. They pick the people and then set them up with a series of recurring multi-channel communiqués to coax them into the destination or even purchasing a travel guide.

The pricing strategy for the travel guide is quite interesting. They track the clicks on their travel destination column & put people into different segments – those who are avid readers (above 7 clicks) get to pay full price for the guide; those who have read it a little less (more than 4 clicks) get a 15% discount; those who have read it two or three times get a 20% discount. And of course, one time readers get a special offer – they get a free online subscription to 3 months worth of destination columns. If they open and read these emails, they get the offer to purchase the entire set of travel guides for 40% off list.

A cataloger that sells edibles features recipes on their email campaigns. They track who is reading the recipes and start grouping the 'clickers' into different categories. Those who click the most are merged with those who purchased edibles from this cataloger. Next, this list of consumers is targeted with a quarterly email with an opportunity to purchase a 'recipe book' at nearly full price. The lesser clicks get bigger discounts.

This same principle could be applied to a financial institution. You feature an expert’s column where you share best financial practices. You track the clicks on this column and use the information to invite the readers to insider seminars or to purchase DVDs or books by the expert.

A cataloger that I work with does something very simple – yet it is so effective. They offer their buyers and non-buyers a simple survey. The survey asks the recipient what they like and even asks them to rank products & suggest price points. The cataloger then keeps this information handy and leverages it into specific offers. It is all about knowing what people want, and engaging them in a dialogue.

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The Perfect Airline (Pure Fiction)

Emily needs to schedule a last minute flight. The airline that 'knows' her is sold out. She searches the web for good last minute deal and is able to find the flight she needs with another airline. A first timer on this airline, she decides to set up an account.

The account set up process is simple, three simple questions, & then she is asked for her email address and mobile phone number. She sees a banner ad promoting the convenience of mobile messaging and decides to see just exactly what it’s all about. She doesn't mind trying this new interaction after noticing an ‘unsubscribe option’ if she finds the service obtrusive or not necessary for her lifestyle. Relaxed, she tells the airline a little bit more about herself.

When she arrives at the airport, she decides to check-in using a self-service kiosk that she noticed when entering the building. She is recognized, welcomed, and offered something relevant. She told them about her favorite foods & restaurants, and right there she has an offer to purchase a meal for her flight which is displayed by a banner ad next to her flight summary. It recognizes that she is flying coach, has an exit row aisle seat, and displays her proper food selections. She accepts the offer and the meal is charged to her cell phone. She is pleased that she took the time to fill out her preferences from home.

As she makes her way through security, she receives a text telling her that her departure gate has been changed to B30, where she makes a mental note and continues on.

As she settles into her seat, Emily received an email from her smart phone of her current mileage summary as well as directions to her hotel at her destination. Again, she is pleased - she took a minute to tell her airline where she was headed, & they remembered. She does get a text, thanking her for flying the airline, an offer to take a survey, & a coupon to her favorite restaurant.

Later that evening Emily logs back into her airline account, takes the survey, and then notices a banner ad promoting that she is five trips shy of getting a free ticket. She is also offered 25000 bonus miles if she gets a credit card from the airline. The airline promises her offers that are relevant and useful.

As Emily was preparing for her meeting the next day, she could not help but be amazed by the personalization and technology that she had experienced first-hand, by flying the new airline that morning.

After her initial trip, Emily called the new airline about matching her status - they did, & she became a more frequent flier on this airline due to her rewarding experience. She continues to receive emails, mobile messages, & direct mail with personalized offers and information that is relevant to her while she is looking into new ‘hotspots’ and earning points toward her incentives.

Oh, and Emily now raves about her friendly airline to her friends on her social networks. Free publicity that was well earned by an airline that cared to listen.

Two things are going to drive the future of interaction - preferences, & presence. Email, mobile, & social are all key drivers to achieving this interaction.

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Three Golden Rules for Digital Messaging

Too often we get caught up in the cycle of messaging only to realize that we are slowly alienating some our active responders. It got a little too much with email and is now quickly moving to where the consumer could be getting hammered by a constant barrage of email, mobile messages, and lots of 'friendly' messages on social media.

