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B2B Email Marketing Best Practices

March 8th, 2009
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I am a great fan of Simms Jenkins, a nationally known email marketing expert. I have finished reading his book The Truth About Email Marketing. The book reveals 49 proven Email Marketing Best Practices. It is a must reader for all marketers. Simms also discussed about the best practices for B2B email marketing. Please read and enrich your understanding of email marketing.

According to Simms

  • Know your audience: If you are mailing to IT network administrators, an image-heavy newsletter probably will not be well received. Instead, send a text-only message. Follow the cues of what your audience is like and don’t take a one-size-fits-all approach
  • Mobile email triage is real: Escape the mobile email gauntlet. An increasing number of business executives use their mobile devices/PDAs to perform email triage. This means that if you have a weak message or lack something compelling or of immediate value to your email, you may have the busy exec delete your email while in a meeting. On the flip side, a unique email with a relevant purpose may get saved for the executive to read in the office.
  • Make it easy for the mobile audience: Click here to read on your mobile phone is becoming more commonplace on B2B emails and may help you escape mobile email rendering snafus.
  • From & Subject lines: Emails from a CEO to a fellow executive tend to resonate. Ensure your From line is from someone who matters. Combine this with a short Subject line that can break through the clutter while demonstrating a reason for the user to read this email.
  • Short and sweet: Whether read on an iPhone or laptop, make your message count. That means make sure it gets read. Long emails without clear calls to action will get skimmed and deleted. Make your value proposition above the fold and obvious to the people that will browse over your email looking for a reason to read (or delete).
  • Don’t oversell: Too many promises, customer raves or pricing information may overwhelm your audience and diminish your opportunity to have people click on a link where they can find the details of the service or product being offered.
  • Respect the audience’s time: Frequency is a significant issue for all mailings, but if a business subscriber doesn’t respond to the first two messages, it doesn’t mean you should send to him even more frequently.
  • Test: I received seven different emails from a lead generation company in the span of five minutes this morning. The emails actually contained decent messaging and links to at least one relevant case study. They had me until hello occurred seven times. Someone was asleep at the wheel when the campaigns were segmented and set. Do your due diligence before an email is sent as these campaigns did more damage than good.
  • Offer something unique: A white paper can often work, but they are everywhere, aren’t they? Provide access and perks that are gold to the C-suite audience. For example, one client attempting to register business executives for an annual event tested pricing breaks versus admission to a VIP event. Remember, the B2B audience usually isn’t spending its own money so you can guess which offer performed better.

  • Remarket: We had major success with one client recently by creating follow-up campaigns based on how each user responded (or didn’t) to the initial campaign. Using your metrics can guide you to a better and more relevant strategy. (You can find the case study of how this client generated $120,000 from remarketing here.)

    • Buzz on EkoBuzz, Digital marketing, mobile and email marketing, permission based marketing, self service marketing, targeted marketing

    Pricing of Mobile Marketing Campaigns

    March 5th, 2009
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    Mobile marketing campaigns hmm… sounds familiar, isn’t everyone talking it especially in this economy when every company is looking at cutting their advertising and marketing budget. Every marketing initiative is geared towards sales, how each and every campaign is going to affect the bottom line.  

    Bad economy has helped mobile marketing industry to boom. This low cost marketing channel is gaining momentum due to its newness, uniqueness and cost effectiveness. As a small business must be wondering should I try this new channel that every marketer is raving about or should I wait to see the actual results, numbers, the concrete ROI. Presently email is the most cost effective channel with the highest ROI of $57 for every dollar spent.

    In terms of quantitative measurements mobile sure has a long way but qualitative analysis does present a beautiful picture. The channel is helping in customer engagement, better brand recognition and recall and surely better brand experience. 

    A simple SMS alert campaign can cost you anywhere from $0.1 to $0.2 per message. The cost is also dependent on the keyword selection shared or exclusive and whether you are using bulk or premium SMS. Please check out different website before selecting a vendor. There are way too may options available that it makes so confusing for the decision maker.

