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 Email Brand Equity: Hotels |
| author: Bill McCloskey |
| source: MediaPost |
| date : 11/14/2007 |
A few weeks ago I spoke about releasing a Brand Equity Index that would attempt to measure the overall impression that a customer might have of a company based on its total email marketing efforts. By total efforts, I mean the effect that not only a company's in-house lists generate — but also the effect that third-party sponsorships, newsletters, and affiliate networks have on that brand. Multiple considerations went into developing the index, including the percentage lift in Web traffic after an email is sent, frequency, and list quality. We tried to provide a level playing field so that small brands could compete with their larger brethren with larger marketing dollars to spend.
I've focused on the hotel and resort industry for the first of these Email Brand Equity Index scores. I'm happy to announce our top 10 brands with the highest score. They are: |
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Olive Oil Maker Provides Conversion Lessons |
| author: Jamie Schissler |
| source: MediaPost |
| date : 11/5/2007 |
| Search marketing is often the first place brands turn to when attempting to minimize conversion costs. They create a keyword strategy and optimize their site for better organic results. Maybe there’s some display advertising in the mix, too, and ongoing testing and iterations of creative to maximize pull. Then they add in some landing page optimization to push conversion metrics higher still. Now the marketer’s program is running on all six cylinders: the target audience is made aware of the site, they can get there easily, and once they arrive, they have a clear and welcoming path to conversion. Among the hand-raisers, some convert and some, well… don’t. |
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Bass Pro Email Conversions Skyrocket with Reviews, Browse-Based Offers |
| author: Ken Magill |
| source: Multichannel Merchant Magazine |
| date : 12/20/2006 |
Bass Pro Shops has boosted its conversion-to-sale rates dramatically by including customer product reviews in its outbound email and by sending messages based on Website visitors' browsing behavior, according to David Seifert, director of operations, direct marketing for the cataloger/retailer of outdoor gear.
The key to Bass Pro's customer-ratings-generated conversion boost is that the company has been heavily promoting the reviews, Seifert says. For example, BassPro.com is currently promoting its customers' top-rated gifts with a tab on the center of its home page.
"The conversions go up pretty significantly when you promote it," says Seifert. "If you just have customer ratings and reviews on the site, it's definitely a plus, but the conversion-rate increase is not significant. But when you promote it, the conversion rate increase is significant. It is probably one of the highest-converting promotions that we run." |
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Sears Travel Averts Email Disaster |
| author: Sulemaan Ahmed |
| source: One Degree |
| date : 5/22/2006 |
Last year we sent an email for a St. Patrick's Day promotion. 'Leave the New World for the Old World' with great travel deals to Ireland. All our i's were dotted and t's were crossed. We clicked send and the message went off into cyberspace.
Later the same evening I got a panicky call. Every one of the over 50k subscribers on the list got the email 8 times. One of those 'oh crap' moments in my career.
After heart palpitations and fear of black-listing by ISPs, it was damage-control time. |
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Even Amazon Can't Sweat ALL The Details |
| author: Ken Schafer |
| source: One Degree |
| date : 4/25/2006 |
While I think of Amazon as a company that really gets what it takes to do business online, even they can make the occasional mistake.
Those nice folks in the e-mail marketing group at amazon.com just sent me one of those "because you bought… we thought you’d like to know about..." messages pointing out that The Criterion Edition of Late Spring is about to be released.
Can you spot the problem? |
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The E-Zine for Cinephiles |
| author: Ray Schultz |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 3/1/2006 |
Tired of the usual dreck from Hollywood? Then do what many New York cinephiles do: Head to the Film Forum, a nonprofit theater, and catch up on challenging new films both from the U.S. and overseas.
And if you can’t do that, sign up for the Film Forum email newsletter. It’s a good way of experiencing the “cinema of ideas” long distance. |
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Volkswagen Dealer Tests Video in E-Zine |
| author: Ray Schultz |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 3/1/2006 |
A Boston-area Volkswagen dealership is testing a video in the current issue of its email newsletter.
If successful, the concept will be rolled out to various dealers and brands nationwide, says David Fish, CEO of IMN, creator of the program.
IMN and Boston Volkswagen did an A/B split in February, sending half of the dealer’s 10,000 subscribers a text newsletter with an article on the Volkswagen Beetle, and the other half the 3 ½-minute video. |
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Dinner and a Show: E-mail marketing is the ticket for Studio Movie Grill |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 2/24/2006 |
Different people go to the movies for different reasons. But sometimes even the most rabid cinemaphile needs a push. For the Texas-based Studio Movie Grill chain, email was the admission to filled seats.
