• Debating In-House E-mail Marketing
    If you're considering bringing e-mail marketing systems in-house, read on. If you're not, read on anyway. This is a hot topic based on the way today's businesses are run. We want to make the complex simple, for ourselves and our customers. So finding the right partners to support our businesses is critical.
  • Failure to Communicate
    "What we have here is a failure to communicate." Ahh, one of my favorite movie lines of all time from "Cool Hand Luke." Unfortunately, it has moved from being a movie line to a full-blown reality show nightmare here at the E-mail Insider Chateau. Based on our decision to move the E-mail Data Source phone service from one voice over IP service, Vonage, to a different voice over IP service (VoIP), we have had four days in the last few weeks where our phone service was shut down completely due to problems with the company's system.
  • Finding New Customers Using E-mail
    E-mail marketers are often asked, "Should I use e-mail to find new customers?" I had the chance to speak with Bill Nussey, CEO of Silverpop (an e-mail service provider) at the Silverpop User Conference about this very topic. We discussed the changes in both consumers' and marketers' perception of e-mail as an effective tool. And it got me thinking: When forming relationships with new customers, how can I make every interaction count, especially in a day where customers' decisions are made on the briefest encounters?
  • A Seamless Customer Experience and the Vendors That Help
    Monday I outlined the importance of integrating e-mail marketing and sales channels; after all, when e-mail marketing and sales teams work together, the possibilities for effective customer communication are endless. Seamless digital interactions contribute to seamless customer experiences. But are you aware of the tools available for integrating e-mail marketing and sales? And what are the effects on your business?
  • E-mail and Sales: Creating a Seamless Customer Experience
    The perception of e-mail is that it's direct, it has mass appeal, and it can be tracked. But I've seen marketers struggle endlessly with how to integrate e-mail marketing into the sales channel. There is a long-standing gap between these groups and how they work together, which makes for a disjointed customer experience.
  • Interview With Michael Mayor
    Last week Michael Mayor, a 20-year veteran of direct marketing and e-mail announced he was stepping down as Return Path's president and general manager of consumer, list, data, and research, a position he has held since his company, NetCreations was acquired by Return Path last year. Michael was president and COO of NetCreations and held that post since 1998 when he was employee number three. Since that time, Michael has been in the forefront of the movement towards responsible e-mail marketing, insisting on double opt-ins and consumer privacy. I sat down with Mayor this week to get his thoughts on …
  • Cracking the Code of Human Behavior
    With so many points of interaction, it's not difficult to imagine why many of us have multiple e-mail accounts. The reason: each address represents a different type of behavior.
  • Fix the Image Problem
    One of the takeaways at this year's Ad:tech, for me at any rate, is that the e-mail marketing industry needs a public relations manager. The demonization of e-mail as a marketing channel by the press over the last few years, and the confusion surrounding Can-Spam, has blinded many marketers to the overwhelming data showing the superiority of e-mail in driving traffic to their company's sites. Marketers and pundits point to the declining open rates and deliverability problems (real issues) while ignoring the fact that because of e-mail's low cost, it has the second highest return on investment (ROI) of any …
  • Making Every E-Mail Moment Count
    Customers today make decisions based on the briefest of encounters - and an ever-increasing number of these interactions are digital. So as e-mail marketers we have a matter of moments to make a lasting and favorable impression. And since making every e-mail moment count is critical to improving program response rates, building customer relationships with your brand and growing revenue, this can't be left to chance.
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