Marketing Wrap-up: Week of December 23, 2011

Before you all rush home to your friends and family, here is one last post to sum up the week in links. Keeping it short and sweet; Merry Christmas and to all, a happy new year.

 

1. Yule want to try this – Xmas tips for marketers by our very own Senior Creative Designer Elliot Ross. The Drum

2. 11 things Santa won’t bring you this year … You won’t be too disappointed. Econsultancy

3. If you’re like me, this might come in handy: 22+ last-minute gifts you can send via email Mashable

4. 5 ways to generate sales leads with mobile Mashable

5. ICO updated guidance on cookies: DMA, ICO, Smart Insights

6. 6 E-CRM trends to consider for 2012 planning Smart Insights

7. It takes more than a loyalty scheme to keep hold of your consumers: Loyalty schemes don’t create loyal consumers, says Ipsos MORI Econsultancy

8. Infographic -> The anatomy of a perfect landing page Formstack

9. Email is more popular than beer... and other fun facts from Email Marketing Reports

10. Is batch and blast such a bad thing? The Future is not one to one ClickZ

 

Let us know your favorite articles from this week.

 

Millie Bartlett, Marketing Coordinator, e-Dialog UK

 

Getting to the Point at Point of Sale

At this time of year, with consumers heading into the mall for some serious shopping, retailers are looking to capitalize on that warm body in-store by promoting their online programs and collecting email addresses at the register. This can be a good idea, if it is well-planned and well-executed. Handled the wrong way, it may not even be worth doing. You must keep in mind upfront costs, backend costs, and the true value of the resulting email address.

Retailers will often give an incentive on the spot to entice customers to provide an email address at checkout, like $5 off their purchase. This makes sense, since the $5 in this example to acquire a valid email address is a good value in the long run. But depending on how you actually collect that email address, you might be throwing $5 out the window. For instance, using a guest book where the shopper scrawls the email in the midst of their rush to complete the purchase and not hold up the line of people behind them is probably not the best approach. It leaves too much room for human error when the customer is filling out the form, or when it is entered into your CRM system at the end of the night - particularly since a lot of people's handwriting is less than legible these days. A better method is when the cashier enters the email directly into your POS system, confirming the address back to the consumer as they enter it.

Even better, think about how and when the incentive is delivered. To increase the chances of getting a valid email address, structure the program so that the incentive is delivered via email, to be used on the next visit. This is also a perfect opportunity to ask for a confirmed opt-in (i.e., "To get your coupon and to receive marketing messages click here"). While confirmed opt-in may sound scary, it validates the email address and interest of your customer to participate in your online marketing. More importantly, it effectively eliminates any possibility of hitting spam traps, which are often part of the backend costs of POS acquisition programs.

Building incentives for your customers is only half of the equation. How you motivate your employees is equally important. Don't build programs based on total number of email addresses collected each shift. Your employees can easily be tempted to make their quota by fabricating addresses, some of which might actually belong to a real person who will flag your email as spam, or have now been made into spam traps by an ISP. Employee incentives should only be based on the number of deliverable and confirmed email addresses collected.

Offering an incentive to customers or employees comes at a cost, which you can estimate up front based on your acquisition goals. But there are other costs to keep in mind. One is data auditing. You'll want to make sure you catch common errors in addresses like misspelled domains or missing dots in dotcom. An easy way to do this with online data collection is to add a real-time validator to your enrollment applications. This is easy to do and usually not very expensive. This will not only make corrections on they fly, but it can also be configured to catch your current customers who are already in your system.

Another hidden cost to consider is the time spent in the checkout process overall. Depending on how time-consuming it is to collect email addresses, it could mean fewer transactions per hour, and some shoppers might even abandon their purchase if the line doesn't move quickly enough. So be sure to train employees well, and perhaps set guidelines to keep the line moving.