The chain has seen an approximately 70% open rate to its weekly email blasts, leading to a 20% leap in online ticket purchases and an overall increase in attendance, says founder and owner Brian Schultz. |
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Grow Your Own Case Study |
| author: Melinda Krueger |
| source: MediaPost |
| date : 2/21/2006 |
Assuming your goal is to see how your program stacks up against others, and get ideas to improve your program quality and results, I recommend three things:
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Editor’s Pick: What’s Love Got to Do With It? |
| author: Ray Schultz |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 2/15/2006 |
Since it was the day before Valentine’s Day, I should have warmed right up to my first issue of Loving Today: The Relationship Newsletter. But I was starting to feel trapped in this relationship.
First of all, they claimed I subscribed to it. Well, I didn’t.
Then there was the content. Having been married for many years, I don’t believe intimacy can be reduced to shibboleths, but that’s what the authors, Kathryn and Gay Hendricks, had delivered in this tepid little newsletter. |
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Petco Tests Customer-Written Product Reviews in E-mail |
| author: Ken Magill |
| source: Direct Magazine |
| date : 2/14/2006 |
| In what is believed to be industry first, Petco Animal Supplies is testing to see if including customer-written product reviews in its outbound e-mail campaigns boosts conversion-to-sale rates. |
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Maximize Trade Show Sales Leads With Email |
| author: Karen Gedney |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 2/8/2006 |
So your tradeshow booth isn't a monster destination that dominates your industry's events? Don't despair. When it comes to sales, it's not about how much traffic you get, rather how many qualified leads you net.
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Boys-only Email Service Attracts First Ads |
| author: Elisabeth Butler |
| source: NewYorkBusiness.com |
| date : 2/6/2006 |
Advertisers have noticed that Thrillist.com’s testosterone-soaked emails are gathering a following among young men in New York City.
The company, which sends out free daily product and event emails, sent its first paid email to nearly 10,000 subscribers today. The site, which launched in late October, uses a business strategy similar to that of DailyCandy, another email service that launched six years ago and targets mostly women. That service has more than 1 million subscribers in eight cities. |
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Luxury Theater Uses E-Zine to Boost Ticket Sales |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 2/1/2006 |
What more can you do for movie goers who already enjoy in-theater table service and a full bar?
You can send them an email newsletter. That’s what Brian Schultz, founder of Studio Movie Grill, started doing five years ago.
Schultz now sends weekly email blasts to over 40,000 customers who opted in for communications via events at the theatre and special offers. |
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An E-mail Example To Avoid |
| author: Melinda Krueger |
| source: MediaPost |
| date : 1/24/2006 |
This week's column is devoted to a horrible example.
It turned out that the e-mail was sent to me as someone interested in developments in the e-mail channel, as evidenced by this column. With this context I was less aghast, but certainly not favorably disposed toward the company. What did they do wrong?
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JACK FLASH: E-Mail Brings Listeners to the Radio |
| author: Jeanniey Mullen |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 1/23/2006 |
My last column demonstrated how a small nonprofit organization successfully integrates e-mail into every aspect of its marketing programs. Today, I'll highlight another e-mail marketing success story, demonstrating how channel integration can increase an e-mail's sucess.
When radio station 101.1 JACK FM changed its format after 33 years, Theresa Beyer, director of marketing and promotions, knew they were undertaking a huge challenge and risk.
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Promotional Firm Tries Email Newsletter |
| author: Larry Riggs |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 1/18/2006 |
Joseph Leeb Enterprises Inc. is a small business with annual sales of $5 million. But it faced the same challenge as many larger firms: How do you communicate with customers on an ongoing basis?
Joan Yankowitz solved that problem in October when she joined the company as director of marketing. She started an email newsletter called The Promo Experts and a Web site to go with it (www.thepromoexperts.com). |
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An E-mail Example To Emulate |
| author: Melinda Krueger |
| source: MediaPost |
| date : 1/17/2006 |
HOW DO YOU ORGANICALLY GROW a list to over 1 million subscribers? Daily Candy did it by delivering an exceptional e-mail user experience, staying 100 percent true to the brand and ignoring standard success metrics. There's a lesson here for your e-mail program, regardless of your audience or product. I first learned about Daily Candy as most do: from a friend. I was traveling to New York and wanted to know where to find those hidden treasures only insiders know about. My friend introduced me to the brainchild of Dany Levy, who began by sharing tips with her friends via personal e-mail. Daily Candy now has publications in eight cities, as well as national, kids, travel and deals editions.
I continue to subscribe to Daily Candy, even though there is no Milwaukee edition (imagine!), because it is such a good example of effective e-mail marketing. What do they do right?...
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Thrashers Credit Email for Lockout Success with Fans |
| author: Ken Magill |
| source: Direct Magazine |
| date : 1/3/2006 |
Promoters for the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team are crediting email for helping them keep fans interested enough during last season's lockout to result in an increase in ticket sales this season.
