Comments on: A look into Email Marketing http://www.madtrue.com/anything/a-look-into-email-marketing Anything & Everything Mon, 04 May 2009 16:39:04 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: John Caldwell http://www.madtrue.com/anything/a-look-into-email-marketing/comment-page-1#comment-18 John Caldwell Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:44:53 +0000 http://www.madtrue.com/?p=129#comment-18 When Technology "owns" email, Marketing waits. In my 13 years in the space that has been the rule, not the exception. (http://redpillemail.com/blog/?p=36) You can compare Kia & BMW brochures all day long, but never know how one performs over the other until you get in and drive it. If you don't understand the functions of the features it's all academic. (http://redpillemail.com/blog/?p=37) When Technology “owns” email, Marketing waits. In my 13 years in the space that has been the rule, not the exception. (http://redpillemail.com/blog/?p=36)

You can compare Kia & BMW brochures all day long, but never know how one performs over the other until you get in and drive it. If you don’t understand the functions of the features it’s all academic. (http://redpillemail.com/blog/?p=37)

]]> By: Mad Blogger http://www.madtrue.com/anything/a-look-into-email-marketing/comment-page-1#comment-16 Mad Blogger Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:06:06 +0000 http://www.madtrue.com/?p=129#comment-16 To answer your questions- First of which is your comment, “don’t have the smoothest looking or easiest to use interface in the industry”. Keep in mind that productivity impacts ROI. If you’re a marketer you want to spend your time marketing, not programming a tool. -I understand what you’re getting at here and it is a valid point. The problem is that sometimes the marketing (not IT) department is the the team using the tool to market. From a marketing standpoint they want a tool that is easy to use, looks organized and has the feature set. If we were only dealing with IT this would not matter as much. I have worked with marketing departments before and trying to teach some people how to use a complicated program can be difficult. If the program is to hard to use maybe the ROI would be 0 because no one would ever use it? Second, I’d like to ask how you can state, “but from a feature standpoint they are right up there with the top guys” when you yourself admit to not having used the “top guys”? That’s like saying that a Kia drives as well as a BMW without having ever driven a BMW. -You can see the feature set of a BMW and Kia without driving one...CD player, navigation, sun roof ect ect...Just the same I can look at Exact targets website/demo and without using the product learn that they have features like an API, unique IP, time based messaging, click tracking ect ect. To answer your questions-

First of which is your comment, “don’t have the smoothest looking or easiest to use interface in the industry”. Keep in mind that productivity impacts ROI. If you’re a marketer you want to spend your time marketing, not programming a tool.

-I understand what you’re getting at here and it is a valid point. The problem is that sometimes the marketing (not IT) department is the the team using the tool to market. From a marketing standpoint they want a tool that is easy to use, looks organized and has the feature set. If we were only dealing with IT this would not matter as much. I have worked with marketing departments before and trying to teach some people how to use a complicated program can be difficult. If the program is to hard to use maybe the ROI would be 0 because no one would ever use it?

Second, I’d like to ask how you can state, “but from a feature standpoint they are right up there with the top guys” when you yourself admit to not having used the “top guys”? That’s like saying that a Kia drives as well as a BMW without having ever driven a BMW.

-You can see the feature set of a BMW and Kia without driving one…CD player, navigation, sun roof ect ect…Just the same I can look at Exact targets website/demo and without using the product learn that they have features like an API, unique IP, time based messaging, click tracking ect ect.

]]> By: John Caldwell http://www.madtrue.com/anything/a-look-into-email-marketing/comment-page-1#comment-15 John Caldwell Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:47:55 +0000 http://www.madtrue.com/?p=129#comment-15 Interesting article. I've been in the email space since 1996 and have worked on the agency side, the client side, and as a consultant; and with a lot of different tools from ESPs to in-house to home-grown email systems. And while I’ve never worked for an ESP, I’ve worked with a lot of them. I generally work with enterprise organizations, so don't spend much time with the small-market vendors, however there are a couple that I think deserve mentioning. Those shopping for small to mid market vendors would do well to also look at iContact, MailChimp, and MyEmma. All are very good tools and offer a good amount of information on how to find success leveraging the email channel. A couple of things that you mentioned I would like to question. First of which is your comment, "don’t have the smoothest looking or easiest to use interface in the industry". Keep in mind that productivity impacts ROI. If you're a marketer you want to spend your time marketing, not programming a tool. Second, I'd like to ask how you can state, "but from a feature standpoint they are right up there with the top guys" when you yourself admit to not having used the "top guys"? That's like saying that a Kia drives as well as a BMW without having ever driven a BMW. Interesting article. I’ve been in the email space since 1996 and have worked on the agency side, the client side, and as a consultant; and with a lot of different tools from ESPs to in-house to home-grown email systems. And while I’ve never worked for an ESP, I’ve worked with a lot of them.
I generally work with enterprise organizations, so don’t spend much time with the small-market vendors, however there are a couple that I think deserve mentioning. Those shopping for small to mid market vendors would do well to also look at iContact, MailChimp, and MyEmma. All are very good tools and offer a good amount of information on how to find success leveraging the email channel.