Once the email address has been added to your database, the work is not done. Don't add these new addresses to your latest promotional message stream right away. It is important to nurture the new subscribers and keep them engaged past the holiday in order to make the acquisition efforts worthwhile. So make sure the first email you send delivers the incentive you promised, but also sells your email program. Outline that the reward they just received for signing up is only the first of many great things coming their way. If you can do that, hopefully that first point of sale won't be the last.

 

Rick Buck, vice president of Privacy and ISP relations, e-Dialog, @eDialogRick

 

This post was originally published by ClickZ.

 

Do Consumers Value Your Marketing As Much As Your Product?

For digital marketers, the answer to the title question needs to be yes, otherwise you'll never even get a chance to market your product. Selling your marketing is the essential first step if you're using email marketing, SMS, and social media marketing to market your product or services. To find out what drives consumers to take that essential opt-in action, e-Dialog surveyed 3,500 people in the US, UK, China and Japan.

 

Overwhelmingly, consumers said they gave permission to be marketed to because they received something of value in exchange. That includes promotions or discounts, but also exclusive brand information, like product announcements, or lifestyle information, like recipes. The chart below shows that 25% of US consumers opted-in to email based on special offers, and 18% did so because the brand related to their lifestyle or interests. To me, that shows the benefit of a well-rounded email marketing program that features promotions, but also includes editorial content or newsletters. 

 

 

For social, the motivation is similar. Top of the list is special offers or discounts, but the other top reasons include new product updates, valuable news and information, and just to keep up with what the company is doing. So obviously, your social media fans are already pretty engaged with your brand and are looking for more info than can be found in other channels. So don't be afraid of oversharing with this group. Give them a peek behind the curtain and they will thank you for it. 

 

 

For SMS, again, offers and discounts were the primary reason for opting in for US consumers. However, they were also swayed by cold, hard cash! Sweepstakes entries, charitable donations, and a recommendation from a friend were also motivators for SMS opt-in. Overall, consumers were much more selective about how many brands they give their mobile number to, mainly for two reasons. One, most consumers in the US pay for SMS messages, and two, the mobile phone is a much more personal device. 

For a closer look at these charts and access more data on what drives email, social and SMS opt-ins, visit www.e-Dialog.com/DecipheringAcquisition to download the full report, check out our infographic, or view a webinar about the research results and the ten steps marketers can take to increase their customer acquisition. 

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications specialist,

e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz

 

First-Hand Proof One Channel Isn't Enough!

I’ve taken up skiing in the last couple of years, and needed to get out of rentals into a set of my own.  Before the season starts I’ve been doing my homework/research which has involved:

l Talking to friends about what they like and what they recommend for me
 

l Researching and reading numerous ski reviews online
 

l Visiting many different vendor websites, both manufacturers (Atomic, Rossignol, etc…) and resellers (rei.com, skis.com, skichalet.com, ebay.com, etc…) alike
 

l Searching YouTube for video ski reviews (many of which are published by skis.com)

l Visiting 2 ski shops in NH and MA to hear firsthand what the “experts” recommend 

After a few weeks I finally pulled the trigger and purchased new skis/bindings from skis.com.  The buying path was a combination of everything above, but there were two things skis.com did that their competition didn’t which made the difference. They re-targeted me via web ads and re-targeted me frequently, and also had video content/reviews of their products available on their website and on YouTube. I very rarely click on any web ads as I’m typically disinterested in what they have to say. In fact, I can’t recall any that I’ve seen recently except for skis.com.  Skis were on my mind, so when casually browsing the web I couldn’t help but look over, click, and do some more research. They custom publish a couple skis I’ve looked at specifically, and a couple others I haven’t viewed to try and gain interest.

 

The video reviews were fantastic as well. Employees were giving their opinions and made mistakes in the videos (what ski was this again?). The videos were shot on mountain with a no-frills approach right after the demo was complete. I trusted them as unbiased opinions.

 

My only issue – I purchased a few weeks ago and they keep re-targeting me with ski promotions which have now become irrelevant. They know I bought skis/bindings, why not re-target boots/poles/clothing/goggles/etc…?

They got me – but there is room for improvement. 

