'Net Features : exacttarget

Get Pushy with Mobile Notifications

Allison Howen — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 20:35:00 GMT

ExactTarget is stepping its game up when it comes to mobile marketing.

This is because the digital marketing provider has launched a new mobile application, called MobilePush, which enables marketers to send push notifications through a standalone application or integrate the push messages with campaigns across email, social and the Web via ExactTarget’s Interactive Marketing Hub. By sending notifications directly to consumers’ phones, marketers can increase engagement, drive conversions and encourage app usage.

“Consumers’ rapid adoption of mobile is fueling a transformation that requires marketers to create and optimize mobile experiences at every point of the digital marketing mix,” said Tim Kopp, ExactTarget’s chief marketing officer and board member of the Mobile Marketing Association. “ExactTarget’s MobilePush application provides the industry’s first solution to seamlessly integrate app-level messaging that leverage engagement data from across email, mobile, social and the Web to deliver the most relevant engaging experience.”

The ExactTarget MobilePus application features:

Cross-Channel Integration – The app’s integration into the Interactive Marketing Hub allows marketers to associate push messages with ExactTarget-powered campaigns across email, social and the Web.

Advanced Segmentation – Users can trigger relevant messaging based on consumer preferences and engagement across email, mobile, social and the Web.

Reporting and Analytics – Users have the ability to view application engagement metrics in real time so that they can optimize cross-channel experiences.

Leading Technology – The app is powered by a partnership that leverages Urban Airship’s Push notification technology with ExactTarget’s data-driven cross-channel marketing automation.

It is important to note that in addition to launching the MobilePush application, ExactTarget also unveiled other new mobile innovations and capabilities, including the expansion of the company’s MobileConnect SMS messaging application that now features additional API functionality to trigger real-time SMS messages and adds expanded cross-channel capabilities to power Web-initiated double opt-in and message delivery management. Moreover, ExactTarget’s integrated mobile email capabilities enable marketers to optimize email messages delivered to mobile devices and preview email rendering.

Just Do It! End Shopping Cart Abandonment With Email Today

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 17:30:00 GMT

Website Magazine's upcoming feature story for December 2012 focuses on the rapid innovation occuring today in the email marketing space. Despite a historically bad repuation, significant strides have been made in the past few years in terms of useful and practical development including integrations with analytics, CRM, marketing automation and you guessed it - email marketing services.

The benefactor of all this amazing development and innovation of course is the business user - and there's case studies galore (here's one from Listrak, and another from SilverPop) to prove it. UK retailer Appliances Online for example experienced a 50% increase in purchase recovery rates after implimenting ExactTarget's interactive (email) marketing solutions.

"We not only capitalized on the opportunity to re-engage customers with abandoned shopping cart emails but also received insight on why they left our site without completing their purchase,” said Russell Cordingley, Appliances Online’s head of customer retention. “Through our cart abandonment campaign, we have increased our recovery rate, directly fueling our sales results and customer base.”

So what are you waiting for? Any email service provider that is worth using at the enterprise level should have purchase recovery (cart abandonment) features in place.

Email Continues to Drive the Most Purchases

Michael Garrity — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:30:00 GMT

It seems that rumors of email’s demise (or rather, social media’s dominance) have been greatly exaggerated. That is, if we are to believe a new study released by interactive marketing solutions provider ExactTarget.

Two-thirds (66 percent) of online Americans have made a purchase as a result of an email they received, which is nearly twice as many as those who reported purchasing something based on a marketing message delivered either on Facebook (20 percent) or via text messaging (16 percent).

The survey studied 1,481 online consumers to find out just how these shoppers communicate online with brands and friends. The results showed a significant divide among communication preferences with regard to personal and marketing messages.

A whopping 77 percent of the respondents said they would rather get marketing messages in their email, but just 45 percent said they prefer to use that channel for personal communication. On the other hand, only five percent of consumers said they prefer receiving marketing messages on social networking sites.

Email proved itself as the Internet’s continued go-to communications method, with 96 percent of respondents saying they use email at least weekly. Also, 76 percent said that email is preferred for customer service messages.

