Personalized Marketing Campaigns

Never Underestimate the Power of Personalization and Persistence

Monday, April 8, 2013 by Mark Rice

We have all received snail mail with our first name in an enclosed letter. "Mark", you have won $1,000,000 dollars!. How I wish. However, marketers have used email marketing to capture response at the right moment by using personalization. It is a known fact that recipients are more likely to open email that is more relevant and targeted towards their business.

We recently supported one of our customers with an email campaign with specific content that was targeted towards decision makers and influencers in their customer accounts. Even though the content was personalized to to the specific persona, we did not see the open rate we anticipated. After reviewing the results and content, we decided to include the company name of each recipient into the subject line.

The open rate for emails delivered with the company name in the subject line increased by 11.5%. Based on this response, we determined that the use of the company name made the emails more targeted and relevant to the recipients.

Capturing response at the right time is critical to breaking through the noise barriers created by competing marketing messages. Use a variety of multi-channels and personalization techniques to increase reach and response with content that resonates with your recipients.

Using Google Custom Campaigns and Short Urls in a Multi-Channel Marketing Campaign

Monday, April 1, 2013 by Carolyn Hasenfratz

In my last blog post I described how I was planning a multi-channel campaign using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, printed materials, QR codes, a mobile-optimized web site, my e-newsletter and postcards. I am using Google campaign tagging along with short urls to see which channels are the most effective.

To make use of Google Campaign tagging, first create a Google Analytics account for yourself if you don't already have one and put the Google Analytics code on your web pages. Your webmaster can help you add the Google Analytics code if you need assistance.

Next, add a question mark to the end of any urls you want to track and add tags for "campaign", "medium" and "source" as in this example. There are five available codes but you can do a lot with just these three. (If the question mark does not work, try an & sign instead, that worked for me on one type of url.) The bold part is the campaign code added to the original url.

http://www.example.com/?utm_campaign=spring&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter1

campaign - is what you select as the identifier for the whole campaign. For example for my clearance sale I picked "clearance2013".

source - is where the traffic is coming from.

medium - is what type of media was used, for example two urls could be on the same web site but one is a banner and one is a link so I could use "banner" for one and "link" for the other.

Here are what two of my urls look like that are for the clearance sale campaign, coming from the web site www.sell66stuff.com but one is a banner and one is a link. The bold part is the campaign code added to the original url:

http://carolynsstampstore.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=48&utm_campaign=clearance2013&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=sell66stuff

http://carolynsstampstore.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=48&utm_campaign=clearance2013&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sell66stuff

For more help with Google Custom Campaigns, see the Google documentation.

Long urls such as those are fine for situations where the end user cannot see them, but for a printed advertisement or a social media post that is too long and confusing. You can use a url shortening service, such as the one offered by MobExMe^TM - QR Code Generator and URL Shortener, to generate one of the above urls into something like this: http://mobex.me/clearweb.

Once your campaign is underway, you can check Google Analytics to review and analyze detailed tracking data. Log into Google Analytics then go to "Traffic Sources", "Sources", then "Campaigns". You will see a graph of visits with a list of your campaigns below it. Click on the name of the campagin to see more detailed information. All of the parts of my campaign are not yet built but some parts are working already and have left a record in my stats:

This information will be very valuable to me the next time I plan a multi-channel marketing campaign!

Planning a Multi-Channel Marketing Campaign

Tuesday, March 5, 2013 by Carolyn Hasenfratz

My ecommerce web site, Carolyn's Stamp Store, is a real business but it also functions as a laboratory for testing out techniques and strategies to employ on behalf of our clients. I am currently running a Spring Clearance Sale campaign. I would like to share with you some ideas on how to plan your own multi-channel marketing campaign.

The first step in my planning process was to decide what the purpose of the campaign is - in my case, to let people know about my clearance sale and to recruit signups for my free e-newsletter.