During the entire research/buying process I didn’t sign up for any email newsletters (blasphemy, I know.) The only way they were going to get me was through the web.

When I did finally purchase, I created an account and signed up for email, and they are targeting other products very well in my inbox.

Being primarily an email guy, this is first-hand proof an integrated customer engagement marketing strategy across mediums is necessary to target your customers appropriately.

 

Jared Chase, client services lead, e-Dialog

Recruiting Facebook Fans Via Email

Many brands are harnessing the interactive power of Facebook to build relationships. To increase exposure to their Facebook page, they are using their email list to promote the benefits of joining other fans on Facebook. 

Bob Evans, a restaurant chain with locations in the southeast, prominently promotes email sign up on their website, and also promotes Facebook to their email subscribers. This example is pretty light on the reasons why you might want to like them on Facebook. It just mentions promotions and offers. On a creative note, I have no idea why the blue box is there. It shows up in the hosted version as well. It is pretty much the same size as the above the fold area, so perhaps this was from a proof and wasn't removed before the message was deployed. 

 

 

The next example is from Driscoll's Berries. You might wonder why a berry company even has an email program or a Facebook page, but I think Driscoll's does a nice job of creating content, such as recipes, and coupons that drive people to remember the brand when they are in the supermarket. I like this example highlighting their Facebook page because it does give some info on what people can find, implying that you can get even more content than you get via email. I also like to inclusion of the upcoming Facebook event talking about how to use berries in recipes for frozen pops. Design-wise, I like the Find us on Facebook button in the header. It makes it really easy to take action. 

 

 

 

 

The third example is from New Balance, a sneaker company. They keep it simple, but point out that you can get exclusive content and access to contests on their Facebook page. I love the creative, using the shoelace to spell out "like us!" but I wonder if some people had a hard time seeing it at first.

 

 

 

Finally, this example from Rite Aid, which doesn't specifically ask for a follow, but instead promotes excusive coupons and when they will be going live. Coupons are big on Facebook right now, so this is a smart strategy to get people to follow your page. 

 

 

What do you think of these examples? Do you think it's better to use email to drive traffic to Facebook, use Facebook to build your email list, or use both equally?

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications specialist, e-Dialog

Holiday Preparedness: Four Ways to Be Sure Your Messages Make It to the Inbox

The lazy days of summer are behind us, and before we know it, we will be knee-deep in the holiday season. Hopefully, you've already developed your messaging strategy and schedule for Q4, but don't forget about steps you need to take to ensure those messages actually make it to consumers' inboxes. Just as you clean house for visiting relatives and decorate to get into the holiday spirit, do some housekeeping in your email database.

Your main objective should be to start the holiday season with the cleanest list possible. There are several ways to do this. First, take a look at your inactive subscribers. Target those who were at one time valuable to you and send them a reengagement message. Remember, it's OK to incent them with a little brand love if they confirm their opt-in status. Another segment to consider is the group of people that were active last December, but then went dark. They are likely to be your holiday deal hunters and shoppers. Send a message to them letting them know you are about to start your holiday messaging and ask them to reconfirm whether or not they want to hear from you again this year. Be specific and point out the benefits of your email program, like Black Friday previews or free shipping offers.

Second, be transparent about frequency changes. It's not uncommon for once-a-week mailers to become daily mailers during the holiday season. Consumers (and ISPs) are generally forgiving about increased frequency during the holidays, but if possible, offer subscribers options. Ask them to update their frequency preferences, and offer daily or weekly emails. Also, update your unsubscribe page with options for frequency. Letting recipients choose a decreased frequency rather than unsubscribing all together has been a very successful tactic. Plus, it can keep your spam complaints down. Another creative way to increase frequency while keeping engagement high is to develop a triggered series, based on something like the 12 days of Christmas, or top 10 trendy gifts.

