From the Sales Side: What makes a successful Sales Pro

From the Sales Side: What makes a successful Sales Pro

"The challenge that sales folks face in the email space is differentiating between competitive vendors. It’s hard to do. It’s made more complex by the fact that many times the buyers don’t do a good enough job of identifying their needs and truly understanding the core variables that each vendor brings to the table. The reality is that all of the ESP’s can handle sending email and sending it well. Trying to differentiate between basic features that accomplish this table stakes task isn’t going to yield insight for the buyer. Understanding which sales team is bringing you value, versus the one who is interested in winning the commodity race, can have a huge impact on your decision making."

Continue reading
  8764 Hits

3 Ways to Impact Engagement with Analysis

3 Ways to Impact Engagement with Analysis

"It amazes me how many companies start email “strategies” without putting much thought into the impact of a poor, or typically complete lack of, planning. It’s not easy to start emailing customers, potential customers or subscribers, or to add new campaigns to existing channel strategy – but, it all starts with understanding what they want followed by consistency."

Continue reading
Tags:
  8011 Hits

The Flip-side of Content Marketing

The Flip-side of Content Marketing

"For the past few years, I’ve had a front row seat to the content marketing revolution. I bought into it hook, line, and sinker. Indeed, a decade ago, I was trying to convince clients to create more video content because “with instantaneous, worldwide distribution, every company is a publisher, broadcaster, and entertainer.” I’m sure many of you had similar conversations."

Continue reading
  18603 Hits

Email Segmentation’s Enemy Is Math

Email Segmentation’s Enemy Is Math

"Here’s the problem I have with segmentation…most of it – for email marketers – has yet to show that it actually pays in either increased sales or increased customer engagement. People seem to feel that segmentation is good, yet have little proof that it makes a difference. As an email marketer…I like proof."

Continue reading
Tags:
  24267 Hits

The Evolution of a Global Demand Center

The Evolution of a Global Demand Center

"When we started this team almost 8 years ago, we were just trying to easily automate our email conversations and scale globally. Looking back on it now, I can see the phases of development to our current model. And, I can see where we are headed."

Continue reading
  13036 Hits

Trick or Tip? Holiday Email Strategy from Howl to Ho-Ho-Ho

Trick or Tip? Holiday Email Strategy from Howl to Ho-Ho-Ho

"The holidays aren’t just about retail. It’s a great reason to connect with subscribers from B2B through Financial as most everyone enjoys some holiday wishes. "

Continue reading
  22845 Hits

How to be an Email coach

How to be an Email coach

"Basketball season is upon us (and the holiday season), and as a fan of the sport, I was reading about John Wooden who is widely considered the best collegiate basketball coach in history, and one of the best coaches in any sport ever. I walked away thinking that managing and email program is a great deal like coaching a basketball team. Both require the mastery of fundamental skills, dedication, focus, and practice."

Continue reading
  17254 Hits

Does Progressive Profiling Really Work?

Does Progressive Profiling Really Work?

"Progressive profiling is hailed as a marketing technique that boosts lead generation, improves marketing intelligence, generates more conversions, and helps you gain more information about subscribers over time."

Progressive profiling is hailed as a marketing technique that boosts lead generation, improves marketing intelligence, generates more conversions, and helps you gain more information about subscribers over time.

Wow. It’s like listening to a commercial for Ginsu knives: “And that’s not all!”

Progressive profiling isn’t all bad, but it isn’t as good as a Ginsu knife commercial would have you believe either. Here are some guidelines for when to use it, and when to look for other tactics.

Progressive Profiling Works When…

Continue reading
Tags:
  25147 Hits

You had me at Hello: Welcome Messages with “WOW” Factor

You had me at Hello: Welcome Messages  with “WOW” Factor

If first impressions are lasting impressions, then the welcome email is key to subscriber engagement. A welcome email - or series of emails - sets the brand tone and sets expectations of things to come.

Continue reading
Tags:
  24373 Hits

Five Ways Brands are Building Email Lists offline

Five Ways Brands are Building Email Lists offline

"With more revenue still offline than online those brands that have a physical presence can score over the pure digital brands by thinking digitally offline too."