A couple of things that you mentioned I would like to question. First of which is your comment, “don’t have the smoothest looking or easiest to use interface in the industry”. Keep in mind that productivity impacts ROI. If you’re a marketer you want to spend your time marketing, not programming a tool.

Second, I’d like to ask how you can state, “but from a feature standpoint they are right up there with the top guys” when you yourself admit to not having used the “top guys”? That’s like saying that a Kia drives as well as a BMW without having ever driven a BMW.

]]> By: Intense Conversations » Blog Archive » A Look Into Email Marketing | Mad True http://www.madtrue.com/anything/a-look-into-email-marketing/comment-page-1#comment-13 Intense Conversations » Blog Archive » A Look Into Email Marketing | Mad True Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:20:23 +0000 http://www.madtrue.com/?p=129#comment-13 [...] Maybe try a company such as Constant Contact for this. Second, if you are a spammer and want to use someone Else’s reputation this would also be the way to go (hence the problem with using it). The spammer would lean on …$anchor_text[$anchor_choice] [...] [...] Maybe try a company such as Constant Contact for this. Second, if you are a spammer and want to use someone Else’s reputation this would also be the way to go (hence the problem with using it). The spammer would lean on …$anchor_text[$anchor_choice] [...]

]]> By: A look into Email Marketing | Mad True http://www.madtrue.com/anything/a-look-into-email-marketing/comment-page-1#comment-12 A look into Email Marketing | Mad True Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:55:47 +0000 http://www.madtrue.com/?p=129#comment-12 [...] Another fellow blogger created an interesting post today on A look into Email Marketing | Mad TrueHere’s a short outlineA review of the Email marketing industry today! [...] [...] Another fellow blogger created an interesting post today on A look into Email Marketing | Mad TrueHere’s a short outlineA review of the Email marketing industry today! [...]

]]> By: Erin http://www.madtrue.com/anything/a-look-into-email-marketing/comment-page-1#comment-11 Erin Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:10:10 +0000 http://www.madtrue.com/?p=129#comment-11 First, I work for Experian CheetahMail so thank you for the acknowledgment. I agree with the overall idea that the provider a company chooses to partner with is heavily dependent on scale and unique business needs. It's often worth asking industry peers what they're experience has been service-wise. I have found that many of our current clients left their previous ESPs based on the lack of attention and support they received, which is often difficult to predict and gauge through a formal RFP process. Some other things to watch out for when choosing an ESP - see if you can get some insight into how long the provider takes to complete certain projects and program implementations. Although many marketers do look at the details regarding kick-off and migration timelines, they often ignore lead time on projects they may look to implement down the line. Such as, how long does it take the ESP to complete a creative redesign, or how many days would it take to add refer-a-friend functionality or surveys to an existing campaign? Because email is such a cost-efficient channel maintaining the efficacy of not only the channel but your own programs is key. Make sure your provider works with you in a partnership capacity and enables you to build equity and deepen loyalty. I’d also encourage you to visit www.emailresponsibly.com, a blog site dedicated to creating relevant, responsible and highly effective email programs. First, I work for Experian CheetahMail so thank you for the acknowledgment. I agree with the overall idea that the provider a company chooses to partner with is heavily dependent on scale and unique business needs. It’s often worth asking industry peers what they’re experience has been service-wise. I have found that many of our current clients left their previous ESPs based on the lack of attention and support they received, which is often difficult to predict and gauge through a formal RFP process.

Some other things to watch out for when choosing an ESP – see if you can get some insight into how long the provider takes to complete certain projects and program implementations. Although many marketers do look at the details regarding kick-off and migration timelines, they often ignore lead time on projects they may look to implement down the line. Such as, how long does it take the ESP to complete a creative redesign, or how many days would it take to add refer-a-friend functionality or surveys to an existing campaign?

Because email is such a cost-efficient channel maintaining the efficacy of not only the channel but your own programs is key. Make sure your provider works with you in a partnership capacity and enables you to build equity and deepen loyalty. I’d also encourage you to visit http://www.emailresponsibly.com, a blog site dedicated to creating relevant, responsible and highly effective email programs.

]]> By: A look into Email Marketing | Mad True | BizzUniverse - Stay up-to-date with the latest news! http://www.madtrue.com/anything/a-look-into-email-marketing/comment-page-1#comment-10 A look into Email Marketing | Mad True | BizzUniverse - Stay up-to-date with the latest news! Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:25:34 +0000 http://www.madtrue.com/?p=129#comment-10 [...] See the rest here:  A look into Email Marketing | Mad True [...] [...] See the rest here:  A look into Email Marketing | Mad True [...]