Third, remove or correct erroneous data from your list. This is the right time of the year to put your list through a hygiene service to remove typos and known traps, or to correct syntax errors and other troublesome data on your list. Many retailers, for example, rely on POS to generate new email addresses. There will be an enormous uptick in store traffic and new email addresses over the next few weeks. These names are more susceptible to typos or related errors, which potentially translate to hard bounces, spam traps, or complaints. New names collected manually at the register or electronically online can also be made hygienic in real- or right-time to ensure their legitimacy and deliverability. Programs like these are typically cost effective and easy to do.

Fourth, ask active subscribers to update their shopping preferences. A lot can change in a year. Maybe grandma has moved from Boston to Miami and no longer needs those emails about the best down comforters. A child who wanted nothing but Spiderman gear last Christmas may have switched his loyalty to Superman. Ask your customers if they would prefer a mobile version of your email. This year, smartphones will be a key tool in holiday shopping, and being able to access your deal or coupon via email will make things easier for shoppers.

Rejuvenating lost email addresses, correcting bad addresses, and knowing your customers' preferences can really boost revenue in a major way. It's time to clean the house for the holidays and, throw away the five-year-old fruit cakes while you're at it.

 

Rick Buck, vice president, deliverability and ISP relations, e-Dialog

 

This article was originally published by ClickZ. 

 

Break The Mold--Think BEYOND "Above The Fold"

As we rate and review clients’ acquisition score cards, we preach the good word on moving email enrollment to a prominent spot above the fold on the website, but is that really the best that we can do? To be fair, ecommerce teams do put up a solid argument to occupy that same real estate with more customer-centric site search or social plugins. So what now? Does email sign up get demoted to the footer? Or maybe for the adventurous, a test homepage kicker? I think not--and neither does Neiman Marcus.

I’ve been paying close attention to their recent beta site re-launch, Facebook chatter about the release and supporting emails sharing, “we heard you, check out the enhancements, and continue to tell us more.” This retailer is clearly focused on a path of self-improvement and using the “customer voice” to catalyze change (thanks ForeSee or Bizrate)…or just doing a great job at socializing that the NM customer experience is top of mind.

To support these changes,  Neiman Marcus is testing or has launched a very smart email acquisition strategy and it’s directly on the product page--a pop up!

 

Why is this so great?  This is the synergy of 2 very successful acquisition tactics at play.

1) Pop Up

In testing opt-in strategies for a multi-channel retailer, this strategy yielded a 3X increase in email opt-ins during a 30-day test. Also, a pop up doesn’t deter the customer from a specific product page. A customer’s site experience is unaffected if they choose to X out.

2) Product Detail Targeting

Asking for email centimeters away from an exclusive product that a customer is browsing. You get them right where you want them: looking at YOUR content!

 

Now to optimize this, add some flash to the call to action/sprinkle in an offer and voila: Asking a customer to share a crucial piece of information can bridge the gap between browse and buy!

 

If not now-then make an offer later down the line. At that point, if you know the exact product that drove the email sign up, why not serve up a welcome offer with this specific browsed product & toss in free shipping to sweeten the deal!

Moral of the story….as retailers become more aggressive, customers become savvier, and the inbox continues to crowd—what will your brand do to stand out and get the opt in?   

 

Anna McCarthy, Strategy, Client Services, e-Dialog

Returns & Exchanges: Multi-channel Is Key To Email Acquisition

One conversation that never ceases to exist is the one around email acquisition.  e-Dialog and our clients work very hard to retain subscribers, but the reality is that marketers need to make sure they are "filling the funnel" when it comes to keeping their email database healthy.  Unfortunately, email databases are not growing at the rate that they once were, and growing the database needs to be top of mind.  Take a look at Forrester's Customer Online Survey from 2009 - the second biggest challenge that marketers anticipated they would face over the next two years was finding new email subscribers:

 

And, boy were they right!  The typical acquisition methods (site email sign up, partnerships, etc.) still work, but not with the same effectiveness at which they once did.  Retailers need to start thinking about using other channels to acquire email addresses. And, while this may seem counter-intuitive, by leveraging these other channels, it actually allows us to create the "omni-channel" customer that marketers covet.  Need some cross-channel acquisition ideas?  You've come to the right place...