When last year's NHL season was canceled due to the lockout of players by team owners, the Atlanta Spirit LLC—parent company of the Thrashers, the NBA's Hawks and the Philips arena where the two teams play—was left scrambling for a way to keep fans interested in a product that would be out of commission for a year. |
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The Autobytel Success Story |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 12/21/2005 |
Looking for a new car? Interested in reviews and pricing? Chances are your needs will be met by one of Autobytel Inc.’s e-zines.
Autobytel Inc., an automotive marketing services company, helps retailers sell cars and manufacturers build brands. The company owns and operates the automotive Web sites – Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, CarSmart.com, Car.com, AutoSite.com, Autoahorros.com and CarTV.com. |
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Kansas City School District Goes from Print to E-mail |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 12/21/2005 |
E-zines have many uses. Some sell, some inform. Others promote. Still others act as a home base for diversely situated individuals. The Staff Notebook, delivered by the Kansas City Kansas School District communicates and acts as a call to action for its recipients.
“The newsletter is used to document what’s happening in our school district and keep employees informed,” Carroll Macke, communications director The e-zine covers everything from Board of Education decisions affecting the district to health insurance and district updates. It’s a management newsletter, going to everyone from teachers and food service employees to custodians and supervisors. |
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What Email Marketers Can Learn from the NHL |
| author: Jeanne Jennings |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 12/5/2005 |
What do the National Hockey League (NHL) and email have in common? Both feature content that must both engage people to meet business goals. This is what I was thinking as I listened to Gary Bettman, NHL commissioner, speak at the National Press Club last month.
What can email marketers learn from the NHL? Plenty. Here are a few takeaways for hockey fans and non-fans alike. |
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FoodNetwork.com Offers Holiday Cheer |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 11/23/2005 |
Throwing a holiday cocktail party and need some help with mixed drinks?
You don’t have to plop yourself in front of the television for the latest lifestyle show. Your computer will do just fine—that is, if you have subscribed to FoodNetwork.com’s weekly newsletter. Its name can be misleading. It’s about food–and more.
The Food Network Newsletter, which began shipping in 1999, initially promoted the cable station’s content. It is now read by 2.5 million people, and features weekly updates on contests, recipes, food ideas and TV highlights. |
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The E-Zine For Devoted Sports Fans |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 11/23/2005 |
Most sports enthusiasts are aware of Easton Sports. The Van Nuys, California, company manufactures, markets and distributes sports equipment for baseball, softball, hockey, biking, and archery.
Even if you’re not a sports enthusiast, chances are you’ve seen the logo. Easton sells close to 2 million bats yearly.
So why would it need an e-zine? |
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Blockbuster E-Zines Get People Into the Store |
| author: Richard H. Levey |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 11/11/2005 |
There’s probably a strong correlation between couch potatoes and avid movie watchers, which is why Blockbuster Inc. faces a unique challenge: Getting those film buffs off their sofas and into a local outlet.
Jon West, program manager for email marketing at the Dallas-based movie rental chain, believes that part of the solution lies in a series of messages aimed at Blockbuster customers' interests. |
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Marketing Firm Markets Itself with E-Letter |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 11/11/2005 |
What’s the best way to get your point across? Definition 6, a marketing services firm, thinks it’s through its email newsletter called definingINSIGHTS.
“We wanted to start to publish our point of view on topics that we thought were relevant to our customers,” says CEO Michael Kogon. “We had been very successful as speakers, with public relations and contributing articles, but we hadn’t yet started publishing our point of view.” |
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Email Invitations as Exciting as the Actual Event |
| author: Karen Gedney |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 11/2/2005 |
Much of my copywriting work entails writing email for conference and event producers. Most of these email messages are letter-styled missives describing the benefits of attending the event. For excitement, an attractive email template is used that includes the event's brochure cover, photos of keynote speakers and the hotel, and, increasingly, an incentive for registering. Despite conventional wisdom that says long email copy doesn't sell, I've seen the text-heavy event email outperform shorter ads time and again.
That said, my eyes lit up when I saw the fast-action email "Web commercials" Nortel sent for a new regional loyalty events program, "Nortel CALA Partners Kick Off 2005." The event took place in Puerto Rico, with attendees from nine countries: Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, and Panama. The purpose of the event was to strengthen the relationships and loyalty of Nortel's strategic partner companies in the Caribbean and Latin America (CALA) region. |
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Getting Personal: How HP and OfficeMax dig deep into the detail to target email campaigns |
| author: Linda Punch |
| source: Internet Retailer |
| date : 11/1/2005 |
Computer retailer Hewlett-Packard Co., hoping to increase customer loyalty and repeat purchases among business customers, in late 2001 set out to develop personalized email. Using information from its product registration database, it started sending personalized email messages to customers. Later, using customer information generated by the email, it added account specific e-newsletters and web portals.
