Email Yogi

This is great, I just got back from the Boot Camp ...

2012-02-08T13:28:17.602-05:00

This is great, I just got back from the Boot Camp at Online Marketing Summit. I am writing up my notes and then this blog magically appears.

I never thought about using clicks as a way to segment my lists but you can believe it will be incorporated into our program at some point.

Hi Mat, I would suggest going back no more than t...

2011-12-14T12:00:35.112-05:00

Hi Mat,

I would suggest going back no more than twice to the consumer. The first time is soon after the transaction was abandoned. The second one could be a reminder that is sent out a few weeks later (if the item is available.)

My other recommendation is to remember what was in the shopping basket and remember it as a preference for the future.

I too have signed up for emails from some cataloguers only to receive a barrage of un-wanted messages. Perhaps the worst offender of this is a cataloguer that kept changing the subject line to grab my attention. It included the subject, "regarding your order" - this was something that was not acceptable.

Also, some companies change the from field to send the same message. So if I didn't respond to the brand, the next message might come from "Maxine" followed by "Todd."

An abandoned cart is about offering the consumer the convenience, and trying to leverage their preferences into your future messaging.

Thanks,

Sundeep

Is there wisdom about how many of these a company ...

2011-12-14T09:41:36.848-05:00

Is there wisdom about how many of these a company should send to a person? I go to sites a lot and fill carts to see what totals are going to be with shipping, so I get a number of these emails. But I often get more than one from the same place for the same instance which I'm pretty sure violates CAN-SPAM (addmittedly, I'm not as up-to-date with that as I once was) and definitely guarantees that I'm not buying from them in the future.

I know the results, I've started these programs at two companies I've worked for because the numbers were undeniable. But I've always found remarketing programs to be the 'net equivalent of high-pressure sales, so I have to temper my own thoughts with those from more level heads like yourselves.

Thanks for the useful article...#2 is very importa...

2011-12-14T00:33:02.910-05:00

Thanks for the useful article...#2 is very important. Not many of us are doing it.

No wonder social gets a bad name. Sadly it is comm...

2011-12-02T00:07:30.538-05:00

No wonder social gets a bad name. Sadly it is common sense that is missing. You have to be careful how you say things on social media as your message is not going to get erased.

Social media is marketing tool with enormous poten...

2011-11-30T18:58:42.797-05:00

Social media is marketing tool with enormous potential if used properly.

“THANKSGIVING DOORBUSTERS! Starting at 1am tonig...

2011-11-28T14:28:01.245-05:00

“THANKSGIVING DOORBUSTERS! Starting at 1am tonight!”.

Really? There is no such thing as 1AM tonight!

Incredable Savings Event - yes, they spelt it wron...

2011-11-28T09:13:00.855-05:00

Incredable Savings Event - yes, they spelt it wrong! Hope you had a good thanksgiving.

50% off - Friday only! Plus, free ornaments and mo...

2011-11-28T08:51:45.755-05:00

50% off - Friday only! Plus, free ornaments and movie tickets!

-taken from World Market email campaign

"Wish Your Consumers"? You mean wish for...

2011-11-21T09:23:17.477-05:00

"Wish Your Consumers"? You mean wish for them, or wish them a happy X holiday?

Happy X to you, Sundeep! ;)

Lest we forget that "Social Media" is su...

2011-10-31T09:28:16.897-04:00

Lest we forget that "Social Media" is supposed to be "social." It's a shame we have to be reminded, but we do. Thanks! ;)

Forgive me, that "No" should have been &...

2011-10-28T10:55:06.638-04:00

Forgive me, that "No" should have been "Not in person, but online - yes."

No. For me, when things like these happen because...

2011-10-28T10:53:31.823-04:00

No.

For me, when things like these happen because someone in a place you frequent remembers you and wants to help, it makes you feel worthy of being remembered and welcome and warm.

If it happened and I knew it was because my phone communicated something to the store as I walked in, everything after passing the threshold would feel like I had a bar code tattooed on my neck and I'd probably be too creeped out to ever return.