1. 1. Text to Opt In: Leverage the widespread adoption of mobile devices and prompt mobile enrollment into the email program in the store, via TV ads, sweepstakes, etc.
2. 
   
3. 2. Point of Sale: For retailers with a brick & mortar presence, collect email addresses using the pin pad technology (preferred), email receipts, or ballot boxes.  These people are already in your store - they will prove to be your best customers!
4. 
   
5. 3. Social Networks: Include an opt-in form on Facebook pages.  Additionally, periodically ‘tweet’ or ‘post’ about benefits of email program and drive the user to enroll.
6. 
   
7. 4. Print Pieces: Leverage your direct mail program or weekly circular to tell the world about your email program!  This can be done via a friendly URL or a QR code that uncovers a link to your enrollment page.
8. 
   

Of course, the above cross-channel acquisition methods will only work if you make sure you are telling your potential subscribers WHY they should start getting your emails.  How are you different from everyone else?  Will I get coupons? Advance notice? Insider info? A birthday gift?  Make sure you shout what makes your program special from the rooftops. 

 

And, once a person comes in to your database, tag their source so you can determine the value of your various acquisition vehicles.  While we all love quantity, we need to make sure the quality of the leads justify the dollars you are spending to get these subscribers in the door.

 

Finally, make sure you are sending your new subscriber a welcome message (or better yet, an entire welcome sequence!).  Even though they are coming from another channel, make the first touch as immediate as possible.  By doing this, you will start the relationship off on the right foot and help with your retention goals.

 

For marketers struggling with acquisition, they should always think to themselves, where else can I put my email enrollment link?  Hopefully the ideas noted above will help you reach your new subscriber goals and pushes acquisition down at least a couple notches on your "marketing challenges" list.  I would love to hear of some other channels you have used successfully for your email acquisition!

 

Elisa Kleniewski, e-Dialog

Returns and Exchanges: Dylan's Candy Bar Satisfies Their Craving For Data

Have you ever attempted to enroll in an email program and felt like you were applying for a home mortgage?

 

Retailers often struggle with how much information to require on email acquisition forms.  The online format is much different than in-store collection efforts in that the customer can spend twice as long providing information without negatively impacting any other customers or point of sale workflow.  While data about the customer will allow for more relevant messages, abandonment of the form altogether is a valid concern. 

 

Many retailers approach this issue by capturing the bare minimum up front (email address) with the goal of capturing more detailed profile information as the relationship between the brand and consumer matures.  This approach is ideal for those customers who may be hesitant to share profile information with a company they may not be as familiar with or does not see the up-front value of providing their location, birthday, or other details.  

 

Some retailers ask for additional profile information within their welcome sequence or even as ad hoc campaigns.  More and more retailers are adding data driven content to campaigns and simultaneously recognize the importance of a complete and up to date profile.

 

Piperlime and Sephora are two retail brands that have put forth a consistent effort for capturing additional profile information. Sephora’s “Beauty Insider” is a campaign that deploys at least once a week from the beauty brand and periodically reminds users if their profile information is incomplete.

 

 

 

Piperlime has an ‘update preferences’ callout in the footer of their email template which is utilized in most campaigns. 

 

 

 

Both tactics above are ongoing efforts for consistent profile accuracy and simultaneously empower the customer to control their relationship with the brand.  Recently, Dylan’s Candy Bar deployed a dedicated ‘request for information’ campaign.  The email itself was relatively simple in design but has a few great elements that stood out to me:

 

Headlining message: “Let us serve you better!”  Even if your campaigns result in an open, users will likely either take action or hit ‘delete’/’next’ within about three seconds.  The 'What’s in it for me?' question is addressed up front in this headlining call to action.

 

Transparency:  Dylan’s Candy Bar is up front with their intentions when requesting data.  Their motive for adding a user’s zip code to their profile is to improve online service for those who don’t live near a physical store.  This is a great tactic for retailers who have only a few retail locations and also sets up the database for Grand Opening campaigns or local communication when possible.

