Disruption Tour --- Run To Survive

Hard RSS Results

from marketingstudies.net

As promised, we'll be taking a look at some hard numbers from the RSS marketing world, to see just how strong RSS really is as a marketing channel. If nothing else, these alone should show you that it's worth investing some time in to understanding RSS marketing.

Here are some of the latest numbers ...

a] CLICK-THROUGH RATES
According to the latest statistics from Pheedo, one of the most well-known RSS advertising networks, RSS feed click-through rations range from 7 to 11%. And according to DoubleClick, the average e-mail CTR is only 8.3%, showing that RSS is already outperforming e-mail.

How about the numbers from specific publishers? Lockergnome.com is one of the most popular tech sites on the internet, and also a great example of what can be achieved with RSS.

First of all, they are seeing a ration of 5:1 in favor of the number of RSS subscribers against e-mail subscribers, and even more interesting, a 500% better clickthrough ratio with RSS than with e-mail.

b] SEARCH ENGINE VISIBILITY

The BTI Group is a smaller VoIP provider and, through their high ranking blogsite [http://blog.btigroup.com/], the proof that RSS works for search engine positioning.

Here are just some of their achievements, as a result of their RSS marketing activities …

Email Experience

Of the largest online retailers that send welcome emails, 69% of them send their welcome emails in HTML, while the remaining 31% sent theirs in text-only format. - Email Experience Council/RetailEmail.Blogspot (September 2006)

Of the largest online retailers that send welcome emails, 49% of them ask the subscriber to add their email address to the subscriber's address book. - Email Experience Council/RetailEmail.Blogspot (September 2006)

Of the largest online retailers that send welcome emails, 34% of them offer a discount, reward or incentive to encourage them to make a purchase with the retailer. - Email Experience Council/RetailEmail.Blogspot (September 2006)

Of the largest online retailers that send welcome emails, 11% of them include product images or links to individual products in their welcome emails. - Email Experience Council/RetailEmail.Blogspot (September 2006)

Of the largest online retailers that send welcome emails, 31% of them include a store locator link. - Email Experience Council/RetailEmail.Blogspot (September 2006)

Of the largest online retailers that send welcome emails, 68% of them include a contact mailing address. - Email Experience Council/RetailEmail.Blogspot (September 2006)

66% of the largest online retailers send out welcome emails. - Email Experience Council/RetailEmail.Blogspot (September 2006)

Welcome emails...

New York, NY, September 27, 2007 — The Email Experience Council (EEC), the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) vertical working group that’s focused on the email marketing industry, today announced the release of its second annual Retail Welcome Email Subscription Benchmark Study.  The study, which examines the welcome emails of 118 of the top online retailers tracked via RetailEmail.Blogspot, identifies a number of best practices and provides benchmarks in the areas of merchandising, relationship-building, deliverability, and CAN-SPAM compliance.

 

“This 30-page study dissects the welcome email and examines its various elements, giving email marketers an in-depth look at all of the issues to consider,” said Jeanniey Mullen, EEC founder and a senior partner and executive director for Email and Dialogue Services at OgilvyOne worldwide.  “Its findings should be extremely valuable to retailers, service companies, and other B-to-C companies who are looking for new ideas and benchmarks against which to measure their own welcome emails.”

 

“Welcome emails should set the tone of the program and the expectations of the recipient from an aesthetics and content standpoint,” said Kara Trivunovic, director of strategic services at Premiere Global Services Inc., the sponsor of the EEC study.  “It is said that you never get a second chance to make a first impression — and that adage holds true to the email channel as well.  Properly executed welcome messages actually create anticipation in the recipient for the next message.”

 

“Studies have shown that welcome emails have significantly higher open rates than regular emails,” said

Ramesh Lakshmi-Ratan

, Ph.D., DMA’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.  “That makes them worth extra attention and critical examination.  All marketers should be reexamining their welcome emails on a regular basis.”

 

“As the second welcome study that we’ve done, this time around we were able make year-over-year comparisons and identify evolving practices," said Chad White, the EEC's director of retail insights, editor-at-large and founder of RetailEmail.Blogspot, and the study’s author.  "What we found was that there’s a clear trend toward welcome emails that are more promotional and more engaging, and that more attention is being paid to deliverability.”

 

The study, which is available in the EEC’s Whitepaper Room, found that 72 percent of major online retailers send out welcome emails, up from 66 percent last year.  That’s a strong sign that more retailers are recognizing the value of these critical emails.

