Taking a Second Look at E-Mail

When I started to write this column, I ran into a problem. I couldn't think of anything exciting in e-mail to write about. Call it e-mail marketer writer's block. This got me thinking: Has e-mail marketing gotten to a point where we have nothing new to talk about? Has this industry matured enough that we now just need to focus on the tried-and-true acquire, convert, retain principals?

Then it hit me.

The e-mail marketing industry could never land in this type of rut. As the backbone of all other digital media, our e-mail efforts will keep growing and evolving as new technologies do. For those of us who choose to ignore the power that e-mail marketing can have as an influencer for other channels (like social and mobile), e-mail will remain a fairly cut-and-dried direct marketing practice. The rest of us, though, have reason to celebrate.

Here's a list of some newer aspects of e-mail you should be aware of. If you haven't considered these as part of your strategy, what are you waiting for?

Acquisition-focused upgrades:

1. Tiered performance pricing for prospecting

2. E-mail as a branding tool

3. E-mail to feed into social networks

4. Mobile e-mail

Conversion:

1. Social/micro-messaging options

2. Channel/source optimization

3. Preference center enhancements

4. Win-back advancements

Retainment:

1. Partner-oriented value add

2. Inventory management

3. Co-op marketing

4. Social influencing

5. Video in e-mail

Out of all of these new initiatives, my recent favorite is partner oriented-value add. This is where customer e-mail programs include some type of unanticipated reward for reading the e-mail. Unanticipated rewards have been around a long time in marketing but have rarely been used in e-mail. That's because e-mail marketing was historically such a high conversion channel that this tactic was rarely needed. But in today's world of inbox overload and channel integration, e-mail needs a little sweetener. Including a valuable, unanticipated reward packs a one-two punch. Here's how:

In a recent column, I wrote about a new segment in our e-mail lists: the social influencers. These people aren't always your best click-and-buy people, but they are the best people to share, post, and talk about your recent e-mail effort (which results in even more sales than if they bought themselves).

When these people receive an e-mail from you that contains an unanticipated reward, something that they enjoy, you'll increase their level of loyalty to your brand. That's important. Equally important, or even more so, these people will share that great news and your generosity with others through social networks and online water-cooler conversations.

This opens up a whole new world of opportunity for you to attract new customers and increase revenues simply by adding unexpected value into your messaging.

Yes, the world of e-mail is nowhere near tired and old just yet. As new developments and trends rise, e-mail is right there to help maximize exposure and monetize results.

I love being a part of the e-mail industry. Don't you?


Source: Jeanniey Mullen, ClickZ, Jun 22, 2009, Sponsored by Responsys

Develop a Balanced Media Mix

The tools that drive the Internet are the tried and true print, radio, and television formats. The challenge lies in developing a balanced media mix.

Source: Bob Walker, Media Analyst Preprint Publishing

The Three Buckets of Courage

TRY -- the courage of action and pioneering "first attempts."
Associated with having initiative and leading. Requires overcoming inertia. Risks are your actions may harm others.

TRUST -- the courage of relying on the actions of others.
Associated with being receptive and open and following. Requires letting go of control. Risks are other people's actions may harm you.

TELL -- the courage of "voice" and truth telling
Associated with truth telling and asserting one's opinions. Requires conviction. Risks are exposing your opinions may cause you to be cast out of the group.

Source: Giant Leap Consulting

Best Practices for DMO Web Sites

Successful DMOs are harnessing the power of hte Internet and technology to streamline their processes and produce more results to the bottom line.

Source: IACVB News, Leah Woolfold, CEO of USDM.net

Changes in Dining Habits.

Dining has also been impacted by economic upheavals, with one-third of consumers visiting 'upscale' dining establishments less often (35%), and a simlar number cutting back on their visits to 'mid-priced' casual restaurants (30%).

A multiplicity of reasons account for this:  consumers not only want to "save money," they also now view "prices at restaurants" and the "price of gas" as more important barriers to their frequency of dining out.  On the other hand, reports are that fast food restaurants have seen little or no decline.

Source: The Marketing Workshop

Changes in Consumer Travel

Last summer, almost half of the traveling public (47%) reported that they had changed their travel plans during 2008. Travelers were less likely to take a vacation at all (21%), took fewer trips (18%), stayed closer to home (17%), used less expensive accommodations (13%) or stayed fewer days (11%). Obviously, many made more than one of these changes in behavior.

These changes were especially prevalent among younger, lower income households, and families with children.