 

Offer:  Dylan’s Candy Bar will grant all users who add their zip code a free product with their next online order.  This is a twofold win on each end as each customer will get more relevant campaigns and a free product and Dylan's Candy Bar will get more data and potential for an online sale. 

 

Brand enhancement: The personalized format and sincere nature of the message does nothing but positive things for their brand image. 

 

Dylan's Candy Bar deployed a message which was simplistic in nature but works toward the goal of adding value to the customer on a data level. 

Have you as a customer been hesitant to offer profile information?  Which tactics have you seen that are most customer-friendly but also provide brands with data they need to send relevant messages?

 

Julianne Manoogian, program manager, e-Dialog

 

 

 

Is Your Email Address Worth an Invite to Spotify?

Our UK counterparts have been enjoying it for a while now, but the Spotify music service has finally launched in the US.  With the launch, early invites are being given out by marketers in exchange for an email address, like this offer from Coke. Click the image to view the full offer.

Generally when promotions like these happen, the user experience can go one of two ways.

 

Some people will avoid giving up the email adress entirely because they think they’ll get tons of third party email and it’s not clear what giving up their email address really means.  How respectful will that company will be with their email address?  To this type of user, the value of the invite does not offset the hassle of having their inbox flooded with mail they never wanted to begin with. The reverse may also happen, a user signs up immediately, without reading the unnecessarily long terms.  A  few days later, they begin to receive all the messages they ‘signed up’ for and begin regretting their decision. 

 

Kudos to Coke and Spotify for not burying the terms of the offer in 10 pages of white copy that 99% of us will never read. They have clearly laid out what the user can expect, i. e. messages from Coke, and messages from Spotify, that’s it. 

 

I highly suggest embracing this straightforward approach on signup pages. Be honest about what people are really signing up for.  By not burying it, or adding countless pre-checked boxes, your customers will appreciate it, new users will be more apt to sign up, (with their real address) and it will result in more long-term success for both that campaign and more importantly, future ones.

 

Now if you still don’t trust them and want to see if they hold true to their promise, give a tagged email address (if your email provider supports it) and see what they really do with it. :-)

 

<youremail>+spotify@gmail.com

 

http://www.spotify.com/us/coca-cola/

 

Jay Brangiforte, senior deliverability operations manager, e-Dialog

Coach Uses SMS for Email Acquisition

My favorite handbag designer Coach is making use of SMS to engage shoppers and build their email database.

Recently I was shopping at a Coach Factory Store when I was approached by a saleswoman. She told me about the promotion: Text the word SWEEPS to 90822 for the chance to win a $500 gift card. Hot pink signs with a call-to-action were also placed throughout the store.

Who wouldn’t want a free Coach bag? So while in the store, I took a few seconds and sent my text. Right away I received this message: Pls reply w/your email address to enter Coach sweepstakes & join our email list. Terms: factorysweeps.coach.com. Msg&Data rates may apply.

Once I sent my email address, I received a message thanking me for entering the contest and joining their email list.

A win-win for Coach! They’re now able to reach consumers who entered by using SMS or email for future communications.

According to Neilson, advertisers and marketers have been ramping up SMS marketing since texting is immensely popular in the U.S.

"The text-message audience is there, it's now up to marketers to create a reason that consumers would want to relate to them through such a personal and immediate medium,” said Nic Covey, Chicago-based director of insights for Nielsen.

Coach gets it by giving their customers a chance to win $500.

Other SMS campaigns that I’ve participated in include Steve Madden, Best Buy and New York & Company.

Have you seen any SMS promotions at your favorite stores? If so, I would love to see them! 

 

Melissa McClay, campaign specialist, e-Dialog

Gap's Say Your Price: Email Acquisition in Disguise?

Have you heard of Gap's latest promotion? They offer you a selection of items, you tell them how much you would pay, and you get to offer and counter offer until you come to a mutually agreeable price. Kind of like Priceline, but for clothes! 

