â–¶ E-Marketing’s Potential Real, But Unrealized: A recent survey conducted by Internet Retailer suggests that although revenue numbers for retailers are down, sales conversion rates for e-mail marketing tactics rose for nearly a quarter of those surveyed, while more than half of the respondents reported little to no change.
According to the survey, less than 10% of all online sales derive from e-mail marketing tactics, indicating that the medium is perhaps underutilized in the retail industry. The study also found:
• 51.6% of those surveyed plan to increase their use of e-mail marketing during the recession, while 43.7% plan to keep e-mail marketing volume about the same. Only 4.7% plan to decrease it;
• 38.8% are triggering e-mail blasts based on customer behavior or events;
• 46.7% of retail marketers say they will be fine-tuning their mix of graphics and content to improve the effectiveness of e-mail campaigns during the economic recession;
• 36.5% of retailers are personalizing messages (such as by addressing customers by first name); and,
• 18.4% are providing multiple options (for example, opting out of promotional e-mails but remaining on the e-newsletter list) during the opt-out process.
Source: Internet Retailer
â–¶ CMOs Learn on the Fly: CMOs are navigating unfamiliar waters when it comes to digital marketing, according to a survey of more than 800 senior marketing execs administered by the CMO Club. The poll found that nearly 80% of CMOs trust their industry peers most when it comes to digital marketing insight, with 44% turning to e-marketing agencies and only 24% turning to traditional marketing firms. Among the additional findings:
• 60% of CMOs say they consider evaluation of digital marketing’s impact on offline consumer behavior their biggest marketing challenge;
• Despite the fact that mobile use is increasing, mobile digital marketing tools are viewed as least effective among CMOs;
• Almost 80% of CMOs consider e-mail effective, while less than 40% find online communities effective and less than 20% consider SMS messaging useful; and,
• CMOs are now focusing more on current customer feedback (25.5%) than improving marketing credibility (10%).
Source: CMO Club
â–¶ Friend, Foe or CEO? The third annual Deloitte LLP Ethics & Workplace survey indicates that corporate executives are increasingly concerned with how their employees portray themselves on social networking Web sites.
According to the study, 60% of execs believe they have the right to know how their employees represent themselves—and their employers—on sites like Facebook and Twitter. By contrast, only 53% of employees consider their personal online profiles to be of concern to their employer. The report also showed:
• 74% of respondents believe online social networks can make it easier to damage a company’s reputation;
• 17% say they have programs in place to monitor and mitigate the possible reputation-related risks regarding the use of social networks; and,
• While less than a quarter have formal policies on the medium’s use among their people, 49% of employees indicate defined guidelines will not change their behavior online.
Source: Deloitte
â–¶ When Economy Slumps, Public Confidence Follows:
According to a Capstrat poll, the economic recession could be fueling public hostility toward the government, corporations and the media. The survey, which questioned 568 adults nationwide, indicates that the poor economy has resulted in a transformation in media consumption habits, as well as in general distrust in the banking system and in the government. The study also concluded that:
• Only 5% of respondents say they have “a lot of confidence” in the media, 8% in corporations and 13% in banks;
• Government fared better than corporations, with 23% of poll respondents saying they had a lot of confidence in government;
• Small business enjoyed a relatively high confidence level from 40% of poll respondents; and,
• 57% of respondents say they have little confidence in labor unions. PRN
Source: Capstrat