|
Integrating Email Campaigns with New and Existing Mediums
A review of the "why's" and "how's" of email integration with other marketing mediums September 2008
Overview The purpose of this paper is to: The world of email marketing has changed dramatically during the course of the last decade. The main catalyst of . Provide a brief background on integrating email
the change has been remarkable advances in technology with other mediums so readers understand why
and the channels available for communication to our this concept is so vital to their marketing efforts.
target audiences. Technology keeps getting better, faster, . Give information that marketers, specifically email and more reliable. As marketers harness the power of marketers, need to know to understand integration one outlet, it is replaced by one that is more powerful and, more importantly, to start relying on it as part and more effective. Another factor contributing to the of their overall marketing strategy. change in email marketing is the audience's reaction and response to a marketer's message as the industry shifts . Highlight examples of how integration should and toward bigger (or in some cases smaller), better, and should not be used in campaigns. faster communication channels.
Think about the technology we now use to stay connected, A "Multi-Channel" Approachwhether it's a link to our office, home, colleagues or When we talk about communication or marketing friends. We use smart phones, such as Blackberries channels, we're really talking about all of the different and I-Phones, to keep email flowing directly from our avenues available to reach the target audience(s). A list inboxes to the devices in our palm. We rely on social of possible channels might include: networks, such as Facebook, My Space and LinkedIn, to keep us connected to our colleagues and friends. These . Email marketing
tools also send us instant updates via email whenever . Direct mail one of our "friends" or "colleagues" updates their profile or status. And, of course, we still have a pile of mail . Social networking (My Space, Facebook, LinkedIn)waiting in our mailboxes when we arrive home each night. These devices and new, online features change . Blogging
the way we process information. Once hailed as the . Online search features "must-do" of email marketing, HTML messages now need to be edited for rendering purposes on a two-inch . Advertising (or smaller) screen. Taking advantage of new outlets including social networks, blogs, and other mediums, in . Article/editorial placement for educational purposes addition to email, is all part of a larger movement in the (in industry trade or consumer media outlets) email marketing industry coined, "integration." . Exhibiting and conferences or trade shows
Integration of communication mediums is not just the . Face-to-face communication wave of the future-it's the present. It's a concept that marketers should know about, embrace and incorporate Integrating channels into an overall campaign isn't into each campaign. simply about using more than one of the channels listed above. It's better to think of "integration" as incorporating a "multi-channel" approach to the campaign at hand. The subtle distinction is that a "multi- and delivery medium and achieving positive results. channel" approach involves evaluating your audience, Technology makes it possible to collect quality data segmenting it by the channel best suited for each segment, points from a variety of places. The problem for many creating messages tailored to each segment, and, most marketers is that data is also stored in a variety of places. importantly, recording and integrating the results and Using our example above, the sales data is captured in a evaluation data for the entire campaign. CRM model while the email response is captured in the email service provider system or module. For example, let's say you have a customer relationship management tool, or CRM, that houses sales reports To take advantage of the benefits of integration, the and trends for your target audiences. The sales and trend marketer must actually integrate the multiple sources ... [download for more]
|
