Connecting March 2007
Social Networks are architectures of participation
“Interaction is even more valuable than exposure.�
Opportunity
Make Verizon Wireless: It’s not my father’s Verizon. 1. 2. 3.
Verizon is Verizon AT&T has I-phone…it’s hip. Phones define hip..it’s not the network
Direct Mail has grown Verizon Wireless
Background Strong retention, loyalty and acquisition programs have been executed primarily through direct mail. zCustomers
are contacted at key points in their lifecycle (welcome, checkins, customer service opportunities, cross-sell, etc). zDirect
Mail is the primary vehicle for contacting customers although there are some supplemental programs.
zFor zFor
renewal programs there is also out-bound tele-marketing.
key mailings there is also an email to customers who have already provided an email address for marketing.
Questions
Verizon Wireless uses Email to compliment Direct Mail, telling the same story in a second medium. zIs
this the most effective approach? zShould the messages be different? In what way? zDo opt-in customers need to be contacted in a different manner? At different times? If so, in what manner? zHow often should customers be contacted? zIs email alone, as effective at retention as a mix of email/dm? zBeyond Email what other opportunities should Verizon Wireless consider?
Context
At the last count, 139 million Americans have said no to telemarketers. Now a “Do-Not-Mail” list is strongly being considered. A “Donot-Text” list seems entirely feasible. Consumers long ago killed the majority of pop-ups, and there's a growing body of evidence that there's little interest in banner ads except where they're very carefully targeted. Contextual ads can, and often will, be ignored; the mobile phone is considered by many a very personal thing, while mobile advertising is the current rage it remains to be seen how willing mobile users will be to receiving advertising/messages they don't request. Sources: DMA, AdAge, Emaillabs.com
Context
Email volume in the United States is projected to nearly double from 1.5 trillion in 2003, to 2.7 trillion in 2007. Spending on email marketing in 2006 is estimated at $950MM. But Email fatigue is setting in. Companies need to be especially careful to avoid excess emails How do you deal with excess Emails?
2005
2004
I deleted.
68%
60%
I reported the sender as spam to my ISP.
34%
23%
I unsubscribed.
31%
27%
No Impact.
19%
28%
Sources: IPT, MarketingSherpa, DMA, Secondpath email survey Jan2006
Context
In general consumers do not read Emails even if they are familiar with who sent it:
Context
And even if they do read the Emails they don’t spend a lot of time with them averaging just 2.8 seconds each according to Jupiter. How do you avoid “Permission Spam”?
Context
Consumers are defining an inner circle of email relationships with whom they are willing to engage. While conclusive research on this is slim, the current industry belief is put this “friends group� is the range of 14 to 16 companies per person on average. The exact number is irrelevant. Think of how we conduct our own lives; with time we become more discerning in our relationships and begin maintaining a smaller number of close, but very important relationships. There is no reason to believe, and no evidence to support that they behave any different in regards to the internet.
Context
Marketers, who find their own messages so exhaustively compelling and ignore listening, asking and responding to their customers needs, are apt to be disappointed when the consumer closes the door on them. And consumers are increasingly doing so.
Context
Consequently in this zero-sum game the challenge today is for marketers to: Become a close friend 2. Stay a close friend 1.
The pay-off can be big: Of the most loyal segment 69% said they bought something directly as a result of Email, compared to 52% of those less loyal. Similarly 49% of those most loyal agreed with the statement that they would rather spend money with a company that does a good job sending them Email than with a competitor, compared to only 35% of those less loyal.
Becoming a close friend‌
z z z
You better be relevant. Just ask‌.. and then deliver. Opting-in does not necessarily mean email only.
“We better send them something.”
Set frequency mailings are a relic of the print world when cost constraints and events dictated campaign schedules. 1. After a time, lose sight of email marketing content. 2. Don’t realize their target audience’s needs have changed, then fail to provide messages appropriate to the new requirements. 3. Fall prey to believing their copy is the last word needed to convince a prospect to purchase. 4. Feel that more is better. If communicating once a month is good, once a week is better.
Enough already!
Play Agency reel here
Don’t spam me!
Make it interesting‌.
So how do you become (stay) relevant?
1. Optimize the opt-in page to collect relevant data beyond name and address: product interests, gender, how often they want to receive email, email vs. mail, other contact methods. 2. Segment mailing lists into relevant categories. 3. Improve creative to make the content more attractive and visible 4. Combine lifecycle messaging, which triggers messages at appropriate points in customers relationship with you but also reflects a recipients previous purchases or interests.