 

This year, for the first time, the EEC also tracked the passage of time between subscriptions and the delivery of welcome emails.  While the majority of retailers deliver their welcome emails within 10 minutes of sign-up, 19 percent take more than 24 hours to deliver — with nearly a third of those taking more than a week.  In the world of digital communications, that’s an eternity to wait for a welcome email.

 

Here are some other findings from the EEC’s Retail Welcome Email Benchmark Study:

 

·         58 percent of welcome emails were CAN-SPAM compliant in terms of including both a mailing address and unsubscribe method, versus 52 percent last year.  Not all welcome emails need to be compliant, but considering that these are welcome emails for promotional emails, the EEC believes that they should be.

 

·         62 percent of welcome emails asked the subscriber to whitelist them by adding an email address to their address book, up from 49 percent last year.

 

·         79 percent of retailers sent out HTML welcome emails, up from 69 percent last.  The remainder sent text-only welcome emails.  That said, most of the HTML welcome emails were HTML “lite,” making extensive use of HTML text.

 

·         75 percent of the welcome emails include the retailer’s brand name in their subject lines, on par with last year.  Including branding here helps the subscriber recognize the email as one that they requested.

 

·         32 percent of welcome emails include a discount, reward or incentive, down from 34 percent last year.  That’s in line with the results of the EEC’s Retail Email Subscription Benchmark Study, which saw a move away from incentives during sign-up.

Are Spammers Moving to Social Networks?

MySpace this week won a ruling against Samford Wallace and Walter Rines, reinforcing the fact that there’s no love lost between big web sites and spammers. But it’s also a sign of an escalation of the war on spam.

Spammers are finding virgin territory in emerging messaging tools, including SMS and social networks. Ferris Research projects that Americans will receive 1.5 billion unsolicited text messages in 2008, double the number sent in 2006. And Nielsen calls mobile social networking the next big thing, estimating 2.8 million unique mobile MySpace users and 1.8 million mobile Facebook users in December 2007.

According to antispam firm Cloudmark, spammers are already embracing these new technologies: Between 15 percent and 30 percent of friend requests on some of the largest social networks lead to a spammy profile.

“A lot of people in antispam thought that the reason we have such a bad spam problem is that you can’t pin a reputation on the original individual who sent the mail, and that maybe social networks would be able to remediate that,” said Cloudmark researcher Adam O’Donnell. “But one of the main uses of social networks is getting back in touch with someone you have no real connection to, so you need to be able to leave that vector open for someone to friend you.”

This is an increasingly popular approach for spammers, who create an account and try to friend as many people as possible, then wait for people to view their profiles — which contain spam or links to other sites.

With a huge variety of ways to put content online, those sites can be almost anywhere. MessageLabs‘ Matt Sergeant calls Google Docs “the perfect way to spam,” explaining that hyperlinks in an unsolicited message might go to a Google Docs file containing Google Analytics’ tracking code, rather than a spammer’s server.

Spammers aren’t just pushing pharmaceutical sales, either; increasingly, the site recipients visit tries to inject malware that compromises a visitor’s machine. That machine then becomes a tool for denial-of-service attacks and sending spam, and may be used for keyboard logging and financial phishing. “There’s multiple products being pushed over the spam side,” said O’Donnell.

rinse and repeat - sustainabile WOM

John Burg Futrure Visions

Most loving relationships kick off with a WOW phase.

20 years of marriage later, the WOW is now deeper, more real, more permanent.  But it isn't the viral "tell all my friends about him/her" WOW of infatuation, it is the deeply embedded wow of a meaningful relationship. 

Newlyweds talk about their spouses in glowing terms to anyone who will listen.  Most people who have been married for a lifetime don't shout their love from the rooftops, yet it exists deeply in their hearts.  What does this tell us about relationships, and how does this impact marketing?

Think about your marketing efforts.  Where is your loyalty play?  How do you encourage WOM among a loyal and familiar audience?  Is it possible to have your cake (loyalty) and eat it to (gain WOM from this group in an ongoing manner)?

Can brands deliver sustainable WOW?  Can a relationship become one of enamor, respect or awe in a sustainable fashion?  Can a brand constantly over-deliver, constantly WOW the customer, without the WOW become a yawn?  Sure, you can refresh your creative, but can a relationship built on WOW alone be sustainable?

Or is a sustainable relationship about initial WOW and consistent follow through on every occasional WOW moment - that special night out, that amazing vacation, that special gift just because?

