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Future Trends in Interactive Marketing (and the Future is Now) Josh Perlstein, President Response Media
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3 1 5 5 M e d l o c k B r i d g e R o a d . N o r c r o s s , G e o r g i a 3 0 0 7 1 . P h 7 7 0 . 4 5 1 . 5 4 7 8 . F x 7 7 0 . 4 5 1 . 4 9 2 9 . w w w . r e s p o n s e m e d i a . c o m 1 Future Trends in Interactive Marketing (and the Future is Now) Josh Perlstein, President Response Media Nobody debates that the Internet allows for the most cost-efficient, personalized, and effective communication with consumers. Online communication can support brand building and generate sales, individually and simultaneously. Perhaps equally important, the Internet allows for communication and sales tactics to be quickly, easily, and accurately measured and optimized. Improvements and advances in online communications are dynamic, rapid and occur on a continuum, however, we've teased out a few trends that savvy marketers are using to their advantage: Customer Email - Results Are Still Improving For product brands and online merchants, using e-mail to communicate with customers and internal prospects has consistently been one of the most profitable marketing channels available to them online. E-mail may be a cluttered space today, yet e-mail marketing results are still improving with some newly popularized strategies and trends, including shopping cart and search abandonment e-mail campaigns. By using abandonment-triggered emails, marketers send emails to customers who abandon their shopping cart, and invite them to come back to finish their transaction. Likewise, marketers are beginning to send emails with alternative search term suggestions and results when a web visitor leaves the site after an unfulfilling search. We are seeing click rates over 40% on these tactics, when performed immediately and correctly. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Marketers should be aware of and actively testing alternatives to e-mail that offer relevant, targeted, and uncluttered messaging. Such alternatives include RSS, in which consumers receive promotions, sales, and other content from a marketer by subscribing to hyper targeted, personalized feeds through an individualized RSS (IRSS) delivery platform. While more than 50% of people who receive RSS don't know what RSS is, marketers know that the daily delivery of tips and information to consumers through RSS is enjoying ever-increasing popularity. In addition, some ad
3 1 5 5 M e d l o c k B r i d g e R o a d . N o r c r o s s , G e o r g i a 3 0 0 7 1 . P h 7 7 0 . 4 5 1 . 5 4 7 8 . F x 7 7 0 . 4 5 1 . 4 9 2 9 . w w w . r e s p o n s e m e d i a . c o m 2networks are starting to offer ads inserted into RSS feeds; as this trend grows, we anticipate that millions of users will be reachable within this tactic. This makes RSS an e-mail alternative well worth monitoring. Branded Desktop Applications and IM Downloadable desktop applications and Instant Messengers (IM) are other alternatives to e-mail that are developing into effective marketing and sales channels. Consumers download a desktop application or a branded IM tool and use it to hear about sales and promotions and to receive other content. This tactic tends to have enormous viral, pass-along value. Brands such Southwest Airlines, with its Ding! Tool; Dannon; Roche; and Dodge are among those that have made this tactic a key element in their online marketing strategy. Mobile Communication There has been much discussion over the proliferation of mobile communication and messaging. There have even been recent successful tests in this area for over-the-mobile device purchasing. For these tactics to succeed, obtaining proper permission from consumers is crucial. Permission can most easily be obtained by inviting consumers to receive mobile messages through other media. For example, we see marketers inviting consumers to give permission, by contacting them through email, web display media or even through television advertising. The other important element in mobile is that you focus heavily on engaging, truly valuable content and offers. I can assure you that no one wants to be "bothered" by you over their mobile pho... [download for more]
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