]]> By: Mad Blogger http://www.madtrue.com/anything/a-look-into-email-marketing/comment-page-1#comment-9 Mad Blogger Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:51:57 +0000 http://www.madtrue.com/?p=129#comment-9 You are 100% right, I do think your comment is biased because your IP address says it was written from an Exact Target domain. None the less I think you made some great and solid points. At the end of the day it really is not how much the product cost but your ROI. I mentioned in my post that I did not know a lot about your company so forgive me for not mentioning more. Based from what I had heard and your website I simple recommended high volume senders to go in your direction. One thing I don't understand is why would Exact Target even want to compete with a company like Constant Contact? To me that would be like Mcdonalds (CC) and Ruth Chris(ET) trying to get the same customers to go to their restaurants. Dont get me wrong with this either I think Constant Contact is a great company they just go after a different type of market. Either way thanks for making some great points on our page! You are 100% right, I do think your comment is biased because your IP address says it was written from an Exact Target domain. None the less I think you made some great and solid points. At the end of the day it really is not how much the product cost but your ROI. I mentioned in my post that I did not know a lot about your company so forgive me for not mentioning more. Based from what I had heard and your website I simple recommended high volume senders to go in your direction. One thing I don’t understand is why would Exact Target even want to compete with a company like Constant Contact? To me that would be like Mcdonalds (CC) and Ruth Chris(ET) trying to get the same customers to go to their restaurants. Dont get me wrong with this either I think Constant Contact is a great company they just go after a different type of market. Either way thanks for making some great points on our page!

]]> By: Email Industry Analyst http://www.madtrue.com/anything/a-look-into-email-marketing/comment-page-1#comment-8 Email Industry Analyst Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:56:58 +0000 http://www.madtrue.com/?p=129#comment-8 I enjoyed your post, but I am a little curious about your recommendations. I am a little biased because I found the right solution for me, but I also make sure that I am up to speed on the players in the space. I am not going to ding any of the companies because they all have their own niche but in addition to just looking at these companies “current state” I would recommend looking at (1) growth strategies of where you want to be in your own marketing initiatives, (2) company structures and stability (who is going to be left standing at the end of the year and who is laying people off) and (3 – and most important) not just the dollars spent on a marketing solution but the ROI achieved by using a solution that will help you develop a relationship with your clients. I believe that when these steps occur there is only a couple of people out there as viable options. They if you start looking at the thought leadership, industry articles, and who all of the analysts are talking about – it becomes clear who is the right choice. When I started my analysis, I was working for a company of about 12 employees and we had a smaller email need, so I have moved through some (and looked at others) of those small solutions. I am now with a slightly larger company that uses ExactTarget and wow… the difference. I didn’t even know they had solutions that span down to the Constant Contact level and all the way through some extremely large clients. They helped me work through my list, send better more relevant email, in achieve a strong uptick in ROI – did I mention that it was all with a very easy to use web application? I just wanted to add another opinion. I am passionate about email marketing because I see the value in what it can mean to me any my organization. Regardless of the size of the company, I would at least check out the ExactTarget website because there is a lot of information available there. I enjoyed your post, but I am a little curious about your recommendations. I am a little biased because I found the right solution for me, but I also make sure that I am up to speed on the players in the space. I am not going to ding any of the companies because they all have their own niche but in addition to just looking at these companies “current state” I would recommend looking at (1) growth strategies of where you want to be in your own marketing initiatives, (2) company structures and stability (who is going to be left standing at the end of the year and who is laying people off) and (3 – and most important) not just the dollars spent on a marketing solution but the ROI achieved by using a solution that will help you develop a relationship with your clients.

I believe that when these steps occur there is only a couple of people out there as viable options. They if you start looking at the thought leadership, industry articles, and who all of the analysts are talking about – it becomes clear who is the right choice.

When I started my analysis, I was working for a company of about 12 employees and we had a smaller email need, so I have moved through some (and looked at others) of those small solutions. I am now with a slightly larger company that uses ExactTarget and wow… the difference. I didn’t even know they had solutions that span down to the Constant Contact level and all the way through some extremely large clients. They helped me work through my list, send better more relevant email, in achieve a strong uptick in ROI – did I mention that it was all with a very easy to use web application?
I just wanted to add another opinion. I am passionate about email marketing because I see the value in what it can mean to me any my organization. Regardless of the size of the company, I would at least check out the ExactTarget website because there is a lot of information available there.

]]> By: My Best Web Showcase » Blog Archive » A look into Email Marketing | Mad True http://www.madtrue.com/anything/a-look-into-email-marketing/comment-page-1#comment-7 My Best Web Showcase » Blog Archive » A look into Email Marketing | Mad True Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:18:26 +0000 http://www.madtrue.com/?p=129#comment-7 [...] More:  A look into Email Marketing | Mad True [...] [...] More:  A look into Email Marketing | Mad True [...]

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