Today, nine months later, an even higher proportion of travelers (62%) say that their 2009 travel plans will be impacted. Now, one-half (49%) will reduce the number of trips they take, and 37% will reduce the distance they travel, staying closer to home for fewer nights. For this reason, many travel marketers have redefined their marketing area, generally to driving distances within 300 or so miles, with less dependence upon air travel.

Source: Research and Travel Consultants The Marketing Workshop

Selling the Experience

Many tourism entities realize they are no longer selling travel products. They have moved into the arena of selling travel experiences. Selling experiences will change the way any travel or tourism organization will approach the consuming public.

Source: Travel Insights 

Customer Service -- the hot potato treatment

When someone calls for information, they expect an answer from the first or second person to whom they speak. Clients do not enjoy being passed around the office as staffers vaguely guess at an answer. (Nor do they like having to repeat their question over and over.) The runaround signals that nobody knows what they are doing. If the expert is not in, take a message and have that person call back promptly.

Source: On Tour Newsletter, Summer 2008 

Medical Tourism

Medical tourism is an unintended consequence of the rise of centers of excellence within healthcare.

Source Robert Crone, MD President Harvard Medical International 

Cooking is the another market segment

After 50 years of sampling international cuisine, Americans have become quite sophisticated in what they eat - and, as a result, they are beginning to seek exotic flavors with almost frantic zeal. To satisfy this American palate, recreational cooking programs are popping up everywhere.

Source: Go 7/08 

Encouragement

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.

Samuel Johnson

Defeating the De-Motivator

The sweet strains of a Puccini aria cut through the Saturday night
clatter of the busy Italian restaurant in New York City, but it
wasn’t coming from the aging voice of the Sicilian baritone who was
hired to belt out favorites like Funiculi-Funicula. It was a soprano
whose crystal clear voice filled the room. Within moments all the
ambient noise came to a halt. Diners stopped eating and talking,
busboys stopped clearing tables, the cooks even came out of the
kitchen.

Singing on the tiny stage was the skinny moon-faced waitress from
Ohio. The Sicilian heard she studied opera, so he invited her to join
him, but what began as a duet ended in solo as he too was mesmerized
by the beauty of her voice. When she finished, the place thundered in
applause and I saw tears of gratitude glistening in her eyes. She had
hit each note perfectly.

If only she had done that when she auditioned for the Metropolitan
Opera. But she choked, flinched, allowed a seed of doubt to creep
into her consciousness and thus her voice.

She told me her story over a couple of beers after work. It was the
fall of 1984, and I was a fellow waiter at the restaurant; just
another struggling artist in the city that never sleeps. She
explained that she got nervous during her audition and couldn’t hit
the high notes. She would get one more chance to audition, but she
would have to wait an entire year.

I never found out if she made it; as a writer my art is portable and
a few months later I moved to a city where they still have a bedtime.
I suspect she did, because that night she received a proof - a vital
beginning step.

Doubt is a silent killer. We transmit feelings of doubt to others
through subtleties in our body language, facial expression and tone
of voice. It is picked up subconsciously by those with whom we
communicate. Worse than that, we communicate it to ourselves, and it
seeps into our performance. Doubt is the De-Motivator and all too
often it prevents us from even trying.

We all suffer doubt occasionally, and its cure is always the same:
proof. Proof that we are indeed talented enough to do what we set
out to do. A proof doesn’t need to be big to eliminate doubt. A
series of little ones can be just as effective.

I keep a journal - a log - of accomplishments. Both small and large,
because they all add up to reasons for believing in my abilities. It
is especially important to log the little ones, because they are so
easy to forget or overlook, and yet they carry tremendous weight when
it comes to giving ourselves confidence.

You say, “ I’m just starting out and have no accomplishments.” That
just means you’re not looking in the right places. We all have
successes, some of them may be found in different areas of your life.
I often read in the Wall Street Journal about women, who after years
as stay-at-home Moms, return to the work force in well-paid
management positions. They acquire these jobs by citing in their
resumes the many skills and achievements they learned through their
volunteer work. What talents are you racking up through your hobbies
and leisure activities?

Sometimes proof comes to us by comparing ourselves to others. Simply
ask yourself, “Out of all the people who have ever lived, how many
have attained what I want?” The sheer numbers alone will often be
all the proof you need.

When all else fails, fall back on faith. Some of the most successful
people in the world had absolutely no proof that they could achieve
their dreams. All they had was a strong desire and a belief in
themselves. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Take the first
step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take
the first step.”

Source: Robert Evans Wilson, Jr. is a motivational speaker and humorist. He
works with companies that want to be more competitive and with people
who want to think like innovators. For more information on Robert's
programs please visit www.jumpstartyourmeeting.com. 

