RESEARCH UPDATE: List Growth Tactics
The most effective email list-growth tactics for marketers are on-site registration and capturing information through inbound call centers, while the least effective tactics are outbound call-center attempts to solicit information and list rental, according to research conducted by Exact Target, Ball State University, and the Email Marketer Club
The study, which was conducted by analyzing the past performance and future plans of 351 email marketers in various countries, evaluated 18 different list-growth tactics to identify the best, worst and fastest-growing approaches to building email lists.
Overall, the study found that the best way to grow email subscriber lists is to collect customers' email addresses during times of high engagement and on occasions when the consumers perceive the marketer as adding value - at the point of sale, during online shopping and in-store via text messaging. These on-site list growth tactics rated as much as 60% higher than offline methods such as list rental and mass advertising.
Mobile Capture, SocNet Sharing Rising Quickly
Exact Target also reported that email subscription via text messaging is the fastest growing list-building tactic among marketers. The company predicts that mobile capture - enabling consumers to subscribe to emails via their mobile phones - will increase 500%, more than any other growth tactic in 2009.
Marketers also expect the practice of enabling subscribers to share email content with their social networks is expected to increase more than 348% in 2009.
Top Priorities for 2009
When asked about their top three email priorities for 2009, the largest number of marketers (51%) said that improving conversations was important to them. This was followed by a focus on improving the relevance of emails (41%) and growing email lists (38%). The smallest number of respondents said that lowering costs was one of their top priorities (5%).
The above article was published in MarketingCharts.com
http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/best-worst-and-future-email-list-growth-tactics-9213/
Information-seeking : a way of looking at the world
The Micro Trends column on the Wall Street Journal reports we are in the era of what it deems the "info shopper."
Americans are doing their homework before hitting the stores. In a WSJ shopper survey, 78 percent of consumers said that TV ads do not provide enough information they need to convince them to buy a product.
Consumers are losing trust in the advice of salesclerks and placing more weight on their own findings, often derived from websites. According to WSJ's latest survey, 92 percent of respondents said they are more confident in the product information they find online than advice from a salesclerk or other source.
Shoppers are increasing the amount of effort they put into finding information online before setting out to buy what they want, even if it's a simple bottle of shampoo, a product which 24 percent of respondents said they researched online before settling on a decision.
Overall, 70 percent of American shoppers said they refer to product reviews and consumer ratings before settling on what to buy, and 62 percent said that every week, they spend at least half an hour researching products online before buying the.
There are good insights and some short case studies cited in the article published on Jan 8th.
For full text of WSJ article:http://bit.ly/SPLel
Ramp up Online Shopping with Free Shipping
Recession does not translate to doom and gloom for all retailers in 2009, FreeShipping.org founder believes
Luke Knowles, founder of the site that links consumers to online retailers that offer free shipping deals, says in his 2009 online retailing forecast that merchants that focus on online sales will have a much better year than bricks-and-mortar retailers.
Knowles sees a ray of light for online retailers in 2009 because of what his site, www.freeshipping.org, encountered in 2008, its first full year of business. In December 2007, Knowles and his wife, Maisie, launched the site, which is a one-stop destination for consumers to find online retailers that offer free shipping deals. FreeShipping.org includes more than 850 name-brand stores, allows visitors to search by brand or category.
Numbers show that there is a clear interest in consumers looking for online retailers that offer free shipping, which translates into a willingness to spend money if the price is right. Traffic has increased steadily since the site debuted, as has sales generated for retailers. FreeShipping.org attracted 205,000 visitors last October, 365,000 in November and over 500,000 in December. On Black Friday, the traditional shopping holiday one day after Thanksgiving, the site had over 30,000 visitors.
Free shipping and deep discounts are leading many consumers to shop online, Knowles says. Knowles spearheaded what will become an annual holiday shopping marketing event in Free Shipping Day (www.freeshippingday.com), which is a day late in December when merchants offer free shipping with delivery by Christmas Eve day. More than 250 merchants participated, and FreeShippingDay.com attracted 100,000 visitors on the day itself, which was December 18.
Despite the grim news facing many bricks-and-mortar retailers, Knowles believes that online retailers, and bricks-and-mortar retailers that increase their presence on the Internet, will have a more favorable outcome on their bottom line.
### free e-book on this site that's worth checking out:
http://www.freeshipping.org/free-shipping-ebook.pdf
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RESEARCH UPDATE: Display Ads Lift Paid and Organic Search 155%
Found this data on www.marketingcharts.com - something to ponder....
The presence of display advertising significantly affects click-through and search style across paid and organic searches and such ads can lift both types of search an average of 155%, according to a study by SpecificMedia.,
The study, which demonstrates a correlation between display advertising and search, finds that consumers exposed to display advertising are more likely than unexposed consumers to search for brand terms (such as “BMW” in the automotive category), and segment terms (such as “635 CSi”).
Results by segment:
- In the “travel and tourism category,” display advertising lifted paid and organic search 274%.
- A 260% lift was seen on searches in “health.”
- “Personal finance” saw a 206% increase.
- “Automotive” and “news and media” enjoyed a 144% search lift
- “Property and real estate” rose 125%.
- In “retail,” display advertising drew just a 69% lift in search.
- “Consumer packaged goods” saw the slightest increase - only 22%.
About the study: The study leverages 12 months of proprietary Specific Media Ad Effectiveness data backed by comScore, tracking more than 60+ Specific Media campaigns to draw averages demonstrating the direct correlation between display advertising and search.
Twitter Offers Quick Market Research and Buzz
The best nuggets I took out of this article on Advertising Age:
"Twitter has a been a great tool for us to monitor buzz about products or campaigns for our clients. Simply searching a few key terms will expose you to a wealth of tweets that can quickly let you know what the public is thinking. Not scientific, but very helpful.
"It's an example of how, more broadly, social networking has taken conversations that previously happened around water coolers and put them online, making them searchable by marketers. What marketers do with that information is up to them."
Written by Lee Mikles of the The Archer Group, a Wilmington, Del.-based interactive shop
Read the full article at http://adage.com/digitalnext/article?article_id=133509Archer
Fighting for mental bandwidth
I'm just starting up this blog -so allow me to meander my way to my best blogging vantage point. I've been an online marketer for over 25 years. Started email campaigns before the Web even existed. But I'm not going to play the Old Timer card out in this space. It actually brings nothing of relevance to the table now.
Between scarce money sources these days and mini mental bandwidths - I reference here the rise of Twitter and micro blogging. Just how, as marketers, are we supposed to achieve market share when we're dealing with market slithers?
It's probably too early in my blog's life to expect commentary but as the posts roll along and I find a way to reach more people, perhaps a dialog will begin.
I invite any of you who drop by to join me here.