Continue reading
Tags:
  36291 Hits

Is Email the Cinderella of Your Marketing?

Is Email the Cinderella of Your Marketing?

After over a decade in successful use there is abundant proof that email is not only the connective tissue of all data-driven marketing but also the revenue-producing juggernaut of digital efforts. Yet despite claiming the highest ROI of all direct marketing channels at 28.5%1, the highest driver of online conversions2and the number two spot (second only to search) in new customer acquisition3 email marketing is still too often swept out of sight, called upon only when we need miracles worked. In my nearly 15 years of experience with the channel, I am too frequently surprised and dismayed that email is not receiving nearly the attention and investment it economically deserves.

Continue reading
  36857 Hits

Is Email List Rental Dead?

Is Email List Rental Dead?

"Advertisements are like wrinkles: every day they appear in places you don’t want to see them, and once they are there they never go away (on their own). So to contemplate the death of any advertising medium is a fool’s errand. I have been called worse."

Continue reading
Tags:
  30662 Hits

Is Social Media Replacing Good Customer Service

Is Social Media Replacing Good Customer Service

"Are companies now relying more on their social media specialists to handle customer service complaints than their customer service departments? Does it take a customer “going public” with their complaints to get proper service?"

Continue reading
  23333 Hits

Tips from a Consultant: Using Maslow to understand the Needs of your client.

Tips from a Consultant: Using Maslow to understand the Needs of your client.

"Anyone in marketing knows that the one constant within any marketing team, whether internal teams, clients, vendors, etc., is ego."

Continue reading
  32093 Hits

You've hired them! Now, how do they become a trusted advisor?

You've hired them! Now, how do they become a trusted advisor?

"How do you develop 80+ users to become your company’s trusted advisors on using your automation tool, developing corporate strategy, and managing ongoing media evolution? "

Continue reading
  12348 Hits

Use the Discovery Process to Customize Your Best Deal

Use the Discovery Process to Customize Your Best Deal

"Sales teams at most ESP’s are comprised of a sales leader and a sales engineer who are assigned to your project. That sales team has been onsite and meeting with a large number of prospects and has been exposed to a wide variety of problems on the client side. How unique do you consider the data integration issue from your CRM to your email tool to be? How differentiated is the problem you may have getting IT to develop an API, or to have the marketing team cut down on the time it takes to proof and approve the creative for a campaign? For most of us that sell, the answer is not very unique at all."

Continue reading
  27893 Hits

The Mindset of Great Email Marketers

The Mindset of Great Email Marketers

"One of the benefits of email marketing is the tracking and reporting available to see how people are interacting with the messages sent. This includes basic email metrics as well as click-stream reporting on post-email activity on the Website, where the conversion usually occurs. So it always concerns me when I work with consulting clients that don’t leverage this data to their advantage. Sometimes it’s an institutional failure to properly track and report. But too often it’s an individual’s lack of comfort or even interest in the data that is holding them back."

Continue reading
Tags:
  32206 Hits

Account (mis)Management

Account (mis)Management

"I’ve had the pleasure/misfortune of working with a number of vendors over my career. A great vendor partner is a pleasure to behold – they can help drive your business to greater results than you could on your own. Which is nice."

Continue reading
  30394 Hits

Google's New Promotion Tabs Prove it is all about the Email Address

Google's New Promotion Tabs Prove it is all about the Email Address

"Google’s recent redesign of Gmail has created unprecedented hand-wringing and blog writing. And for good reason. People’s cheese got moved. Hard earned spots in Priority inboxes got lost. But it was the flies in the soup that made everyone give this new place a bad review."

Continue reading
  21672 Hits

3 Questions to ask before Hiring Your Next Email Marketing Superstar

3 Questions to ask before Hiring Your Next Email Marketing Superstar

"An email marketer needs to be fearless. In the world of digital marketing, email is an extreme sport. It takes guts to stare down the send button and hit it. Not everyone is nervy enough to do that day in and day out."

Continue reading
  34427 Hits