    Keep reading

    mobile and email marketing

    9 Most Common Mistakes in Mobile Marketing Campaigns

    February 22nd, 2009
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    So you have toiled for days to create the perfect message for your mobile campaign. The copy is perfect, the message length is exactly 160 characters, the font is to die for, and all your colleagues and friends love your pitch.

    However there is far more to a mobile marketing campaign than just the message, even though it is perfect. Who is your audience? How do you reach them - and perhaps more important than how, when do you reach them? Is your audience engaged with you and receptive? Do you make this easy for them? That is a lot of things to worry about but let me help you by describing the things you certainly should not do, the nine most common mistakes I’ve seen in mobile marketing campaigns.

    1. Poor targeting and relevance
    Get the right messages to the right people.

    2. Not identifying the sender
    Unfortunately for your message, if your customers do not recognize that it from you they will probably discard it without reading it.

    3. Poor copywriting
    Your third grade teacher was right - spelling and punctuation count. Be careful. Be professional.

    4. Targeting the wrong audience with the wrong offer or message
    This is worse than poor targeting. Poor targeting is when you
    blast everybody with Florida vacation offers. Wrong targeting is when you blast people on the beach in Florida with Florida vacation offers.

    5. Messages sent out at the wrong time
    We agree mobile is 24/7 but there is a time and a place for everything.

    6. Not allowing the recipient to unsubscribe
    There is a saying ‘if you want someone let them free and they will come back to you’. Let your customers take control of their inbox, always provide an opt out option.

    7. Typos
    I really can’t think of anything more distracting than a sloppy message. All I see are the mistakes, not the message.

    8. No personalization
    Mobile is a personal device, take advantage, get personal and close to your target audience. Does anybody want to read a message sent ‘to whom it may concern’?

    9. Inability to handle responses
    You have done everything correctly, you have interested potential
    customers, and you can’t close the deal. Get your systems and backend processes in place before launching a campaign; be prepared to manage high volumes.

    A marketing campaign is not simply a message (regardless of how perfect It may be) - it is a multidimensional project that requires the proper time and attention. I hope this list helps you build your successful mobile marketing campaign.

    Please post your comments and welcome to add to the list of mistakes.

    mobile and email marketing

    Small Business Summit 2009

    February 6th, 2009
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    “Business & Technology: How to Find and Keep Customers for Life.” was the topic of the 4th Small Business Summit concluded on February 3, 2008 at Digital Sandbox in NY. The show was great and attracted big names like Microsoft, Dell to one-person companies.

    The summit touched upon and discussed issues that concerns almost every business like Keeping Customers: It’s the Relationship (First) Not the Products, Online Presence: More Important Than Ever, How to Get Free Publicity Through Media Coverage, Business Survival Techniques from a Navy Seal and The Power of Email Marketing: 10 Things You Need To Know

    The speakers included Bob Pearson, VP Dell, Brent Leary, Co-founder CRM Essentials LLC, Michael Schultz, Microsoft Office Live, Jonathan Rochelle, Google and Harry Brooks, Network Solutions.

    It was a win-win day for everyone, for Prime Strategies and SmallBiz Technology.com for putting up a fantastic event, for small businesses to learn from the experience of big and big companies for finding customers for their products.

    The hot topic of discussion was social media marketing and seems like lots of entrepreneurs were very scared and overwhelmed. There is so much too do, twitter, creating page on facebook, writing blogs, press releases, presence of social communities. Truly it is tough for a small company with 3-4 people to manage so many marketing avenues but also these are very effective in building relationship with customers.

    mobile and email marketing

    And the winner of 2009 Marketing Tactics is ….

    January 28th, 2009
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    Yes and the winner is none other than Email Marketing. You didn’t get this, my apologies I’m talking of the most preferred marketing tactics  by marketers for the year 2009.

    Especially in this recession email marketing tops the list of the most preferred marketing tactics. The definition of the ‘most preferred’ is the tactic that gives the best ROI. Email Marketing and paid search marketing are the top performers for a B2C marketer.