Now HP is reaping the rewards. Average revenue per business customer has increased by more than 300% and customers -receiving account-specific e-newsletters are 1.5 to 3 times more likely to click on a link than those receiving non-targeted e-newsletters. |
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Beer With A Conscience: The Saint Arnold’s E-Zine |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 10/26/2005 |
Are you the type who likes to sit down with a beer, go on a pub crawl or maybe even do some good in the world?
If so, you’re probably receiving the newsletter addressed to Saint Arnold’s Army. That’s a battalion of loyal fans of Saint Arnold Brewing Co., a microbrewery in Houston, Texas. The firm send its first e-newsletter in 1995. But at that time, it had a very different goal in mind: To back away from snail mail. “We would plan for a special event and we would have to type up a post card, get it printed, get some addresses, print mailing labels, put the labels on the postcards, stamp all the postcards and then send them out,” says CEO Brock Wagner. “It was a pain in the butt.” |
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Herman Group Newsletter Looks Into the Future |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 10/26/2005 |
Not many of us can see into the future. But The Herman Trend Alert, an e-zine from The Herman Group, helps readers do just that in the area of workplace trends.
Although the newsletter is read mostly by senior executives, it also attracts government employees, corporate owners, and housewives. The weekly e-zine is sent to over 25,000 people in 72 countries and is available in four languages: English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. |
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PTC Helps Resellers Get Out the News |
| author: Ray Schultz |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 10/26/2005 |
PTC, a firm that offers product lifecycle management tools, noticed something a year or two ago: Several of its value-added resellers were sending email newsletters to their customers.
But they varied in quality. Some e-zines were PDF attachments sent by email and others were “a little klugey,” says Greg James, senior director, worldwide channel marketing for PTC.
But the potential was there. So PTC has launched an email newsletter program for the VARs, enabling them to deliver material from a central content database. |
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The Shel Horowitz Newsletter Experience |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 10/26/2005 |
Everyone likes to save money, both in business and on pleasure. That’s why Shel Horowitz’s email newsletters appear to be flourishing.
Horowitz is an author, public speaker and marketing consultant. He started the e-zines to promote his books, but now finds them more useful in bringing in consulting clients.
His consumer e-zine, Frugal Fun Tips, offers 8,000 readers quick tips on how to save money. The possible areas of savings? Travel, dining, entertainment, romance and more. It was launched in 1997. |
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CDW Offers Something for Everybody |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 10/12/2005 |
You wouldn’t send a special report on small business tax relief to government clients, would you? Nor would you expect civil servants to be interested in the latest white papers on educational products.
That’s why CDW, a technology solutions provider, sends out separate weekly e-newsletters—CDW for businesses, and CDW-G for government and education recipients, says Kurt Baldassari, director of e-commerce. |
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Hotel Chain's E-Zine Program is B-to-B and B-to-C |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 9/28/2005 |
When Fairmont Hotels & Resorts launched its email newsletters four years ago, it didn’t aim them only at guests. The chain uses two of its four e-zines to serve businesses.
Of course, the biggest one is on the consumer side.
Checking In is directed towards members of The Fairmont President’s Club. It is sent quarterly to 250,000 subscribers and has an open rate of 30%. It features copy on exclusive packages for President’s Club members, special promotions and reviews of feature destinations. |
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Direct Mail Vendor Uses E-Zine to Inform Clients |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 9/28/2005 |
How’s this for a switch? A direct mail services company starts an email newsletter when it wants to serve clients.
QuantumMail.com did just that when it launched The Direct Mail Marketer. The firm insists that it is not trying to sell anything.
“We wanted another avenue to talk to customers where it was more give and less take,” says Brandon Cornett, Quantum’s advertising manager. “Typical marketing is, ‘Hey we want you to buy something.’ But we really wanted to give something back.” QuantumMail.com draws customers from a variety of industries, but the majority are real estate firms and related businesses like mortgage, remodeling and franchise companies. |
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Volvo Builds on E-Zine with Extranet |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 8/31/2005 |
It’s hard to develop a sense of community between franchises and their parent company, and even harder to do it between the individually owned franchises.
But Volvo Rents is tightening the communications gap all around with its e-newsletter, The Rental Channel. And it hopes to do even better when it puts the same material on an extranet.
Launched three years ago, The Rental Channel is distributed to approximately 500 Volvo Rents franchise owners and their employees. Readers also include Volvo Rents management and inhouse staff. |
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Zipcar Goes Extra Mile with Email Newsletter |
| author: Brian Quinton |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 8/31/2005 |
What does Matt Malloy have to do to get you out of that car today?
According to Malloy, vice president of marketing for Zipcar, an up-and-coming car-sharing service, all it really takes is good word of mouth, a highly automated online system, and an email newsletter full of engaging content. |
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E-Zine Helps Readers Weather the Storm |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 8/17/2005 |
Planalytics Inc. is keeping its eye on the weather. But it is not concerned with people who need an umbrella when there's a chance of rain.
