• by Kara Trivunovic , Op-Ed Contributor, August 6, 2009

Executives want more out of their marketing and marketers want more out of their email. At a time when consumers are more in control of the selling relationship than ever before, there is no harm in wanting more. But wanting more and getting more are two very different things.  In the end, many helpful tactics or strategies get added to a "wouldn't it be nice" list.

I am guilty of this --  I have a grandiose idea; an idea so cool that no one else could touch it! But the thought of trying to get it implemented reeks of late nights and a lot of begging. So instead, I add it to my own "wouldn't it be nice" list.  Following are my favorite "wouldn't it be nice" moments from marketers that I have had the pleasure to work with or speak with -- feel free to add yours to the comments!

Wouldn't it be nice if ...

The Executive Staff Understood What I Was Saying?
We (email marketers) have our own little language, and sometimes we just don't realize it. Not everyone understands how to define conversion  -- hell, we can't even agree on a definition of calculating an open rate as an industry.  So, speak the language of the executive team. By translating email marketing jargon to things they care about, you may get through: a language where CPM means margin, opt-out means a lost customer and conversion means sales.

I Had More Resources to Execute Within the Email Channel?
Time is a commodity that none of us have enough of these days, at home or at work. But one of the great things about the email channel is that it can be completely driven by data. Chunk out some time to identify your sending behaviors, patterns and the data points that drive your content and then automate the heck out of it! While you will spend a little time on the upstart, it can run itself long-term and you get back some time in your day. What's that worth to you?

My Email Messaging Was truly One-to-One?
Now that is the holy grail of email marketing -- being able to achieve a real one-to-one communication behavior with your customer, to build and cultivate that relationship and to recognize the engagement of an individual within your data base -- and then make them feel important (without being way too creepy).  No one will tell you this is easy. It could be a year-long project just understanding where all the data is that you need and finding a way to begin leveraging it within your email programs. But that shouldn't deter you from forging that path. Take some baby steps toward achieving one-to-one communication by understanding your customers and leveraging data to accomplish additional relevance in your email. One step at a time.

But really, wouldn't it be nice if you could snap your fingers and solve the woes of your email program? Sure it would -- but what fun would that be? And let's face it; just as you figure it out, the game is going to change. 

Here's my challenge to the email marketing space: Wouldn't it be nice if we could get past trying to find the silver bullet that will "fix" all of our email marketing woes and do a little leg work. Pile on the mining gear and dive into the data. Because the best day of the week to send email (which changed the minute the stat was published) or changing your creative to increase conversion rates long-term will not drive your email program forward for long. Wouldn't it be nice...?