    According to a recent survey conducted by Marketing Sherpa, marketers have to be still careful in using email marketing. Marketers are focusing on less expensive high investment marketing tactics. The biggest challenge for advertising agencies and creative teams is to create a solution that is effective, relevant, innovative and still cost effective. The survey also highlights on a wide range of techniques and approaches to make email marketing all the more appealing to marketers.

    One such approach is transactional emails. Transactional email is the one that provide information like receipt, order confirmation, shipment notices, customer service alerts, monthly statements etc. Transactional emails have higher open rates, thus it is great to leverage it to push brand messages and promotional offers. The study also provide details on how to design the content of transactional emails without compromising its sanctity.

    The survey is a must read for email marketers and all marketers in general. Please read the complete survey report http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=31009&pop=no

    The survey provides various charts on how to maintain email marketing ROI without investing in testing, measurement and optimization. The study offers alternative tests that seem to work effectively like email design tests, email targeting tests etc.

    And finally the study indicates the role of specific marketing tactics in lead generation and lead nurturing.

    Also read the article - Top Email Marketing Strategies in Economic Downturn for further details. http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30863

    mobile and email marketing, permission based marketing, self service marketing, targeted marketing , ,

    Mobile Marketing Ideas for 2009

    January 23rd, 2009
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    I was going through my EkoBuzz emails, i subscribe to mobile marketer newsletter. I read this really interesting article A sector by sector look at the Mobile Marketing Opportunities for 2009. The article highlights innovative ways mobile marketing can be used in different industry, here are some of the excerpts from the article. 

    Apparel and accessories business marketers can use their stores, shopping bags, email newsletters, loyalty cards, wired and mobile websites to encourage their customers to sign up for mobile loyalty program.   

    Entertainment Industry can put short clips of movies and TV shows, songs, ringtones, trailers, theater locations, SMS alerts of premieres and concerts, discounted tickets, mobile coupons, mobile fan clubs, backstage passes, mobile games and links to mobile sites. 

    Automakers surely not the desired advertisers but mobile can help them build customer loyalty.  Websites can be used to encourage visitors to sign up for mobile alerts from dealers – new models, test drives, markdowns, dealer events.

    The article is a must read for all mobile marketers. In a nut shell whichever industry we are in, mobile marketing is a must have weapon in our marketing plan. The beauty of this channel is that its performance and results improve with integration. There are measures available to gauge the success of mobile campaign so don’t shy away. Accept it and ‘build better relationships’ with your customers 

    Keep reading and post your comments

    kriti Jaising

    mobile and email marketing

    Presidential Mobile Campaign

    January 12th, 2009
    4 comments

    According t o Newsweek magazine Barack Obama is the most powerful man in the world. Soon to be the president of the United States of America Barack Obama has created a history for being the first African American President. The charismatic president elect launched a fully integrated marketing campaign for his 2008 Presidential Election but the highlight of the election campaign was the innovative use of mobile channel.

    The Barack Obama election campaign used all facets of mobile campaign. The primary target audience for the mobile campaign was young voters that are digitally savvy and politically inclined. The young voters were encouraged to visit Obama’s website and register for text message program to stay on top of the latest news. The campaign included downloadable ring tones, wall papers, text message alerts on Barack Obama’s local events, other big news, coupons to buy items at candidate’s online store etc. The mobile channel was optimized to reach voters in a continuous but non-intrusive way and the frequency was kept to 1-2 messages per week.

    A special iPhone application was also launched to engage iPhone user. The application allowed users to read campaign news, press releases, photos and video highlights. Other impressive features of the application were “Get Involved” that was based on GPS location technology to get information on closest Obama campaign office, “Call Friends”, “Local Events” and “Donate” link at the bottom of the page.

    Clearly the objective of the mobile channel in the campaign was to drive voters to vote besides getting donations. The campaign achieved its aforesaid target very effectively; thousands of people went for advance voting. The campaign also helped Obama team to build an extraordinary database of the young voters with pivotal information like mobile numbers, email addresses, zip codes etc.

    Texting is truly has a phenomena and the success of Obama campaign has unveiled the true potential of mobile channel then
    WHAT ARE MARKETERS AND CORPORATES WAITING FOR??

