Featured Post: My Reading & Podcast List
Here are recent books I’ve read and podcasts I enjoy. If you’re looking for something interesting to listen to or read, these are a few that have stood out to me. Let me know if you have a recommendations.
2019 Holiday Season Takeaways and Ecommerce Marketing Action Items
The 2019 holiday season has concluded, and once again ecommerce experienced record-breaking sales. But what made the 2019 holiday season so successful, and which trends have become the new normal? Analyzing the results does no good unless you implement the lessons learned to further your marketing program.
3 Holiday Promotions That Keep Subscribers Opening Your Emails
There’s no shortage of promotions retailers can choose when planning their holiday email marketing strategy. However, the holiday season is long, so retailers need to find ways to not only increase sales but also keep subscribers opening their emails.
Here are three kinds of promotions that I expect will be heavily-used by retailers throughout this upcoming holiday season to accomplish these goals.
The Most Important Things to Know About Holiday Email Planning
The holiday shopping season is upon us and, like last year, this year is expected to once again break online sales records — reaching $142 billion, according to eMarketer. For companies big and small, email marketing is going to have a significant hand in helping drive those record sales.
Data Dive: How to Personalize Email & Navigation for Maximum Impact
For email marketers, finding opportunities to collect background on your customer can deliver a more personalized email experience. While this information exists for every retailer — whether they sell apparel, footwear, jewelry, or insects — marketers often overlook customer background data widely available to them. Stop ignoring the information in front of you and start segmenting your email subscribers by focusing on some behavior-based alternatives.
How to Start Segmenting Your Emails
The lack of audience segmentation usually centers on time and resources. For example, with only two people in the email department, it isn’t realistic to consistently send seven varieties of messages each time. This doesn’t mean a company can’t segment its emails. You just need to start in a manageable way and grow from there.
Don’t You Know Me at All? The Importance of Relevant Recommendations
Imagine this scenario. You’re staying at a hotel, and you visit the concierge for a great dinner recommendation. You give him all sorts of information, including your craving for surf and turf. You tell him about the vintage red wine you like and your wife’s favorite chardonnay. You say you want a relaxed, romantic atmosphere – nothing too loud. After sharing all of those details, the concierge recommends the local sports bar. Wouldn’t you have expected more? Would you think less of the concierge and even the hotel chain as a whole? This same kind of interaction happens between retailers and consumers every day.
New Year, New Emails, No More Excuses
With email continuing to be one of the top-performing online marketing channels, I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that my inbox is overrun with bland, generic emails. Why change what seems to be working? But change is inevitable. If you don’t believe me, just look at what evolving consumer expectations have done to many legacy retailers.
The fact is, while some strategies require larger resources or investments, many do not – and those that don’t can pay huge dividends. Make 2018 excuse-free. Roll up your sleeves, and improve your email program. Here are three ways to get started.
Eggnog and Fruitcake: Holiday Predictions That You Can Stomach
With the holiday shopping season about to begin, I thought this would be the perfect time to share my expectations for the end of the year. After all, planning is all about anticipation, and knowing what to anticipate will help you better prepare for the holidays. Here goes:
Alexa, Order Me Browserless Commerce
My five-year-old son recently uttered the phrase, “Why don’t you just ask Siri?” This was in response to my wife asking me a question. Even though my answer, “because I am smarter than Siri” wasn’t fully accepted, something occurred to me. This is his normal.
What does this mean for online retailers and brands that are accustomed to consumers navigating browsers rather than barking voice commands?
The Next Generation of Batch-and-Blast Email Marketing
Miami-dwelling Joe likes the colorful Bermuda shorts and green boat shoes he found on your website. But when he gets the email promotion featuring the black winter jacket? Not so much.
Today’s consumers expect relevant communication from retailers, and in this example, Joe’s expectations were not met. It’s also the kind of example that’s been used to knock batch-and-blast emails as an ineffective strategy. But what if you could still batch-and-blast – and personalize?
3 Ways to Cultivate Post-Holiday Customer Loyalty
How do retailers turn seasonal gift buyers into year-round customers? The fact is, it’s a struggle. Some customers may not want to hear from you for another 365 days, while others may need more personalized suggestions before they’ll make another purchase. Either way, at the very least, you want them to come back next year. But too often, retailers don’t devise a plan and simply lump these customers back into the regular stream of batch-and-blast messaging.
Is Google Trying to Kill the Mobile Popup?
As you may have heard by now, come January 2017, Google’s search rankings will begin penalizing mobile websites that have pop-ups and interstitials. The reason? Google says it is focused on providing users with a smooth mobile experience and allowing them to access the information they are looking for without interruption. The search provider believes that even if “optimized” for mobile devices, these features contribute to a poorer experience because of the devices’ smaller size.
5 Ways to Prepare for the Holiday Season
You’ve likely got a list of to-dos longer than a kid’s wish list for Santa. And with the hustle of the season, it’s easy for some tasks to fall by the wayside, which could result in a poor customer experience or first impression, lost sales, or even an under-performing holiday season. Don’t let this happen to you. Here are five essential tasks that should be on every commerce marketer’s holiday preparation list.
How Consumers Across the Globe Shop and Buy Online
Consumer technology is constantly evolving, reshaping the way retailers and consumers interact on a daily basis. These changes force retailers to provide functionality that allows consumers to easily make purchases on their device, or devices, of choice. It’s become critical to understand how devices are used in different ways from one region to another.
Anniversaries Aren’t Just for Couples: Build Lifetime Value with Automated Offers
Retailers are constantly looking for simple, automated lifecycle messages that not only contribute to their bottom line, but also re-engage subscribers. The usual suspects – birthday and re-engagement messages – are common.
The anniversary message, though, is often underused, especially since the kinds of anniversaries celebrated are as varied as the products and customers you have.
Here are three very simple date-based automated messages that can drive revenue and successfully re-engage your email subscribers.