To be successful in your messaging you need to make sure that you put yourself in your consumers shoes.

Here are three simple rules to follow:

First, make sure things work. Test your messages to make sure that nothing is broken in your campaigns. Take it to the next level by even testing out how different messages might be received by sample groups before releasing it out to the entire list.

Second, learn to listen to what your consumer is saying. Look at their preferences, track their clicks, read their feedback, & listen to what they are saying on your social media channels. Now leverage that information back into your messages.

Third, make sure that you are not exceeding the perceived value of your campaigns. Watch the frequency and volume of your messaging. You need to learn to gauge how tolerant your consumer is of your messaging volume. Ensure your message value by focusing on the relevancy and timing of your offer – will the recipient think your message is relevant? Ask yourself that with each campaign you create, edit down as much as possible, if your message doesn’t pass your initial test revise it, consolidate, personalize and make it relevant.

For the timing aspect, look to implemented triggered campaigns for some of your frequently needed or sent items – automate requests for more information, welcome, transactional (shipping) and thank you messages. All of these triggered examples factor outside of your standard messaging and are typically viewed separately by recipients because of the cause or effect type exchange. They will also be great revenue generators for your brand.

Many thanks to Guglee Restaurant in London for allowing me to feast on their desserts and share the pictures.

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Where is your email marketing? Stage 1 or Stage 7?

Good marketing starts with recognizing a need and getting the message across. It starts off first with the same message to all, and gradually evolves to the ideal scenario where the consumer solicits your opinion. Here are seven steps along the way - see where you are so you can plot out how you can achieve email marketing nirvana.

Stage I: Mass Marketing The Build it, and they will Come mentality; eMarketers broadcast their message and consumers are expected to flock. There is no modeling of data, nor is there any customization in message. Despite the short comings, there is actionable analysis in the messaging – consumers are given offers to redeem, which can be tracked.

Stage II: Segment Marketing After watching how consumers respond to certain offers, marketers leverage some basic modeling strategies to start targeting segments. Uncertain consumers still abound in this segment as marketers often send various mass marketing messages. The offers are beginning to become a little more personal, but not down to the individual consumer level.

Stage III: Target Marketing Using basic click data, the marketer can reach the consumer with a more targeted approach. Clicks (or lack of) naturally move individuals into segments. Preferences drive some of the emails, marketers have a little predictive analysis, yet the communication is still segment-focused. Some micro-segmentation begins to lead to individual dialogue streams.

Stage IV: Customer-Driven Communications Communiqués are becoming multi-channel and focused around consumer type; recipients are grouped into categories based on demographics, purchase history, gender, age etc. These categories are combined to arrive at personalized communication based on individual behavior patterns. There is a little more targeting to individuals and consumers now begin to see relevant offers across all channels.

Stage V: Customer-Driven Relevance Dialogue across all channels with a single consumer is occurring, the application of iterative and progressive communications appear across all channels. A consumer may get a postcard about an offer, with the next communiqué (email,) leading to a call from an agent, driving that consumer to a physical event. The key here is that the channels are now beginning to share information about the consumer and the messaging is coordinated, one story is being shared across multiple channels.

Stage VI: Interactive Conversations This stage is more enhanced; the consumer is now carrying a dialogue with the business. By providing feedback on the various communiqués – the marketer can start an interactive conversation that meets the needs of the consumer and allows the marketer to be prepared to sell the consumer when the consumer needs the product or service.

Stage VII: Consumer Acceptance This stage is one of trust where the consumer has started sharing feedback about their purchases with the business. The business is now leveraging this information to provide the consumer with the best possible service. This is akin to the consumer sharing their personal goals and requirements with a private banker who is guiding them with investment and savings opportunities – the same as telling a personal shopper what you want or asking the concierge where you should eat dinner.

The key is trust, leveraging your journey and best practices of each of the previous stages.