Multiple channels may be better.
There is no clear research indicating that multiple contact with consumers provides for greater life time value. However common sense and anecdotal evidence does lend credence to this theory. Retail giant Nordstrom reports that there is a direct correlation between the number of different channels in which a customer is contacted and the amount that customer spends. Specifically Nordstrom’s research indicates that a customer who interacts with three channels spends six times more than those who only interact through one channel. While the full report is unavailable the inference is clear: Contacting customers in a number of different ways is likely to yield better results
Timing is everything‌
Even in the age where consumers are defining brand most marketers do not listen to their customers. Ask them what they want, when they want and in what form. And then make sure you deliver (and remind them that they asked for this). Provide them with what they asked, don’t simply push the flavor of the month or feel obliged to email them simply because the marketing schedule dictates contact.
Ask and Deliver: American Airlines Case Study
Why am I so loyal to American Airlines? 1.
I am a Mileage junky so the information the provide is intrinsically interesting to me.
2.
I provide them information/ they respond quickly and with useful information.
3.
I told them when to email me/they do so and remind that it was at my behest
4.
A tangible benefit: For me Miles/Travel
Note: Not every product is inherently interesting and will be allowed this much contact. A Crest MyAccount is not going to cut it.
American Advantage-Gathering Information
Email from American asks for more information: “What destination (s) interest you?�
Options + my own input
Open ended
And they remembered to thank me!
3 days later‌information I requested
They’ve got my name
Move quickly and add a friend
Call to action
Every Tuesday—as requested
So why go to the Verizon My Account Site?
Site Why do I need to go this site more than once a month? What will I see that is new and different? (count down till I can get a new phone) What can I get? (free ring tones, videos, best-of, new product hilights) Contact strategy TBD— what are the rewards for signing up for My Account‌ What are the rewards for logging on regularily?
Connecting Now
Direct Mail (set frequency)
Target
Email X times a year/month
How we need to connect!
Direct Mail Email
TARGET “My choice”
Consider RSS
z
RSS-- Really Simple Syndication
RSS is a supplemental communication method that allows marketers to create keyword-rich content and deliver it directly to a target.
RSS
RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated digital content, such as blogs, news feeds or pod casts. Users of RSS content use programs called feed 'readers' or 'aggregators': the user 'subscribes' to a feed by supplying to their reader a link to the feed; the reader can then check the user's subscribed feeds to see if any of those feeds have new content since the last time it checked, and if so, retrieve that content and present it to the user
RSS
z z z z
z
Send RSS feeds with emails Not every email should include RSS Consider Imbed links to social book marketing sites such as Digg and Del.icio.us allowing user to the ability to feed to these sites with a click so that message will be seen and read by people with similar interests---potential customers. Test, test, test.
RSS
Negatives According to Yahoo, Only 31% of people are using RSS and only 4% are aware they are using. Harder to track RSS Positives Rapid growth Inexpensive to test
Consider Branded Desk-top Applications (Widgets)
Downloadable desktop applications and Instant Messengers are other alternatives to e-mail that are developing into effective marketing and sales channels. Consumers download a desktop application or IM tool and use it to hear about sales and promotions, white-papers and other content. Or in the case of Chrysler the desk-top application tied to a Chrysler Branded golf game.
Southwest Airlines included sound with their widget
Types of Widgets
Types of Widgets
z
Social Networks
Desktop Applications: Games
Desktop Applications: Games
Desktop Applications: Games
Loyalty Programs: Build on the Verizon Merits Program
Verizon Wireless should test increasing rewards in their Merit program. Telefonica Italia Mobile (TIM) and Vodafone UK have both begun experimenting with loyalty (rewards) programs.
Loyalty Program
Verizon Wireless should test a loyalty program that provides real rewards Telefonica Italia Mobile (TIM) and Vodafone UK have both begun experimenting with loyalty (rewards) programs . Upgrade your phone every 12 months, not the standard 22. • Lets you transfer phonebooks between cellphones at no charge (although we never got charged for this when we had a Verizon phone). • 25% off Verizon accessories Why is the Verizon Wireless Merits program not included here?? Why not one program? Can you include other Verizon products (e.g.Fios, V/Cast, etc)
Verizon Wireless Merits
Current Rewards for Verizon Wireless Merits z Upgrade your phone every 12 months, not the standard 22. z Lets you transfer phonebooks between cellphones at no charge. z 25% off Verizon accessories Overall consumer benefits are very limited and it is unclear how easy it is to actually receive a benefit. Why create a reward program that never delivers a reward.