Planalytics helps retailers and manufacturers interpret how weather will impact their business. The firm uses a combination of historical and predictive analytics to predict—and help clients act on—weather-driven changes in supply, demand, and pricing. |
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More Than Your Mother's Dry Cleaner |
| author: Eda Galeno |
| source: Chief Marketer |
| date : 8/17/2005 |
| Ho Hum. An email newsletter from a dry cleaner? That was our first reaction when we heard about Appearance Plus Cleaners, from Appearance Plus. But then we learned how the dry cleaning firm is using its e-zine to keeping Cincinatti -- and its customer list -- clean. For more on this spiffy program, click here. |
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HoneyBaked Ham's Email Recipe |
| author: RAY SCHULTZ |
| source: Direct Magazine |
| date : 7/1/2005 |
IF EVER THERE WAS A MULTICHANNEL MERCHANT, it's the HoneyBaked Ham Co.
The venerable firm sells home-style food through catalogs and over 300 retail outlets, relying on email to communicate with customers. But it uses the medium differently in each channel.
Last December, for example, the Detroit-based company launched The Roundtable, an email newsletter featuring holiday entertaining tips. Two issues have been sent to 70,000 “retail-focused customers” who live within a seven-mile radius of one of HoneyBaked's stores. |
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Split Personality Newsletters |
| author: June Macdonald |
| source: One Degree |
| date : 4/11/2005 |
Ken recently commented on the announcement of a new Webnames.ca newsletter, which has since launched, and he forwarded me the new and old newsletters to review. How does their new effort measure up? Let’s take a look, as Webnames.ca has provided some great new information to its customers, but like most second generation newsletter efforts may be trying to do too much.
The first edition of the newsletter was fairly straight forward, very clean, and a lot of content, including sales offers and Webnames news: |
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Dry Cleaner’s Email Makes Business a Family Affair |
| author: Brian Quinton |
| source: Direct Magazine |
| date : 3/29/2005 |
| Dry cleaner owner, Devaney admits that it was the cost savings and the offer of a free trial that first got him to test email marketing four years ago, when he saw a promotion from Constant contact, an email service provider catering to small businesses. “Like most small businessmen, I was running around like a headless chicken, fixing machines and talking to the customers,” he says. “I was always sitting down to design my coupon ad campaigns at the last minute, and paying a lot of money to do so.” |
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Live from eTail 2005: Neiman Marcus Loves E-mail |
| author: Melissa Dowling |
| source: Multichannel Merchant Magazine |
| date : 2/17/2005 |
Palm Desert, CA--Luxury products marketer Neiman Marcus is a prolific e-mailer, according to Brendan Hoffman, president/CEO of the Dallas-based company's Neiman Marcus Direct unit. Addressing attendees of the eTail conference, Hoffman admitted that many industry observers contend that Neiman sends too many emails, but its customers appear to love them. Why? The company aims to communicate a message without directly pushing product.
"People see us as the fashion authority--we tell them what's hot," Hoffman said, citing examples such as the handbag of the season. What's in it for the marketer if the emails don't promote product? If the emails prompt customers to visit the Website or go into a store, they tend to make a purchase, he said. "Get them into the 'store' and they will shop." |
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Skechers Changes Email Strategy to Reach Customers |
| author: Laura Cococcia |
| source: Pepper & Rogers Group |
| date : 1/31/2005 |
Skechers USA prides itself on a young, hip lifestyle brand. Known for its trendy footwear, the company sells oxfords, sandals, sneakers and boots in stores in more than 100 countries and via the company's Web site. In 2004, email marketing emerged as an increasingly critical component of the Skechers business model and brand promise by driving online sales as well as retail store traffic.
"Email marketing actually matches with the brand image we are creating in the marketplace," says Geric Johnson, the company's vice president of Direct Marketing. "That consumer is Internet savvy and into modern forms of communication. We felt a consumer would demand that a trusted and relevant lifestyle brand must be considered a legitimate source for apparel, so we want to interact with consumers in the ways they prefer." |
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Toshiba scores with sports event |
| author: Roger Slaven |
| source: B2B Magazine |
| date : 8/11/2003 |
Toshiba Network Products (TNP) of Irvine, Calif., pulled off one of its most successful events ever—a sports-themed party at ESPN Zone during last year’s Broadband Plus 2002 show in Anaheim—for 20% of the cost of a show booth.
“Right up front, we planned carefully, promoting the event early and often to our most important customers,” Boring said. “Red Door Interactive played a crucial part in designing save-the-date email messages that encouraged registration and drove traffic to our Web site, where they could see a Flash demonstration of the product.” |
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Email Draws Webinar Attendees |
| author: KRIS OSER |
| source: Direct Magazine |
| date : 6/1/2003 |
Personnel Decisions International, a human resources consulting firm, sought an innovative way to market a new Web-based product that measures change on the job. The firm decided a free Webinar was the ideal vehicle — and email seemed the best channel to attract Webinar viewers.
