Starting the new year tired and a little full of dread for updating the email strategy and schedule this year? January is a great time to clear out the old and start a fresh with new ideas and what better way to start than improving your email performance? Continue reading →

Everyone is talking about mobile. The rise in its use has been dramatic, encompassing so many marketing channels and pieces of technology (SMS, search, social sharing, location marketing, apps), it’s no wonder the world of mobile marketing can seem daunting for some. However, central to all of this (and thankfully for us), sits the humble email; the glue that sticks them all together. Yes email may be an old, less exciting form of marketing however it’s evolving too, and has got its advantages both to the marketer and to the recipient. This is clear from the continued increase in its use and the fact that despite the prolific rise in mobile (which some might think drives people to SMS instead), email is still top for communication.

A recent report from Merkle stated that 55% of people with an internet enabled phone use it to check their personal email account, 43% of these check it more than four times a day, further to this, sending and receiving email is still the top activity on mobile devices (shortly followed by search). This could lead to great opportunities of time fused, last minute offers – equally as effective as SMS.

But is it really ALL about mobile?  What about those of us who are chained to a computer? Or those generations not accessing via mobile? Or those unable to access due to disability or poor technology? Or even, others like me, who subscribe to emails for work purposes (that often pass on best practice information via white papers or lengthy articles). Not sure about you but I don’t fancy reading all that on a phone. Maybe a tablet but…

In a recent gossip a friend informed me that soon enough our mobiles will be our computers, they’ll hold everything from personal contacts to work emails, documents, calendars and our online social lives. That we’ll arrive at work in the morning and simply plug our ‘computer’ into the screens. But how soon is this actually coming?  Both Return Path and Merkle have echoed the importance of remembering our precious desktop viewers, that consistently in studies, Outlook continues to be king of the desktop mail programmes.

So my thoughts?

Analyse your own campaign performance and email client viewing to see what platforms are most commonly used within your recipient base. It may well be that mobile just isn’t right for your market. For example Financial Services are still very much desktop based with a high penetration of Lotus, where creative industries would clearly be more Apple focused. Age demographics also plays a part in client usage, as does time/ day of viewing (weekends are typically higher mobile usage, where mid week is desktop).

Essentially you need to be where your customers are. If they’re mobile, great, jump on board. If they’re not, then why invest now when the technology will only change in a few months time?

Litmus put the thought well “For marketers the definition of mobile is changing and evolving. Tablets are becoming more common, bringing new kinds of email experiences into new places and times. Thinking about all the ways your customers are viewing your content is an important part of staying ahead of the curve.”

So, what are your thoughts? Where do you think mobile and tables will take us? Where do you see us viewing, sending and receiving personal and work emails in 5 years time and how do you think interaction with commercial emails will change?  I’d love to know your thoughts!

A recent report on 2012 marketing trends highlighted some great points to be aware of this year. Here I’ve gathered the most important aspects for you to start your creative marketing mind ticking…

1) The customer has the power. With so much information available to the consumer these days, via the web and social forums, communications are now on their terms. We cannot assume that one communication route will suit all, and it’s crucial that marketers understand that no channel sits alone. We’ll all need to connect with customers through different means, personalised to their needs.

2) Location based marketing. Or local marketing initiatives will explode this year and be a “key differentiator in 2012”, with applications such as Foursquare and “Check-ins” growing enormously. Marketers should get their thinking caps on for ways to join up on and offline promotions to encourage more interaction of this kind.

Silverpop rightly advise to “Link up your email marketing with other channels and establish loyalty programs—and related rewards—based on behaviors such as recent purchases, check-ins and social sharing of your content.”

3) Being human. A while ago I blogged that ‘selling’ is gone and its all about engagement; whether that be with end customers or ‘influencers’. This trend is continuing well into 2012 with consumers expecting corporates to be more human in their approach. The joining of social media with business blurs the lines between communication, and a stuffy corporate Facebook page simply won’t hit the mark anymore. Consumers want to know there are real people behind this organisation and not be sold to, but listened and talked to.

Suggestions for your email campaigns include

• * Sell, inform and entertain within the content, add value and give opportunities for interaction.
• * Put faces to names, and real people. Using testimonials and quotes can improve email performance.

4) You have to embrace mobile. I’m personally shocked at how many businesses I speak to who still haven’t embraced or don’t understand the importance of mobile platforms and how optimising (looking pretty and performing perfectly) on all screen sizes is going to be vital for continued success in 2012.  The growth in mobile internet use is immense, and growing.

Merkle reported an extensive growth mobile email use, “of the [mobile] activities investigated, the most ubiquitous is checking personal email (55%), followed by the use of search engines (44%)”. They also reported an increase in commercial email use and a change in email reading behaviour. (More on mobile email here and here).

We therefore need to make sure we’re not only optimsing email for mobile; our websites and landing pages should also be spot on for finger tapping, quick browsing goodness.

The report also indicates consumers are subject to 5,000-plus advertising and marketing messages a day.  This affects email engagement and likely churn (hovering at 30%) as consumers opt out through information overload.

• *Understand all your subscribers are not the same and they need more tailored, specific messages of relevance to their needs
• *Segment databases and adopt engagement strategies across multiple platforms with all

In summary

There are plenty of thoughts on what 2012 is going to bring, personally I also think there is going to be even more of a move towards value when it comes to making a purchase. We’ve seen in our own organisation that price, or budget isn’t the decider so much as what I’m going to get from my investment. This is great for us email marketers as we know the returns on investment are frequently and consistently high, and growing.

In essence the 2012 landscape looks fast paced, exciting times for us marketers, with technology and consumer habits still developing and changing at rapid speeds.  We need to look at engagement on all levels, adopt multichannel techniques and though using data intelligently, monitor the results robustly.

What do you think 2012 is going to bring?

The growth in smart phone usage has rocketed in recent years and we’re now seeing an unprecedented number of people using their mobile devices to search, interact and transact with businesses. Get the latest updates at the Bitesize Mobile Conference on 19^th January.

Don’t miss out on the best and latest advice in the world of mobile marketing & advertising at the 2012 Bitesize Mobile mini conference.  This important, and growing, marketing sector takes centre stage at Bitesize Mobile which follows the roaring success of the 2011 Mobile Conference at the Eden Project, which generated rave reviews.

Running from 5pm to 7pm, at the Bay Hotel, Newquay Bitesize Mobile will bring you up to speed on recent advances in mobile marketing, from Search to SMS and of course Email Marketing and will explain the application of this exciting medium using relevant local case studies.

Register to go!

For find out more here

With Christmas not that far away, for retailers especially, it’s time to start thinking about your lead up campaigns and how to maximise turnover during what is going to be a hard winter period. It’s predicted shoppers are going to be spending wiser and looking harder for bargains, more this year than ever before, forcing retailers to engage with deep discounts and promotions during the festive season. Continue reading →