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How to Create Anticipation to Drive Engagement

Anticipation or creating a genuine sense of expectation is much more effective in helping create superb offers. Get your openers, clickers and buyers to yearn for that special offer is a great way to personalize and create that special sale. Here are three examples that stand out:

First Look: 70–90% OFF

A major retailer segmented its list into buyers and non-buyers. Non-buyers were further segmented into clickers, openers and non-openers. These people were targeted with the email being trickled over a few hours – buyers got it first, non-openers last. Each group was asked to update their preferences; all responders were told to look for the next season clearance event and learned that the more attention they paid to the emails the earlier their notifications.

The Employee Discount

An apparel retailer offered employee discounts to some of their best customers as a thank you for their purchases over the year. Additionally each employee was given ONE coupon to share with ONE customer. Each customer that took advantage of the coupone was also given ONE coupon to share with their friends. It was very effective, for not only did it create revenue but it created a special bond with the receivers of the offer over the entire year. This segment of customers had a much higher attention rate.

The 10% CD!

With interest rates being so low, a financial institution continues to offer limited 10% CD's. It is always a phenomenal event, more than 75% of their list inquires about the CD, and fills out valuable preferences. The financial institution uses this information to build personalized campaigns for each consumer.

Your key to success to remind people about how good that event was the prior year, and build-up leading up to the special event.

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Three Ideas to Improve Your Email Analytics

Most email marketers have a tremendous amount of analytics to look at. It is easy to get lost in the reports. Here are some things you can do to improve the value of your analytics.

1) Set goals – Create short-term, long-term and related goals. For a short term goal, you may pick a segment of prospects and attempt to move more people from opener status to become clickers; a longer term goal might be to use fewer incentives to convert prospects into buyers.

Other goals could be to move those who have clicked to take a survey, get those who respond to the survey to into a special buyer category, etc. The goal would be to constantly evaluate different aspects of your program and seek continuous improvement.

2) Don't just LOOK at the numbers – All too often companies prepare reports for the sake of having reports to review. Apply your learning to your campaigns, studying the numbers to make sure you understand customers better. Pick two or three areas where you can apply the results of your analysis; else you will completely loose the value of your reporting.

Simple first steps could be to retarget clickers with a special offer on what was clicked or thanking buyers with personalized emails or asking new subscribers what they expect from you.

3) Assign a value to the opens, clicks and conversions – Start monetizing your research to show the value of your efforts; for example, you may have elected to mail fewer paper statements to your members by converting people over to electronic statements.

Consider this as money saved through the application of analytics, this money should be applied to hiring resources – both people and technology. If you make an investment, it will help you improve your overall program.

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How to get your consumer to pay attention to your digital programs

If you run marketing for a retail store chain or are trying to build up your digital database at your financial institution, train your representatives to engage the consumer in a dialogue before they ask for the consumers digital address.

Here are some simple things you can tell your consumer to build up your lists:

‘If we add you to our database, you’ll be able to look at your purchase history online’

‘You’ll be able to return/ exchange items without a receipt’

‘You’ll get advanced notice of sales and special events – before the others’

‘You’ll be able to access all your account information online’

‘You’ll be able to ask other consumers about us – real references’

A simple dialogue helps in increasing capture rate, both in-store and across channels – web and catalog. Also, think about extending your data storage so that you can capture additional data fields on your customer base and their purchases.

Additionally, think about doing the following:

1) Spend a little more time engaging the customer in relevant dialogue; talk to them about the product they’ve purchased, solicit their input and point out your digital assets – sell them on visiting these portions of your site and sharing information.

2) As you sell them on these digital assets and associated benefits, be crisp and precise – make sure you have this scripted so there is no confusion by the reps. A consistent branded message across channels goes a long way in keeping things clear.

3) Take a little extra time to get their email ID, get them to notice your Facebook page, let them follow you on Twitter. Don't just ask for their email first, describe the benefits of your program and only then ask… this increases your chances of collecting the information. This intelligent conversation gives your brand credibility, makes your reps look real and helps to engage your customers.

It is not just about collecting names, it’s about getting your consumer to pay attention.

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