Verizon Wireless Merits becomes Verizon Merits
One thing is quite clear: Consumers want to be able to change phones‌so the upgrade option is clearly appealing. The question becomes: How does Verizon Wireless maintain profitability? The Answer: Bundling. Overall Loyalty program needs to be developed across the entire Verizon network‌.allowing for loyalty point to be used for any Verizon products and services.
Other Considerations: Second Life
Each consumer decides how they want to connect with you.
Direct Mail Search
Desktop Apps( Widgets)
Online TARGET
RSS
Mobile
Games
Rewards
Each consumer decides how they want to connect with you.
Direct Mail Search
Desktop Apps( Widgets)
Online TARGET
RSS
Mobile
Games
Rewards
Audit
The Email Experience Council LLC Jupiter Forrestor Yankee Group Emaillabs Mintel Responsys Vertis CoreMetrics Email Insider Emailstaff.com Epsilon Quris EROI Imediaconnection Harvard Business Review EXactTarget Bruce Clay Inc eCRM Loyalty.com
Addendum-Email Auto Category
Unlike most of the other car manufacturers, who rely heavily on their own internal lists for marketing efforts, Hyundai doesn't really seem to have an internal email marketing program in place, or an area to opt-in on its site. Instead, the company's email marketing efforts take the form of banner ads and sponsorships in third-party publications. So far this year, for instance, the company has a strong presence as a pure text ad and link in the A&E newsletters such as the History Channel update emails. The Hyundai Santa Fe SUV model seems to be the big push for 2007. Chevrolet and General Motors seem to be all over the place, with wildly different branding campaigns, logos, and no discernable consistency. Branding in banners running in email newsletters from the Country Music Channel and KIIS FM sometimes say Chevrolet, sometimes just show the logo, sometimes appear large, sometimes appear small; the KIIS FM banner doesn't even mention the product or company at all. General Motors is also putting out one of the most poorly designed internal email newsletters I've seen in quite a while, certainly not in keeping with the rest of the industry, whose mailings in general are some of the best around. Not sure what is going on here, but please -- will some email professional take these folks by the hand? Nissan is out there promoting its Nissan National Sales Race, where it is trying to get rid of 100,000 vehicles in a single sales promotion. The company is also sponsoring and promoting a VH1 Colorado Ski Vacation promotion. Nissan was doing quite a bit of emailing using third-party affiliate lists at the end of 2006, but that seems to have been curtailed as of 2007. Source: emaildatasource
Addendum-Email Auto Category
Saturn has done banner ads in some Rodale email publications, and is also sponsoring a National Donor Day on the Discovery Channel's email newsletters. Saturn's internal mailings suffer from the General Motors syndrome: lacking any real design sense or consistency. As a former Saturn owner, I must say it's sad to see how far this brand has sunk. Ford has run a few MyPoints promotions, but its email efforts for the past month or so seem to be focused on the button it has been sponsoring on the Daily Candy newsletters. Apparently this tactic is working: Ford's Web site traffic pattern spikes, as recorded by Alexa, seem to match the email drops from the Daily Candy in the same way that Jeep's traffic matched when it sponsored the same button in the Daily Candy. For those with deep pockets, Maserati produces a monthly e-newsletter that is as stylish as its cars. The company has also been sending out stand-alone offers promoting the GranTurismo. Maybe in another lifetime I'll be able to afford one of these babies - but in the meantime, it is a pleasure just looking at the email creative. Audi has taken a completely different tack by promoting culture in its email drops: in this case, Lang Lang, a Chinese piano virtuoso who is the official Audi ambassador during his tour of the U.S. The newsletters really stand out, as Audi downplays its own presence, so instead of cars, we have images of the master pianist. It works for me. And finally, at two ends of the spectrum we have, on one hand, Kia doing full-page promotions with AllRecipes.com. And on the other hand, the true masters of the email art form: Lexus. I just wish everyone spent the time and trouble that Lexus does on its email communications. Beautifully designed month after month, the Lexus materials are the standard by which everyone else is judged. And everyone else comes up short.