The Code of the West

1. Live each day with courage
2. Take pride in your work
3. Always finish what you start
4. Do what has to be done
5. Be tough, but fair
6. When you make a promise, keep it
7. Ride for the brand
8. Talk less and say more
9. Remember that some things aren't for sale
10. Know where to draw the line

What a leader must do

Lead authentically -- leaders must always actin ways that are consistent with their values.

Lead with integrity -- leaders must be a leader all the time. The different aspects of a leader's life fit together coherently and consistently

Lead with creativity -- leaders must courageously re-think how work gets done while embracing and initiating change

Source: GACVB Certification Program 2009 

Successful Traits -- Style

"Dare to be different," says speaker and author Debbie Allen. "All the truly successful people have found ways to distinquish themselves from the pack. You don't have to be outrageous - although you might be -- but it's important to develop a personal brand. Then, one way or another, people will remember you."

Source: Selling Power, New Solutions for Managers 

Successful Traits -- Position

"Successful people get themselves in front of the people who can make a difference in their lives, their careers, and where they want to go," says speaker and author Debbie Allen. "If there's someone in their community they admire, they ask them to lunch. They work with consultants and coaches to take their business to the next level. They look for ways to co-market with like-minded businesses. I say fine people who scare you a little bit, who are at a higher level and stretch you out of your confort zone. There are the contracts who empower you."

Source: Selling Power, New Solutions for Managers 

Successful Traits -- Repetition

Successful people know how to put themselves out there on a regular basis, " says Debbie Allen, speaker and author of Confessions of a Shameless Self Promoters. "Self promotion and relationship building become habits with them, and when something doesn't work, they don't even consider giving up. Most people say, 'Oh, I blew that; maybe I should give up," but successful people just dust themselves off and go in another direction."

Source: Selling Power, New Solutions for Manager 

Advice after loosing a sale

When you don't make that big sale, it's natural to be down on yourself. But expert motivator Dr. Wayne Dyer warns not to invest too much of your confidence in a single sale.

"You don't need to interpret a lost sale as a rejection of yourself," he says. "If you need the sale to prove your self-worth, you will end up trying too hard. You'll be communicating that if you don't get it, you're going to be hurt, you're going to feel bad. So you'll come across as pushy; you'll be tempted to use guilt. All of this comes from needing the sale. But you've got the choice to turn this around by conveying to that prospect, 'If I make the sale, that's terrific. If I don't, that's fine too. I like you, and maybe we'll do business some other time.'"

Adapted from Be In It to Win, part of The Selling Power Success Library, published by McGraw Hill.

Source: Selling Power, article by Lisa Gschwandtner 

Added Value

As we approach the summer travel season, I see more and more articles talking about how important it is for destinations to provide added value to the public. This can be simply a two for one coffee at a fast food restaurant, complimentary iced tea, free wi-fi, or as I have observed by some national advertising by hotel chains, buy two nights, get the third night free. Disney and Vegas have been doing this since news of the slow down in economy became headline news. Something to think about.

The CVB's travel consultants advised that each destination look at offering "value" that would impact market segments -- from leisure travel to conventions & meetings. AAA announced that it expects to see a higher than usual travel season this Memorial Day with that surge lasting throughout most of the summer. Seems that the economy and gas inching up over $2 a gallon won't have much impact.

We've put together some packages that will be sent to our "best customer" list to lure them to the area. Our web site has an enhanced booking engine along with suggested itineraries on how to make Columbus an ideal getaway. And most important, our visitor intercept surveys show a growing number of individual travelers picking Columbus as a "get-a-way" -- meaning they're choosing to come to our city and overnight; perhaps because their dollar buys more and our experiences have a broader appeal and uniqueness about them. And of course, our message is getting out there in a variety of campaigns we introduced over the past 18 to 24 months. Repetition and consistency is what advertising and marketing 101 taught us.

We'll keep our eye on the trends as they shift and change to make certain all resources are focused on the target. If you have any ideas or read something that could make a difference, send it our way.

Why 'generic selling' won't work

Customers won't listen to your salespeople's solution unless they believe your sales force really cares about their unique situation. Your salespeople have to do their homework -- and ask questions that prove their dedicatoin to helping each individual customer. Instead of asking generic questions that might apply to anyone -- like "What are your main business objectives?" -- have your salespeople spotlight specifics; "Your annual report notes that division X grew substaintially last year. What made you decide to devote resources to that area?"

Targeted questions that establish your credibillity will build trust needed to win sales.

Source: Adapted from "Three strategies (and how to use them) to make your sales funnel flow faster," by Michael J. Webb, on MarketingProfs.com