 

This is an interesting concept, because it ties in to the excitement of an auction and the idea of wanting to "win" the negotiation. It makes shopping into a game. They even thank you for playing once you've won your deal. Once you agree on a price, you can print the coupon, or enter your email address to receive a coupon that is redeemable in store. You can share the coupon with friends, and it is valid for two weeks.

 

 

They also include a list of winners, so you can see how much of a sucker other people were in not getting the item for the cheapest possible price. But seriously, it does give bidders an idea of how much they might purchase the item for.

 

 

I think the Gap was very smart to include an email coupon option. While it's not technically an opt-in to email, they could follow up with an email asking if they customer was able to print the coupon and use it, and perhaps ask for a review of the item on their website, while also encouraging an opt in to their email marketing program.

 

It's getting harder and harder to acquire customers for direct marketing, so using every opportunity to request an email address is a necessity. What do you think of this campaign as an email acquisition tool?

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate, e-Dialog 

The Art of Email: Our New Series

In 2010, we analyzed email campaigns from four amusement parks across the country. This year, we're looking at the email marketing efforts of four major museums: The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, The Art Institute of Chicago, and The Getty Museum in Los Angeles. 

 

Of course, the first step is to register for email from these four organizations, and the experience varied widely. This first site I visited was the MoMA. The site itself has several large content areas but at first glance, it's not easy to figure out how to sign up for email. Only when I scrolled down did I see a link for e-news, next to the social media icons. Once I clicked through, the form was very simple, asking for my email address, first name, last name and zip code. They offer a choice of 11 different newsletters including a monthly overview, family programs, and online store news, and include a short description of each. I also liked that they clearly stated they do not share or sell my information and included a link to their privacy policy. They also sent a welcome message very quickly, a best practice no matter the industry.  

 

The next museum site I visited was the Museum of Fine Arts. Again, like MoMA, the MFA uses the majority of the screen space for video promoting current exhibits. However, unlike MoMA, the MFA has a top navigation bar with a link titled "Connect with us." Once you click on that link, it expands within the header and provides icons for email and social channels.

 

When you click on the envelope icon, it takes you to their email registration page. It requires first, last, city, zip, country and email address. Postal address is optional. They also include a link to their privacy policy. 

 

Once you submit, a welcome message is sent immediately, which provides a link to a preference center. Instead of offering specific newsletters, like MoMA, the MFA asks you to select from a list of attributes about who you are (a student, a museum member, an educator), what interests you (art in the collection, events, lectures), and what group communications (community programs, MFA fund), you want to hear about. 

 

 

The next museum I checked out was the Art Institute of Chicago. I loved that the site had a large box at the lower right specifically for email sign up. 

 

Again, I got a welcome message in a pretty timely manner, and it nicely laid out expectations for frequency (the end of every month) and content, included whitelisting information, a link to my profile and preference center, a request to spread the word with friends, and finally links to a couple of videos that can help when planning a visit to the museum!

 

 

Finally, I visited the web site for the Getty Museum to check out their email signup options. The Getty has a link in their top navigation called "Connect with Us" which opens a pop up with options including Flickr, their blog, YouTube, email and more. Their e-newsletters page was set up differently than the others I looked at. They have a separate sign up for each newsletter, and there are 7 of them, including exhibitions and events, one for educators, and one about books. One nice touch is linking to the current issue of each, as well as past issues, so you can get an idea of which ones you want to subscribe to. 

 

One thing the Getty did differently from the other museums was to use a double opt-in method. Once I submitted my info, the web site told me I would need to confirm, and I got a message right away asking me to confirm my subscription by replying to their email. That's fine, but after I confirmed, I got back a blank email with the subject line "Re: e-newsletter." If you're going to use double opt-in, make sure you actually confirm the subscription. 

 

Stay tuned for my next installment which will cover the various emails received for the month of April!

