Datran Media Survey Spreads the Love. And for Good Reason...

The results of Datran Media’s recent survey, 2007 Email Marketing: Looking Forward, attracted considerable media attention.  Industry publications including DM News, MediaPost and BtoB Magazine referenced the overwhelmingly positive response marketers expressed towards the email channel - and really, it is your feedback they are covering.  Without the input from our loyal readers, there would never have been any survey results to speak of.  And there certainly would not have been a patented eMarketer graph like this:

So why do marketers love email marketing so much?  We already know from hearing your thoughts that you feel email will deliver more ROI in 2007, not to mention help you achieve everything from reinforcing brand position to improving customer loyalty.  Here are some of the other reasons to use email marketing as part of your online marketing strategy this year:

Up-sell and Cross-sell
Once you build a loyal relationship with a customer, you can slowly start to use email auto-responders to follow-up on previous offers and introduce your audience to new offers that would be relevant to their needs.  This basic technique can help you drive incremental revenue pretty effortlessly.  

Educate and Inform
Email is a great way to start a relationship by introducing a product or service to a potential or current customer over time, slowly building interest.  Email allows you to provide additional information in a conversational tone that helps build trust and loyalty.  It is also great for helping you start a viral campaign that your customers can pass on to friends and family.

Drive Web Users to Stores
Email marketing is often cited for being a catalyst for consumers that go to brick and mortar stores.  By introducing a product or offer that needs to be felt and seen in person, email does an exceptional job of driving shoppers to stores with an exact description of what they want to purchase.  And adding elements like in-store coupons also helps increase the chance of an in-store purchase.

Send Consumers What They Want
Because email messages can be optimized, you can tailor messages based on the preferences of your audience.  And because you can learn so much about the behavior of your audience through email, you will always be able to accurately modify your messages time and time again to always meet their ever-changing preferences.

These are just a few unique benefits of using email as part of the multi-channel marketing mix.  To see what your peers have to say about the medium, check out the full results of the Datran Media survey.

Stress-free Affiliate Marketing

Datran Media Privacy Officer and Vice President of ISP Relations, Quinn Jalli, will discuss Affiliate Marketing Best Practices at the 2007 IAPP Privacy Summit. Mr. Jalli seeks to educate attendees on the common affiliate pitfalls, how to avoid them and the tools and techniques needed to properly manage suppression lists, CAN-SPAM compliance, integration and more.

With over 1000 attendees expected this year, the seventh annual IAPP Privacy Summit is the largest gathering of privacy professionals in the world, delivering the latest insights on international privacy laws, policies and standards.

Q: “I’ve heard about automated email campaigns but I don't understand triggered emails.  How they can help me increase my email ROI?”

A: One word: Relevance. 

"Triggered" or "automated" email campaigns have come a long way since the inception of their ancestor, the auto-responder.  Today, campaigns that are driven by an event such as clicked link, submitted form or even abandoned shopping carts have higher opens and response rates than their traditional counter parts.  Why?

When a user received an email triggered by an action such as clicked link, submitted form or even an abandoned shopping cart, they know why they are receiving that message.  It pertains to something of interest that is likely to be top of mind when they check their email.  A timely, targeted email from Apple reminding me about an abandoned shopping cart makes sense in my mind and I am much more likely act on the information- particularly if there is added incentive like a free shipping coupon.

On top of higher open and response rates, another perk of automated campaigns are that they are largely set and forget.  Your organization saves time and money on the implementation of a campaign, as they typically require a one time set up even if it has multiple emails.  Add that to the higher responses and you've got the makings of a ROI multiplier!

Want to know more?  Join the Datran Media Team at Marketing Sherpa's Email Summit in Miami, March 4-6th.  During the event, we'll be leading an interactive lab focused on triggered mailings.  Learn how you can use triggered campaigns for your organization in this hands-on session.

If you’d like to learn more right away, Datran Media would be glad to discuss how you can leverage triggered email to work for you.   Contact us at 212.704.4817.

Send your questions to askanexpert@datranmedia.com. If we answer it, we'll send you a FREE Datran Media t-shirt!