Kudos to Brandon Schauer for bringing up the subject in the beautiful presentation embedded below (after the jump). For a quick summary, check out Whitney's bullet list.

http://jburg.typepad.com/future/2008/05/rinse-and-repea.html

John Burg Futrure Visions

Most loving relationships kick off with a WOW phase.

20 years of marriage later, the WOW is now deeper, more real, more permanent.  But it isn't the viral "tell all my friends about him/her" WOW of infatuation, it is the deeply embedded wow of a meaningful relationship. 

Newlyweds talk about their spouses in glowing terms to anyone who will listen.  Most people who have been married for a lifetime don't shout their love from the rooftops, yet it exists deeply in their hearts.  What does this tell us about relationships, and how does this impact marketing?

Think about your marketing efforts.  Where is your loyalty play?  How do you encourage WOM among a loyal and familiar audience?  Is it possible to have your cake (loyalty) and eat it to (gain WOM from this group in an ongoing manner)?

Can brands deliver sustainable WOW?  Can a relationship become one of enamor, respect or awe in a sustainable fashion?  Can a brand constantly over-deliver, constantly WOW the customer, without the WOW become a yawn?  Sure, you can refresh your creative, but can a relationship built on WOW alone be sustainable?

Or is a sustainable relationship about initial WOW and consistent follow through on every occasional WOW moment - that special night out, that amazing vacation, that special gift just because?

Kudos to Brandon Schauer for bringing up the subject in the beautiful presentation embedded below (after the jump). For a quick summary, check out Whitney's bullet list.

http://jburg.typepad.com/future/2008/05/rinse-and-repea.html

What the FTC's New Rules Mean To You

By Ken Magill
The Federal Trade Commission yesterday issued new rules under the Can Spam Act.

For the most part, they don’t have earth-shattering impact on permission-based marketers. And where they do affect marketers, it is mostly positive.

Click here for more. directmag.com/magill/0513-new-ftc-rules/

Seven Ways to Make E-Marketing Work in a Tough Economy

By Guy Maser

E-Commerce Times

A troublesome economy frequently brings with it more marketing obstacles; however, marketers should embrace the opportunities the period presents to introduce changes to more efficiently deliver ROI, advises GlobalSpec's Guy Maser.

High Performance, Low Cost Solutions for eCommerce
Surviving and thriving in today's competitive online retailing world is not getting easier. This white paper provides insight on technology that scales eCommerce applications to support more advanced end-user functionality and a rapidly growing user base.

In a challenging economy, you must find new ways to make marketing work more effectively, get more out of marketing investments, and measure and account for marketing decisions. In short, you must make changes.

Doing the same things in an uncertain economic environment and expecting the same results is, at worst, a definition of marketing insanity. At best, it is a flawed strategy.

How can your company be one of those success stories that market and grow their business during challenging economic times? The following strategies will help you allocate marketing investments to better performing programs that will carry your company through the economic downturn and beyond.

1. Get Targeted

A fundamental but sometimes overlooked marketing tenet is to "fish where the fish are." In other words, invest in those specific, targeted media where you know your customers and prospects will be exposed to your message. Research shows that virtually all engineering, technical and industrial professionals now use the Internet throughout their work process.

The same holds true in most business-to-business markets. However, the Internet is vast, and the fish you are looking for may be using specific Web sites where the content is directly related to their information needs. Work with your media partners to identify and target those sites.

2. Measure Performance

While it's always the right time to purge marketing programs that don't perform, it may be time to scale back any marketing plans whose results you can't measure or are unsure about.

In other words, reallocate and "right-size" marketing budgets to measurable programs. Online programs -- which are built around delivering visibility, impressions, clicks, leads and customers -- are easy to measure.

3. Think Integration

Integrated marketing means your marketing strategy takes advantage of multiple media, resources and customer touch points to create a whole that's greater and more effective than the sum of its parts.

The more that marketing efforts are integrated and comprehensive, the greater impact you can achieve in gaining visibility in your market, qualified leads and sales.

4. Maintain Frequency and Consistency

The benefits of regular visibility in the market tend to compound over time as more prospects recognize your company. This improves your opportunity to get on a prospect's short list of potential vendors and also shortens the sales cycle.

A consistent online presence where your customers and prospects are looking for information -- including Web sites, directories, search engines and e-newsletters -- will help your company stay visible as well as provide measurable lead generation benefits via online contact.

5. Push and Pull Your Way to Success

Most marketing can be classified as either push or pull: companies push their message out through tactics such as direct mail, advertisements and e-newsletters; and they also establish a presence in online directories, Web sites and search engines to pull customers in real-time when prospects are searching for information, products and services like those your company offers.