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate, e-Dialog

Coming Soon to a Phone Near You: QR Codes

Quick response, or QR, codes are popping up many places – in store windows, magazines and even in e-mails.  Jimmy Fallon recently used one on his TV show to promote a band, and New York City is adding them to building permits. These codes are read by scanning them with a code reader (available via download for smartphones). In our increasingly mobile world, QR codes are poised to become a ubiquitous way to provide a multichannel customer experience.

A recent e-mail sent by the Canadian retailer, Dynamite, included a banner announcing a contest that could be entered by scanning the QR code:

  

Once scanned, a mobile-friendly landing page with video content launched:

 

The contest entry, exclusive video content, and social sharing aspects are all geared toward a fun, cool, brand-building experience.  All of these factors are perfect for targeting the company’s prime demographic: young teenage girls.

If your company has a mobile-commerce site, links to purchase products should also be included on the landing page.

Another great e-mail-related application is the use of QR codes for acquisition initiatives.  It is possible to link your QR code to an e-mail sign-up form where customers can enter their e-mail addresses and become a part of your subscription list.  This tactic works best in print materials or in physical locations (like POS).  It is great way to integrate the online and offline experiences.  As we march toward multichannel marketing, the customers who signed up via QR code scanning or who have scanned QR codes in your e-mails may become the core audience for your mobile marketing/SMS strategy!

 

What's your experience with QR codes? I'd love to hear your thoughts on how they will be used going forward.

 

Lauren Pizzi, program manager, e-Dialog

 

Facebook Fan Pages & E-mail Acquisition

The topic of e-mail acquisition in the social media space is one that is top of mind for a lot of marketers. The social space is a fabulous place to engage with your brand's fans and leverage that “fanship” and extend it to the e-mail channel. There is absolutely no reason not to collect e-mail addresses from your fans. It should be a prominent fixture on your fan page, as well as something you promote in your stream.

 

Recently, a friend of mine “liked” a brand called MiO on Facebook. I personally value this friend's opinion and when this “like” showed up in my news feed I clicked on the link to check it out and was instantly intrigued. See below for the why.

 

Overview of MiO:

 

The company is new and its product of liquid flavoring for water isn’t on the market yet. This company is doing a grass roots marketing promotion, and I hadn’t heard of it before. The draw was the first 100,000 fans/likes who signed up would receive a free sample before it hit shelves in late March. Hmm, a chance to try something before others is kinda cool. I dig it.  Plus they played on the song “100,000 bottles on the wall” which I think is cute.

 

So obviously, to send a free sample to me, they need to collect some information. Makes sense. But the FIRST piece of data they collected was, you guessed it, my e-mail address. Very clever on their part – usually this field is part of the postal address details and can be left blank.

 

Page one for “Free Sample” Give us a Try! e-mail collection page:

 

 

Page two is to collect my postal details and gives me the option to select to receive e-mail communications. One caution-this opt in form states I am opting in to "e-mail communications such as recipes, access to offers, and product samples from Kraft and/or its portfolio of brands." which is pretty broad, and could turn people off. Kraft has a lot of brands! I think keeping it simple and opting in to just one brand or product's messaging is the better choice in most cases.

 

 

 

Page Three – Done! With CTA to Share this with your Facebook friends AND to Invite your Facebook friends to the party. Nothing ground breaking here BUT remembering to include easy sharing options is key if you want to take advantage of the word-of-mouth power of social media.

 

 

Page Four & Five: Actual sharing on Facebook Wall and/or Inviting Friends Page.

 

 

So, with all that said, why aren’t more of us collecting e-mail addresses on our brand's Facebook page? This example does use a Facebook app, but you don’t need to give away anything to have a CTA on your page with some educational information on the benefits of being an e-mail subscriber and a link to a subscription form.  Visitors to your Facebook page and your Facebook fans should be an easy e-mail win,  since they are already interested in your brand!

 

Food for thought…I would love to see examples of brands you think are doing a good job recruiting e-mail subscribers via Facebook.

 

Sayward Bosse, senior program manager, e-Dialog