“The goal was to get 100 registrations and we blew that away very quickly,” said Marian Masica, global marketing director, from PDI's Minneapolis headquarters. Delivering a response rate of 3.9%, an email promotion won PDI 367 registrants.
Even better, 193 people logged on to watch the May 7 Webinar.
“I was told to expect a 50% drop-off [from the initial registrants] and we only had a 47% drop-off,” Masica said. “I was ecstatic. That was a great number of attendees.” |
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Smooth Sailing |
| author: Debra Judge Silber |
| source: Direct Magazine |
| date : 5/1/2003 |
The CRM story at Fleet's corporate bank is no yawner. While financial services companies typically save the bells and whistles for their retail operations, in the past two years FleetBoston Financial — the seventh-largest financial holding company in the United States, with assets of more than $190 billion — has pumped up its corporate arm with new technology, revised strategies and a focus that has yielded substantial results. Among them: a 14% compound annual growth rate in cross-sell revenue, matched with 16% growth in products per customer, along with a marked shift toward more reliable, non-credit revenue.
“We always say it's tools, programs and channels,” says Dean Athanasia, executive vice president in charge of Fleet's Business Development and Strategy Group (BD&S), which began formulating the approach in the fall of 2000. The tools to which he refers are contained within Business Advisor, Fleet's internally developed information platform based on eFinance, a version of Siebel System's eBusiness application configured for the banking industry. Programs include an enhanced segmentation scheme based on customer value as well as refocused direct marketing efforts. Under the umbrella of channels, Fleet has widened communications through the Internet at the same time it has remained firmly committed to maintaining the relationship manager as the primary sales channel. |
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Get the Picture? |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 4/17/2003 |
Yes, the little things do matter. Sometimes a simple change to an e-mail marketing campaign can create a measurable lift in results.
Take the case of the RedV Network. RedV is an affiliate marketing company that, among other things, sells ad management, privacy, and security software. No stranger to e-mail marketing, RedV Network used e-mail in the past to market its adware removal software, AdProtector.
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A Regular Joe Drives Extraordinary Results |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 4/3/2003 |
ClickZ readers know e-mail newsletters have the potential to be enormously effective marketing tools. An e-mail newsletter can be a relatively inexpensive channel for getting your message out to the consumer in a highly personalized way. Plus, newsletters can be wonderful loyalty-building tools. Then why are so many of them so darn boring?
Fortunately, there are exceptions, such as the newsletter from Webshots, an imaging network that allows its more than 25 million registered users to browse, download, share, and store digital images. Webshots members upload more than 85,000 new images daily, and Webshots currently stores tens of millions of member photos. Why has Webshots grown so popular? Well, one of the reasons is a guy named Joe.
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E-mail or Newsletters? Why Not Both? |
| author: Joanna Belbey and Karen Gedney |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 3/26/2003 |
When clients first explore the idea of an e-mail campaign, the question usually arises, "Should we do a straight sales e-mail or a newsletter?" The discussion typically centers on the merits of one over the other.
As a recent case study from the London-based Tarsus Group demonstrates, it can pay to employ both. This international business-to-business (B2B) media group organizes the biannual Labelexpo Americas trade show, serving the label and narrow-web printing industry.
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ASAP Case Study |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 3/20/2003 |
From time to time, readers ask if e-mail marketing is really the way to go. "We're happy with direct mail," they say, "and we don't know if we want to invest in e-mail marketing."
If you're still not convinced e-mail marketing can outperform direct (and with better return on investment, or ROI), today's case study is for you. Or, it's for you to show to those doubters at your company.
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Chemicals Firm Replaces Mail With E-Letter |
| author: LARRY RIGGS |
| source: Direct Magazine |
| date : 3/15/2003 |
| Advanced Polymer Alloys, a chemical manufacturer facing a budget crunch, replaced postal mail and direct response space advertising last year with an email newsletter. The results were so good that the firm now plans to redesign the letter and increase its frequency from quarterly to six times a year. |
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Nintendo Case Study: Rules Are Made to Be Broken |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 3/6/2003 |
How often should you send mailings to your opt-in database? Conventional wisdom says not too often. Otherwise, you risk overloading recipients with e-mail. There aren't hard-and-fast rules, but a rule of thumb many in the industry follow is regular newsletters are typically sent once every two weeks or monthly. If you sell a product or service via e-mail, you'll generally send an offer once, maybe twice, with little follow-up.
Rules are made to be broken. Nintendo experimented and came up with its own guidelines. The company found more frequent mailings can be a successful tactic.
