Here is an apology from the famous Seth Godin for sending an email to people without permission. If it’s good enough for him it’s good for us. Opt-in and full permission is becoming key in the world of B2B Internet Marketing. It’s not enough any more to just “get an email address” and send people anything we want, especially with penalties regarding CAN-SPAM compliance and the risk of being blacklisted by major ISPs as a “spammer” even when your intentions were pure.

If either of our companies are going to be truly effective, we have to be ruthless that people are getting only what they give us full permission to send them. We intend to clean up our act among all our clients and apply these practices to all future projects.

• There is a strong business case that we are just making people angry when we send them something they didn’t ask for.
• When our own website visitors opted-in to our email autoresponder, we have seen nearly a 100% conversion to personally contacting us.

We will be putting attention on getting new leads to double-opt-in with

• an irresistible offer
• and compelling message.

If they don’t double-opt-in, too bad for them but we won’t be sending them info to jam up their inbox with what could be easily called spam.

Fortunately in the B2B community, it is accepted practice to request phone numbers on lead forms so we can follow up with a phone call but that’s the end if there is no double-opt-in. They would then be scrubbed from our lists.

Categories: email marketing
Tags: b2b, can spam, double opt in, email, spam, spammer

Did they get 100% on the SEO cartoon quiz? We did. If your SEO didn’t then you need better marketing nerds.

Categories: Random Musings
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(Summarized from MarketingSherpa’s Email Benchmarking Guide - 2008)

1. “Inbox Overload” is the Number 1 concern on the minds of email marketers, far exceeding concern over delivery and tracking issues

• • 36% report recipient mailboxes are swamped and all email suffers
  • Another 21% report Spam is eroding trust in email

Choosing a great subject line and repeatedly having content of interest to your mailing list are the number one ways to get your Email Newsletters and Promotions read consistently

1. What’s the best time to deliver emails?
   • Wednesday and Thursday have the highest “click through” (click through means they took the action you offered) average at 5%
   • Monday and Friday are second at 4%
   • Tuesday is next at 3%
   • Saturday and Sunday are at 2%
   • Lunchtime is primetime to do non-work related activities online
   • 83% of responses arrive within the first 48hours, make sure you are ready

Delivery Day does matter, particularly when you are targeting the B2B market.

1. Best practices for what is in an email blast or newsletter
   • Email address for feedback - 53%
   • Navigation links - 48%
   • Display recipient’s email address - 44%
   • Telephone contact number - 40%
   • Subscription link - 27%
   • Forward to a friend - 25%

Make it easy for people who open your email to respond to you. The best offer several ways to contact you so you can match the customer’s preferences at the time they open your email.

1. Over 85% of companies tested the subject lines of their emails
   • The easiest and most effective test an emailer can run
   • You have 2 seconds to make a favorable impression
   • Well-crafted, to-the-point subject line is best

If you have not been testing your Email Newsletter “subjects”, you are missing a vital tool to improving open rates.

1. Investment in TESTING (subjects, layouts, calls to action, etc.) will almost always result in enough learning to easily pay for itself in email campaigning
   • 91% of retailers use offer testing
   • Of those 91%, over 95% would recommend it to others (THAT’s an Ah Ha)
   • Only 70% of B2B marketers would recommend testing to improve results (more creativity required with the less flexibility in what they can “offer” as specials

Most companies spend all their investment in growing the list when TESTING is probably a more effective way to improve Return on Investment from an email marketing campaign.

1. What is the “Best Business Newsletter” content? (no surprise here, customers want information of interest to them) - Scores on a 4.0 scale
   • Articles on tactics or how-to - 3.5
   • Case studies of client’s experiences - 3.1
   • List of best practices (Top Ten lists) - 3.1
   • Articles on high level strategy - 2.2
   • Interviews with customers or analysts - 1.8
   • Aggregating industry news - 1.4

The high scores for “how-to, case studies, and Top Tens” show that successful email newsletters provide valuable information for the customers, not information on your company, products, or services.

1. 57% of B2B emailers are still collecting customer address, fax number, etc when contact data is obtained.

Unless you can connect the information you collect to a tangible benefit for your customer, you should probably not ask for it (note the emphasis on “customer” value)

1. For B2B marketers, the best ways to get high quality email opt-ins were:
   • Free trials/downloads
   • Sales alert/product announcement offers
   • Trade events
   • Newsletter offers (not so for the B2C companies)
   • Check boxes on registration and order forms

Two surprises were that in B2C, contests worked great to grow the list, but newsletter signups were not effective. People don’t think most B2C companies provide them value in their email marketing campaigns.

1. How often is “too frequently” to send emails?

• • As often as they will read it - If your customer thinks it’s too often, they WILL consider it spam
  • Should have mostly to do with the needs of your customers
  • Let it ebb and flow along with your customer’s sales cycles
  • Segmentation by sales cycles would be very powerful to be in sync with your customers
  • Don’t bother people that just purchased from you
  • If you have a hot lead for a big-ticket item, send them a different, thought provoking email every day for a week

Sending email newsletters or promotions requires “careful thought” to get the frequency right. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask whether you are sending them at the right frequency.

1. 20% is about the average “open rate” for both sales blasts and newsletters

• • Rates vary from a high of 28% for Banking/Finance companies to a low of 9% for Wholesale/Distribution companies
  • Consulting is tough at 10.8%
  • Manufacturing average is 15.6%

This data shows that we really have to work hard on our subject lines and content to make newsletters and blasts of value to our customers.

Categories: email marketing
Tags: b2b, email marketing

JUST THE FACTS: From the Enquiro Online B2B Purchasing Survey 2007

Summary Results of B2B Survey

• “…even we were surprised by just how important respondents to our survey indicated that online research was to their purchase decisions”
  • There was a clear spark of interest from a trade show, colleague, or friend and then they went to SEARCH
• The match of a good vendor website and a recommendation from a peer or colleague was a clear winner
• Price and Product Information in clear text is the #1 thing purchasers want in all phases of the buying process
  • They want this in clear, simple text
  • Less important were rich media, online video, and podcasts
  • Simpler is Better
• Google Dominates B2B search with 77.7% of the market
• B2B Verticals like Business.com, Knowledge Storm, and Thomas Net were important later in the buying decision process to compare alternatives
• 50% of B2B online interactions convert to a sale. This was a surprise that it was so high
• Where “on the page” are B2B buyers clicking? (This is confirmed through other recent eye tracking studies)
  • 74.4% organic listings; 18.7 Paid Ads
  • 27.1% on the Top Organic Listing
  • 52.6% on the Top 4 Organic Listings

(more…)

Categories: Management Issues
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We are proud to be partnering with Sea and Shell of Charleston, SC to announce the relaunch of their website. Marilyn Reeves of Sea and Shell is an ongoing exploration of the products that come from the ocean, including magnificent collector shells, craft shells, and several items derived from the oceanic bounty. The store has expanded to include a wide range of nautically-themed home accents.

Sea & Shell was founded in 1999 and born from a passion for the sea and is located on the corner of North Market Street and Church Street in historic Charleston, South Carolina. Since opening, the store has become a perennial favorite for new customers and old friends.

Marilyn makes many of the mirrors, tables and statuary that is encrusted with shell. This side of the business continues to grow with the appeal being magnificent mirror and furniture that can be custom designed.

Opening an oyster that is guaranteed a pearl has been a favorite of everyone’s since the store has opened. Beautiful cameo and pearl jewelry, children’s items, and a wide range of boats, have proven that Sea & Shell is a nautical adventure that can be enjoyed by everyone.

Categories: Offline Marketing
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