Conversely, in an online store, the counterparts to those kinds of services make a site awesome and I'll be back as often as possible.

@FDS -- My father's advice (from pre-internet ...

2011-10-14T15:46:49.340-04:00

@FDS -- My father's advice (from pre-internet days) used to be "always act like anything you do could show up on the evening news." I've not always held to that guideline, but I have tried and I would say that there is nothing I've said or done anywhere that I would not take responsibility for.

I agree that if you talk about work online, you're taking your career in your own hands. But social sites often link to people that you know in all kinds of different ways, and sometimes those people can make comments or post pictures that a job would find less than flattering.

Or, in my case, I tend to have very progressive political views and may occasionally 'like' causes or groups that show that. I had an employer once who thought it was okay to put a flyer in my paycheck envelope at election time that explained why I should be voting Republican. I'm smart enough to know that they have different beliefs and I'm not whiny enough to make an issue about it, but if they were checking my profile, would they be as understanding? Even if they didn't overtly make an issue of it, don't you think just the knowledge alone might hamper my chances for promotion?

I don't know. I'm not declaring anything, I'm just opening the conversation because I think social network sites and how companies use them are going to have a lot of marketing and even legal implications that a lot of us have sensed but not really confronted to this point.

As an aside, the friend I mentioned in the post has an occupation in a healthcare-related field, which takes this can of worms, opens it, and chucks it into a pool full of worms. Teachers are the same way.

@Ben -- Per your comment, "On the other hand if one of my friends puts up a comment that might be an off colour joke, I do not think my company can do anything to me because that is the risk that they take." Unfortunately, companies are already basing their hiring and disciplinary actions on social media, there's precedent for it all over...

http://fastgush.com/socialmedia/every-tenth-global-user-is-not-hired-because-of-social-networking-content.html

http://www.blogherald.com/2009/08/22/drunk-pictures-on-your-facebook-profile-think-again/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20202935/ns/business-school_inc_/t/job-candidates-getting-tripped-facebook/#.TpiK6HPTkzs

I couldn't locate any of the articles about firing based on social media posts, but they come up in the news every several months as well.

@everyone -- thanks for your comments, i hope to see more! One of my biggest talents (& sometimes curses) is to consider issues from all angles. I could discuss this for hours, and it doesn't even really concern me directly, but I find it fascinating because the implications are far reaching to all involved parties.

I think 'monitoring' an employee's soc...

2011-10-14T14:48:05.677-04:00

I think 'monitoring' an employee's social networking site is wrong. Monitoring makes it seem as if the employer is actively looking for something that they can use against the employee and potentially dismiss them from the company. But I do not see anything wrong with checking an employee's social networking site if the employer has suspicions of something potentially dangerous to the company and brand. I hope that all users of social networking sites are aware that all of the information they choose to share is considered public information, including pictures. If a company would like it's employees to be active on the brand's social sites, it is best for them to create separate company profiles to be able to represent that brand accordingly.

Social media, including Facebook, is like passing ...

2011-10-14T10:36:44.056-04:00

Social media, including Facebook, is like passing a note when you were in elementary school to your friend. It was written for your intended friend, but the reality is that it could be written by other friends, enemies, teacher or your mother. We would like to think that it is private, but in reality it is not. With search engines, it takes employers and future employers, it is easy to get a snap shot of your conversations by simply typing in a name.

I do not think that employers should monitor posts or tweets, but if you write something about the employer both good and bad, it is fair game. In order to maintain their brand, they have the obligation to monitor the conversation in the social space and they cannot realistically not filter out employees. You cannot be held responsible for something that someone else posts. However, when in doubt, you can remove their post and send them a nice note telling them why.

Employers should not require you to post something on their behalf, unless you are in the social media and it is part of your job responsibilities.

So, when in doubt, do not post anything that you do not want read by your mother or employer. That is the reality of the digital world that we live in. I gave that advice in all of the social media workshops and consulting projects that I have done over the years.

Matt (not sure if that is your real name). If my c...