    Please send in your comments and share your favorite mobile marketing success story.

    Kriti Jaising

    mobile and email marketing

    Mobile Advertising look beyond…

    December 11th, 2008
    1 comment

    Looking for a new channel or medium to promote your brand, want to break the advertising clutter, trying to position your brand contemporary and tech savvy and also have shoestring advertising budget then look no further. Your prayers have been answered. Mobile advertising , yes it is the future. Still not sure whether it will break the grounds like online advertising did just couple of years ago. A recent report by The Kelsey group indicated that the U.S. mobile advertising market would grow from $33.2 million in 2008 to $1.4 billion in 2012

    There are different forms of mobile advertising derived mainly from its predecessors like online, print, TV etc. It is too early to predict the winner amongst the current mobile advertising options. Some of the forms of mobile advertising are

    Mobile Banners – has great potential to be successful like online banners. The acceptance and usage of mobile banners is dependent on Mobile Web (WAP). The sooner customers use mobile web the greater are the chances that advertisers will push traffic to mobi sites via mobile banners.

    Mobile Search – the Google on mobile. Anytime anywhere mantra is the key to the success of mobile search, the more people get attracted to use mobile search the more advertisers will use mobile search as an media to promote brands.

    Mobile TV – Television still is the most dominant advertising medium attracting billions of dollars from advertisers and brands and is still considered the most effective medium for brand building and brand recall. The TV commercial spots are expensive and has lot of clutter. The idea for mobile is to pick the success ingredient from television and implement to mobile TV.

    The mobile advertising for sure is the future; marketers, advertisers and small businesses are inventing newer ways to maximize the use of mobile phone. Mobile’s portability and accessibility makes it a unique platform and we are all waiting eagerly for its success.

    Keep reading and post your comments.

    Kriti Jaising

    mobile and email marketing

    Get Social – 8 Top Social Networking Websites

    November 21st, 2008
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    Social Networking!! You got it the most happening and the most talked about marketing channel. It got to be because it is the least expensive too. Small business owners, marketers, product mangers, software developers to managing directors and CEO’s of big companies are using social networks to expand and revive their connections.

    Young teens initiated Social Networking as a way to make friends online and business professionals have added the marketing twist to this concept. From casual teen talk medium to top executive PR platform, social networking has come a long way. It is so effective that it is used as an integral element in online marketing plan.

    The benefits are immense and immediate from finding the jobs to vendors relationships are key. To facilitate the use of social networking I have complied a list of most popular social networking websites.

    Twitter
    Delicious
    StumbleUpon
    Facebook
    linkedIn
    Flickr
    YouTube
    Slideshare

    Get social, create your profile on these top social networking and extend your network today.

    Thanks for reading

    Kriti Jaising
    EkoBuzz

    Mobile Advertising, Mobile Marketing and SEO, Text/SMS marketing, mobile and email marketing, permission based marketing, self service marketing, targeted marketing

    Mobile Marketing Roadblocks

    October 8th, 2008
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    Mobile Marketing is undeniably the epicenter of today’s marketing world. Marketers are talking about mobile marketing, trying to understand how to measure the success of campaigns, what metrics to be used. But still not all the issues pertaining to mobile marketing are clear thus lot of uncertainty. As much as marketers want to add mobile marketing in the marketing mix, they are unable to solve this puzzle as there are pieces missing. In this tough economy, mobile marketing can actually help marketers save some dollars. If well integrated with other marketing tools mobile marketing can give us desired results. But there some issues still unanswered.

    1. How to tackle Customer Privacy
    2. Educating and ease of accessing content.
    3. Multiplicity of platforms
    4. Slow adoption of multimedia
    5. Lack of metric transparency
    6. Lack of consumer acceptance
    7. No uniform standards
    8. Uncertainties in cross-media integration
    9. Inventory of content

    We all are working together to integrate and implement mobile marketing campaigns effectively and how to measure their efficacy.

    If you have other issues that i have missed, plaese add in this list to help others.

    Keep reading

    Kriti Jaising
    EkoBuzz

    mobile and email marketing