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A Download and a Baseball Cap Help Build a List |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 2/6/2003 |
Last week I presented a case study showing how one company went about growing its mailing list ("Birth of a Mailing List"). To accomplish this goal, the company placed advertisements in the form of text links throughout the Web. Although that's one way to grow a mailing list spam free, it isn't the only way. Here's another option.
YellowFish Software is a business-to-business (B2B), Web-based company specializing in CRM, business process automation, and related solutions. Founded in 1995, the company wanted to grow its e-mail address database of IT professionals.
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Birth of a Mailing List |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 1/23/2003 |
Growing a mailing list can be a tricky business. Reputable marketers want to avoid any appearance of spam, of course. But there are plenty of other issues to consider, such as how to capture potential customers' addresses once they've visited your site.
AAA Life Insurance Company is part of the American Automobile Association (AAA). In addition to well-known home and automotive insurance, AAA offers, through AAA Life, life insurance (not surprisingly), including term life insurance and permanent life insurance.
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Forefield Case Study: When Traffic Is the Goal |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 1/9/2003 |
Regular readers know what a typical case study looks like. Company A sells a product. It sends e-mail promoting that product, then tracks stats such as open rate, CTR, and conversions, the latter being the ultimate goal. Traffic numbers (such as clicks back to a Web site) are important but for the most part irrelevant, except in how they affect conversion.
In this case study, traffic is the primary goal.
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Aguilera E-mail Gets 40% Pass-along |
| author: Kris Oser |
| source: Direct Magazine |
| date : 1/1/2003 |
Music marketer BMG sent out a rich media email about Christina Aguilera's new CD “Stripped,” hoping to prompt tons of sales online two weeks before the album hit the stores last fall. But something else happened.
The video clip of the gyrating, nearly naked pop star singing the ditty “Dirty” attracted a 40% pass-along rate — more pass-alongs than BMG had ever seen. Even better, 2,581 of the people who received the email from a friend opted in to BMG's Aguilera database. |
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Software Marketer Engages Prospects |
| author: Kris Oser |
| source: Direct Magazine |
| date : 1/1/2003 |
A year ago, software company Primus Knowledge Solutions began scrambling for a way to hold on to prospects through a long sales cycle in the face of a tanking economy and corporate belt-tightening.
Email, the communication tool of choice for Primus' techno-savvy customer base, seemed the quick, cheap and obvious answer.
“We needed a simple, fast, proactive tool to keep Primus at the top of their mind, so when the time came that the software initiative got funded, we'd be on the short list,” says Paula Skartlind, director of marketing communications at the Seattle-based firm. |
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Lessons Learned in 2002 |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 12/26/2002 |
For my final column of 2002, I'd like to reflect upon the past year in Email Marketing Case Studies -- looking back at what I've written, and what I haven't written.
Many of the case studies I've presented deserve a second reading (or a first reading, if you've recently started receiving this column) as we mull over the year gone by and resolve to improve our email marketing programs in 2003.
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Ricochet's on Target With Locally Focused Campaign |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 12/12/2002 |
When you're operating a high-speed, wire-free Internet access service such as Ricochet, email marketing is clearly the way to go. The question is, where should you begin?
Here's how Ricochet works: Subscribers buy the Ricochet modem and sign up for service. The Ricochet service provides rapid Internet connections via the user's desktop PC, laptop, or PDA. A wholly owned subsidiary of Aerie Networks Inc., Ricochet needed an effective way to introduce its service when it was ready to roll out its offerings.
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Training Firm Turns to Email, Webinars |
| author: Larry Riggs |
| source: Direct Magazine |
| date : 12/1/2002 |
Global Knowledge, a computer training company that once relied only on direct mail to market its courses, pulled in more than 2,435 leads through October with an email newsletter campaign tied to a Webinar.
The cost per lead was 20 cents, compared with 40 cents for leads acquired from direct mailings.
Prior to this fall, Global's sole direct effort for its classroom-based and online training courses was to send out nearly 30 million pieces of mail a year. |
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Erma Bombeck's Screen Saver, Revisited |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 10/17/2002 |
| Want a low-cost, effective way to drive current and potential customers to your Web site and keep your brand on their desktops? Here's a quick lesson from the University of Dayton. |
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Pioneers in the Email Highlands |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 10/3/2002 |
| Here in the United States, email marketing has become a booming business. The case studies I write about in this column tend to focus on improving campaigns aimed at an already receptive (for the most part) group of recipients. |
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Email Versus Direct Mail: A Head-to-Head Test |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 9/19/2002 |
The last time I wrote a case study comparing return on investment (ROI) for direct and email marketing campaigns, a reader chastised me for drawing the conclusion email campaigns are always more cost-effective to run (yes, I really do read those messages you send me!).
Now seems a good time to point out a case study is just that -- a study of one particular case. I didn't (and still don't) claim what works for one company will work for all. That said, here's another example of how email marketing can save big bucks over a more traditional campaign.