2011-10-14T08:28:47.391-04:00

Matt (not sure if that is your real name). If my company were to ask me to promote our brand through my social media presence, I would expect them to have some guidelines on what should be said. On the other hand if one of my friends puts up a comment that might be an off colour joke, I do not think my company can do anything to me because that is the risk that they take.

When you go to work for someone, you sign a docume...

2011-10-14T08:24:32.247-04:00

When you go to work for someone, you sign a document that says what you can speak about the company or not. You also subscribe to behave in a particular manner. So for the company to ask you to use your facebook page to promote them is okay, as long as they are reasonable in how they monitor and respond. I think it should not be secretive because that is only going to create more issues.

I do not think it is fair to ask the employee to p...

2011-10-14T08:20:40.232-04:00

I do not think it is fair to ask the employee to promote the brand and at the same time expect the brand to monitor the activity. That by itself is a potential conflict. Also, why work for someone who is going to be snooping on you.

Hi Matt, Companies do have to be open and publish...

2011-10-13T09:44:55.340-04:00

Hi Matt,

Companies do have to be open and publish their stated policies on social media - both internally and externally. I would like to hear other opinions.

Thanks,

Sundeep

Per Item number 1, I'd like to offer one sugge...

2011-10-13T09:32:11.492-04:00

Per Item number 1, I'd like to offer one suggestion and throw some questions out to for discussion.

The suggestion...
I know of someone who works for a company that, without telling new job applicants, does a full internet sweep for everyone that applies to read as much as possible on them and consider it as part of their hiring process. The company also does periodic re-checks on employees' online activity. The company does not openly declare this anywhere and my friend only heard about the practice by accident.

My suggestion to any company doing this would be to be as open as possible about it to everyone you intend to check. Some companies seem to think it's legal and they have the ability, therefore they have no responsibility to tell anyone. However, when employees find out after the fact, it breeds an atmosphere of fear and distrust and that will always hurt productivity. My friend works with a constant itch in the back of his mind that his employer is going to see an off-color joke a friend of his posts on his Facebook wall and fire him without even telling him why. Do you think he's as productive as he could be?

If you're up-front with it, it makes you more honest, it gives you a chance to explain why it's important, and it gives them a chance to work with you to clean things up. If you're not, then frankly, you're shady and you probably have an 80% turnover rate in your office and don't know why.

The questions...
Does your company request/expect that employees will like/friend/link to the company's social media efforts? If so, do you have expectations of how they maintain their own presence on these sites? Do you check up on them? Do you have policies for how to deal with these situations?

I'm curious because I'm split on the issue. Personally, I started in a PR background and understand the importance of a company's image. I don't think companies should or would want to link to employees' actual profiles on most sites and if they do, they should ask the employees to create separate profiles just for business that the employees only use for business-related purposes. But I would be curious about how different companies handle it.

woooww nice post.... i want to share this post on ...

2011-10-07T13:25:40.098-04:00

woooww nice post.... i want to share this post on facebook

Regards
Data Mobile Phone

Hi Matt, You bring up an excellent point as far a...

2011-09-12T11:37:36.032-04:00

Hi Matt,

You bring up an excellent point as far as the best offer. If you look at this from the brands side, if they do it correctly - their cost of acquisition of new customers should be higher than the discount that you are getting. Of course many brands have a hard time attributing sales credit and this complicates things for them.

But then, viva la consumer!

Best,

Sundeep

Hearing this, as a consumer I'm now going to m...

2011-09-12T09:25:34.709-04:00

Hearing this, as a consumer I'm now going to make a conscious effort to never buy from the same place in the same year. It would be foolish to not wait for the "please come back" offer.

Hi Prachi, Thanks for your note. The key to succe...

2011-09-11T21:01:41.621-04:00

Hi Prachi,

Thanks for your note. The key to success is to stay connected with your consumers. The best way to do that is through active listening and doing something with the feedback that has been collected.

Two things seem to matter most to consumers - first, that we are timely, second - that we have done something for them.

Social Media gives us the opportunity to stay engaged in real time, brands should look to leverage it into their marketing mix.

I am looking forward to our next meeting. My best to Bhabani as well.

Regards,

Sundeep