Although 70 percent of respondents said they use Facebook weekly, just 20 percent use Twitter as frequently. Facebook is also twice as likely to convince teens (ages 15-17) to make a purchase as Twitter, though both pale in comparison to email's ability to drive purchases.

Email Campaigns and Customer Preferences

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:45:00 GMT

Email marketing service provider ExactTarget and mobile/social analytics provider WebTrends announced an integration today at Webtrends Engage 2011 conference that allows marketers to understand the impact that interactive marketing campaigns and website traffic are having on their business.

The integration essentially enables Web marketers to add ExactTarget tracking data into Webtrends Analytics Insight via WebTrends’ RSS Overlay feature creating a visual display of key metrics data such as page views or time-on-site. The integration also allows marketers to instantly segment Webtrends data to create targeted messages through ExactTarget’s newest Audience Builder product.

“With ExactTarget’s next generation of integration with Webtrends, marketers can unlock the power of their website data to create automated email and interactive marketing programs tailored specifically to the unique needs and preferences of customers or prospects around the world,” said Scott Roth, senior director of partner marketing and alliances at ExactTarget.

Taking Email Mobile

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:45:00 GMT

You have to give some credit to the email marketing industry for not fearing the technologies that were so loudly promised to replace email (namely social and mobile), instead embracing the opportunities that were presented.

Case in point, ExactTarget announced its enhanced ExactTarget Mobile application today, providing marketers with a way to build, launch, manage and analyze mobile marketing programs ranging from SMS alerts and promotional messages to mobile couponing and text-to-win campaigns.

“Mobile provides marketers a unique opportunity to interact whenever and wherever consumers want to engage,” said Scott Dorsey, ExactTarget co-founder and chief executive officer. “ExactTarget Mobile provides marketers a flexible solution to connect with customers on the go and to make those interactions part of a broader interactive marketing campaign.”

ExactTarget Mobile will be available as a standalone application and as a fully integrated channel application through the Interactive Marketing HubTM, allowing marketers to seamlessly integrate mobile marketing with other interactive marketing channels including email, social media and sites.

Features of the platform include a step-by-step mobile campaign creation wizard with custom and pre-defined templates, paperless tickets or coupons and mobile barcodes that can be scanned at point of sale or used for entry to events or transportation, as well as global longcode and shortcode management.

Relevancy Rules in E-mail Marketing

Mike Phillips — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:15:00 GMT

A recent study by ExactTarget shows that e-mail is still one of the most effective (and accepted) ways to market to consumers. Their survey of more than 1,500 consumers found that 93 percent are subscribers -- meaning they have provided their e-mail address to at least one company or brand. Further analysis shows that the average consumer receives 44 e-mails per day. Of those, 25 percent (11) are permission-based commercial messages.

Consumers have come to accept e-mail as a marketing channel. But that doesn't mean it's a fail-safe solution. For one, just under half of those surveyed opened e-mails from their "favorite" companies. Chances are the majority of subscribers on your list don't consider your company a "favorite." So how do you change that? The answer, is relevancy.

Consumers expect personalization. E-mail is much more sophisticated than it was even just a few years ago and consumers know it. Therefore, they expect a message to be tailored to their needs, wants and even behaviors. "Dear Customer" isn't going to work, and neither is an offer for a product that holds no value to them. To be successful, e-mail marketers must ensure that each message conveys a sense familiarity with the consumer. ExactTarget cites a recent CMO Council study that showed 41 percent of U.S. Internet users threatened to stop buying from companies that sent irrelevant messages. Not only does an irrelevant message waste consumers' time but it also erodes confidence in that company. If they don't know me, how can they serve me well? If they don't care, is my information safe?

Consumers expect benefits. Not surprisingly, consumers often carry a what's-in-it-for-me attitude when it comes to e-mail subscriptions. In other words, is this e-mail list relevant to my wants and needs? Some benefits might be discounts and coupons, free giveaways and contests, educational material, early notification of deals (exclusivity) and content tailored to them. As ExactTarget client and Groupon Manager of E-mail Optimization Andrew Kordek explains, "E-mail marketing is not a one-way communication. You need to take yourself out of the company and put yourself in the subscriber's shoes. As a marketer, you're not in charge of the e-mail -- your subscriber is. Let the customer and subscriber dictate how you should run your email program."