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Back-to-School Column |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 9/5/2002 |
Students all over the United States are heading back to school this week. As a member of the working world, I wish I could join them. Instead, I'm taking this opportunity to write my own back-to-school column.
What I Did on My Summer Vacation
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Rubbermaid Bounces Ideas Off Recipients |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 8/22/2002 |
| So, you've been meaning to put that email newsletter together, but you just haven't managed to do it yet. If you're still trying to come up with just the right format, you might learn from this example. |
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A First-Class Ticket to ROI |
| author: Ramin Ganeshram |
| source: DestinationCRM |
| date : 8/16/2002 |
| Describes how Vantage Travel's email marketing paid for itself in six months. Company learned that blast email campaigns were more costly than bringing its e-marketing business inside by e-mailing to targeted market segments. |
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HP Gets It Right, Part 2 |
| author: Paul Soltoff |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 8/12/2002 |
| In my last column, I shared with you how Hewlett-Packard set about designing a truly successful email customer relationship program, one that managed to accomplish the seemingly impossible task of generating over $300 million in sales per year, with an almost nonexistent unsubscribe rate and spam complaints hovering just above zero. |
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Crank Yankers Case Study |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 8/8/2002 |
| Many business-to-consumer (B2C) campaigns are focused on the sell. You create an offer, send it to a database, and track how many recipients convert. Business-to-business (B2B) campaigns focus on building relationships. You create a message, send it to your target audience, and track how many leads are generated. OK, so the distinction between B2C and B2B is a simplification, but you get the idea. |
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Customers Really Matter |
| author: Ginger Conlon |
| source: DestinationCRM |
| date : 8/1/2002 |
Peter Weedfald is fanatical about customers. Weedfald, vice president, strategic marketing and new media, North America operations for Samsung Electronics America Inc., wants to grip each customer in an unrelenting bear hug of unparalleled service.
This fanaticism toward the customer has led Weedfald to redefine CRM. "CRM does not stand for customer relationship management--yet. Not yet. Because first you have to put the process and business desire in front of it," he says. "CRM first stands for customers really matter. And that philosophy must be present throughout an organization, from the receptionist all the way up through the [CEO]." |
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Slim Down Call Center Costs |
| author: David Myron |
| source: DestinationCRM |
| date : 8/1/2002 |
With 260 different printing devices listed on HP's Web site, finding the correct information can be daunting. So Horstmeier and his team decided to take a unique approach to customer support by becoming proactive, instead of reactive, with support. That is when they elected to start a CRM email newsletter.
"There's information available on the Web that people don't know about," Horstmeier says. "If we proactively send them both support and marketing information, would that increase customer loyalty, decrease support costs, and increase their likelihood to buy? If a customer buys printer X, can we identify common things that would occur that is associated with that purchase?" |
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Sign check. Leave tip. Opt in. Eat free mint (optional). |
| author: Staff |
| source: DestinationCRM |
| date : 8/1/2002 |
| Scott Shaw, chief executive of loyalty marketing service firm Fishbowl, in Alexandria, VA, and an 18-year restaurateur himself, learned from experience that restaurant chains of modest means could effectively and profitably reach out to repeat customers spurring more frequent visits and building stronger relationships. |
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HP Gets It Right, Part 1 |
| author: Paul Soltoff |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 7/29/2002 |
| One of my goals with this column is to identify examples of email marketing programs that are truly revolutionary in their processes, content, and results. I've found one in Hewlett Packard's (HP's) customer "e-relationship" program. It's a great example of doing it right. |
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Plan, Test, Research -- Exceed Expectations |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 7/25/2002 |
Today's case study offers many lessons. One is to get something, you should give something away. Another is testing is critical. A third is you shouldn't blindly send to a list. Do your research, then let recipients know exactly why they're getting your message.
You could sum all this up just by saying, "Best practices deliver results."
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Waking Hibernating Email Addressees |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 7/11/2002 |
| Here's the situation: You've captured a number of email addresses. You know they're good addresses because they come from people who have visited your site and voluntarily handed them over to you. The individuals clearly were interested enough to join your program, but now they're inactive. They don't respond to your mailings or visit your site often. How do you encourage them to participate? |
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Email or Direct Mail: Which Has Better ROI? |
| author: Heidi Anderson |
| source: Clickz |
| date : 6/27/2002 |
| Sure, email marketing is less expensive than direct mail. Countless studies demonstrate this. A more interesting topic is, does email marketing provide better return on investment (ROI) than direct mail? |
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HTML Email Strikes Again: Staples Strategy Bombs |
| author: Al Bredenberg |
| source: Email Marketing Results |
| date : 6/8/2002 |
| An email promotion from Staples, the office-supplies giant, drives home the importance of thinking your email promotion through and testing it thoroughly from beginning to end. In this case, Staples stumbled on the execution of an HTML email promotion. |
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