Rather than struggling over whether to allocate resources to push or pull marketing, seek out a media partner that has your target audience captive and can offer both push and pull programs under an integrated program.

6. Focus on Quality Over Quantity

If marketing efforts focus solely on quantity over quality, fewer leads will convert, more sales resources will be wasted, and sales people will begin to distrust marketing's lead generation programs.

Commit to programs where quality is a key attribute: programs that can deliver interested prospects, provide prospect contact information, and offer reports of program performance .

7. Seek Assistance From Media Partners

The economy is likely forcing you to make harder and smarter decisions about allocating budgets. While you may be facing challenges, you don't have to face them alone. Ask media partners to demonstrate how their marketing solutions help your company achieve the strategies mentioned above.

Ask them:

• Do they have your target audience's attention?
• Can they keep your company visible to prospects and customers at all times?
• Do they offer a variety of integrated marketing solutions aligned with your goals?
• Can they provide both visibility and lead generation?
• Do they deliver targeted, quality leads with full contact information?
• Do they provide reports you can use to measure the performance of your marketing and justify your marketing investments?

During challenging times or when thing are going well, industrial marketers need to clarify goals and create a tailored, integrated marketing solution that complements your current media mix and extends your company's ability to compete and win business in the market.

Utilize a wide range of e-media advertising and marketing solutions. Consider keyword ads, e-mail marketing, searchable product catalogs, banner ad networks and industry-leading e-newsletter advertisements. Figure out the right combination, and you will deliver the right message at the right time to the right audience and integrate with your traditional marketing efforts.

E-mail is Like Crack for Marketers: Forrester

Magilla Marketing

Though all the talk in e-mail marketing circles is about creating relationships with customers and delivering relevant messages, most bulk e-mailers treat their lists like crack addicts, according to a new report from Forrester Research’s Julie Katz.

They keep going back for more no matter how self-destructive their behavior can be.

Of course, the first step to a cure is admitting there’s a problem.

Click here for more. directmag.com/magill/0429-email-addiction-marketers/

Mobile Social Networks To See Sky High Ad Revenues By 2012?

mashable.com

If you were to believe mobile social networks about their advertising predictions, they will by 2012 be raking in between $28 to $52 billion dollars in ad revenue. Given that normal online ad revenue only broke $27 billion for the first time in 2007, and with predicted drops in ad budgets due to the economic recession, the mobile predictions seem a bit hard to swallow.

Colin Gibbs of RCRWirelessNews brings us these predictions from Informa Telecoms & Media, and they may seem outrageous. They do to me, anyhow. Traditional online topped $27 billion globally with devices (PCs) people are more accustomed. But mobile is something that is still in a state of relative infancy in a large portion of the world. Yes, mobile handsets are everywhere, but how many places use them beyond their phone features on a regular basis? Japan is well known for their tendency to do everything from their handsets, but in countries such as the United States, you might see us doing simple checks for sports scores or the weather; intensive, fully- interactive browsing is not quite the norm. Yet.

The iPhone has changed this somewhat, and with the 3G model expected to launch soon, people may spend a bit more time doing things from their mobiles. But I have to posit a question: Will it be checking their pre-existing accounts on sites like Facebook? Or will it be going to mobile-only sites such as Buzzd? While Informa says the whole lot will boom, I think the picture is a little more complex.

Mobile networks are going to have some successes, but my feeling is that there will be fewer in operation than the current litany of traditional social networks housed in full-sized browsers. That isn’t to say some crossover will not occur. A social network that is on both the computer and the phone will of course be significantly more successful due to their ability to connect people to their one source of social information. If I’m sitting at the computer already, why should I pick up my phone to converse with friends or track their activities? Naturally, the computer, whether it be a desktop or laptop, is where I will offer my focus. However, if I’m on the go, it certainly is nice convenience to be able to check in with a site I routinely use when at my main Internet terminal.

So, for the next few years, networks with primarily desktop-based sites will logically receive a good amount of additional revenue as they release and regularly enhance feature-rich mobile applications to complement main operations. Mobile-only services may have a harder go at success. Yes, Twitter and a number of other services have grown largely due to mobile usage. But they’re still very much rooted in the traditional full-fledged browser environment. Only if they bridge that gap will the torrent of users (and, subsequently, billions of dollars) pour in.

(Image source: Mobilevenue.co.uk)

'Permission Email' Appreciated, but a Good Chunk Ends up Junked

58 percent of consumers say email is a great way for companies to stay in touch (up from 45 percent a year ago), but only...