So what are those subscribers saying? The study asked: What motivated you to give a company, association, or organization your e-mail address?

67%   To receive discounts and promotions
55%   To get a "freebie" in exchange for my e-mail address
50%   To get updates on upcoming sales
45%   To get updates on future products
33%   To get access to exclusive content
29%   For fun or entertainment
28%   To learn more about their products or services
28% To stay informed about them
22%   For education about topics they specialize in
17%   Someone recommended them
14%   To interact with them
11%   To show my support

One number I find particularly interesting here is the 17% -- Someone recommended them. That seems to have much room for improvement. And social media might just help that effort. Read about social media sharing and e-mail.

ExactTarget and StrongMail Deliver Engagement for Clients

Linc Wonham — Wed, 26 May 2010 15:00:00 GMT

E-mail marketing solutions providers ExactTarget and StrongMail Systems have each recently produced winning results for blue-chip clients. American Greetings Interactive saw a 13-percent increase in customer engagement during its six-month campaign powered by ExactTarget, and Hayneedle.com has experienced a 10.4-percent year-over-year increase in customer-bound e-mails since switching its services to StrongMail.

ExactTarget’s campaign for American Greetings boosted e-mail clicks and opens by using more than 15 unique attributes to segment the online greeting card giant's customer database. ExactTarget’s automation tools and Web analytics data allowed its client to send highly targeted e-mails to specific segments of a membership that exceeds five million subscribers.

By switching to StrongMail’s software license model, Top 100 e-tailer Hayneedle cut its costs in half while increasing its delivery rate from 93.9 percent to 97.5 percent, helping the company double its sales since adopting the new service. StrongMail has also yielded a 10 percent year-over-year increase in Hayneedle’s open rate via improved inbox delivery and testing features.

Know Thy Customer: E-mail Communication Preferences in Focus

Pete Prestipino — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:00:00 GMT

You might know where your customers are located and what they are interested in, maybe even what other sites they vist frequently, but do you know what marketing channels those customers prefer? If not, you're apparently not alone.

Data from a joint study by ExactTarget and Forrester revealed that while more than 85 percent of all marketers are executing multichannel campaigns, less than half know what channels their customers prefer. The study also found the key to selecting the best channels for customer communication is to know something about customer preference and behaviors; however, only 32 percent of the marketers surveyed know how customers behave across channels and only 37 percent know what channels their customers prefer to use.

Additional highlights from the Customer Knowledge is Marketer Power include:
- 80 percent of marketers surveyed claim customer preference is a key factor but only 12 percent ask customers their preferred frequency for email messages.
- 47 percent of marketers surveyed do not take any actions based on customer preferences.
- 27 percent of marketers surveyed measure whether efforts in one channel boost results in another.

The study was one of two research pieces released today as part of ExactTaget's Marketing Preferences Research Bundle.

“The bottom line is that in an industry where new digital communications make it easier to send a variety of messages, it’s imperative that marketers not only send the right message, to the right person, at the right time, but that they use the right channel as well,” said Morgan Stewart, ExactTarget’s director of research and strategy. “The ExactTarget Marketing Preferences Research Bundle provides marketers a complete library of research to improve their multichannel marketing effectiveness.”

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On the Wire at Website Magazine (Submit Your News!)

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:06:00 GMT

Several months into 2008, Website Magazine dropped its popular On The Morning Wire blog post series, which highlighted important news releases for the current day related to Web professionals - SEOs, SEMs, designers, developers - you get the picture. Those posts were exceedingly popular with our readers, as they covered a lot of content in brief, but it was also a pain to manage. Fortunately, that process has been greatly simplified thanks to a little bit of coding and, of course, a healthy dose of creativity.

Starting today, if you publish a press release on PRWeb or directly at the Website Magazine News Release section, your content (relevant content, of course) will appear at WebsiteMagazine.com. News releases are published on the home page (bottom right) which means added exposure in our community and any links you manage to include are dofollow so participating means an added boost to your site on the SERPs.

If you're a company providing Web-related products or services and you've got some news to share, submit it at WebsiteMagazine.com/newsreleases today (and everyday).

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