Next I made a list of all the media, channels and tools that I wanted to utilize in the campaign. My list includes:
- Carolyn's Stamp Store web site
- Google Analytics campaign tags
- Banner ads displayed on other web sites
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Pinterest
- Packing slips that go in outgoing orders
- QR codes
- Mobile optimized web site
- E-newsletter
- Postcards

As I brainstormed about how I was going to use all the channels and tools and how they would integrate with each other, I made a list of tasks I would need to complete for the campaign. I put the jobs in the order in which they would need to be executed. The list is too long to reproduce in full here, but here are a few examples to get you thinking of your own campaign ideas:
- Design banner ads for web sites and e-newsletter
- Create new mobile-optimized web site that includes space for advertising current promotions and e-newsletter signup form
- Reprogram existing QR code already on printed materials and aim it at new mobile-optimized web site
- Promote ad and links to clearance section on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest
- Design postcard
- Prepare mailing list and print mailing labels

With the use of a number of media in one project, it's important to get an idea of which strategies brought the best results so that your next campaign can focus on the most effective channels. Before beginning work, my last step in the planning process was to create a series of Google Analytics campaign codes and short urls designed to let me know how my campaign is progressing. In my next article I'll describe the process in detail to give you ideas for how you can use campaign tagging in your multi-channel marketing efforts.

Is My Mobile Presentation Effective?

Monday, April 18, 2011 by Mark Rice

Webinar Resources is dedicated to providing our customers with the leading mobile applications and solutions that make up our MobexMe product mix.   We are pleased to announce that our Mobile Replay solution now provides mobile tracking.

This means that you can now track mobile presentation content and receive email notifications (like below) and view statistics to determine the effectiveness of your presentation.   As you can see below, you can now track how many slides are viewed and the amount of time each slide was consumed. You can also track if the viewer advances or skips to particular slides.

Using our MobexMe tools, you can also add guest book data directly to your on demand presentation and track who is viewing your presentation.   Launch you personalized mobile marketing campaign from a QR Code or short URL.

No More Cold Calls
With Mobile Replay you can determine if you have a warm lead directly from your mobile phone and follow up with an email or a warm call.

Email Notification Received through Enhanced Mobile Tracking

The presentation titled 'Content On Hand and On-Demand' (ID# 772677522) has been viewed.

The following viewing data was collected:
Date/Time: 4/15/2011 2:25:33 PM
View Type: Mobile
Viewing Time: 00:03:38 (of 00:03:46)
Number of Slides Viewed: 14 (of 14)

These events occurred during the view:
1. 'Come On!' (listened to 00:00:06 of 00:00:06)
2. 'Keep On!' (listened to 00:00:06 of 00:00:06)
3. 'Game On!' (listened to 00:00:05 of 00:00:05)
4. 'Always On!' (listened to 00:00:05 of 00:00:05)
5. 'On Hand' (listened to 00:00:16 of 00:00:16)
6. 'Introducing' (listened to 00:00:09 of 00:00:09)
7. 'Mobile Replay' (listened to 00:00:21 of 00:00:21)
8. 'Which Communication Would Your Customer Prefer?' (listened to 00:00:17 of 00:00:17)
9. 'Which Communication Would Your Customer Prefer?' (listened to 00:00:09 of 00:00:09)
10. 'Produce Once Play On Many' (listened to 00:00:34 of 00:00:34)
11. 'Sales Scenario' (listened to 00:00:15 of 00:00:15)
12. 'Mobile Replay' (listened to 00:00:14 of 00:00:14)
13. 'Advanced Services' (listened to 00:00:27 of 00:00:27)
14. 'Learn More' (listened to 00:00:34 of 00:00:42)

The link to this presentation is:
https://www.brainshark.com/webinarresources/onhand/zCuztn9Bcz0z0

Another blog post sent through Compendium's Email to Post.

What Are You Doing For Your Mobile Customers?

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 by Carolyn Hasenfratz

A new survey of 20,000 adults by BIGresearch shows that 13.2% own a BlackBerry device, 11.3% own an iPhone, 9.3% own a device running Android and 5.2% own an iPad. Among other things, these devices enable consumers to browse the web, view multimedia content, scan bar codes and QR codes, compare prices at the point of sale, download coupons and share information with their social networks. These are all intriguing possibilities for a business to explore as part of the multi channel marketing mix. But are the number of users of smartphones and tablet computers large enough to make the effort to cater to them worthwhile? At first glance those don't sound like terribly high percentages of users.

There is other data in the survey to consider. Perhaps not surprisingly, mobile device users are more likely than the general population to shop online. They are more inclined to research products online before making a purchase. And according to Gary Drenik, president and CEO of BIGresearch, "...mobile device owners are more likely than average consumers to give and seek advice on products and services."

The findings of this research lead me to conclude that campaigns designed to woo mobile users are likely to have a very good return on investment, and therefore are very much worth the effort! For example I've recently made a mobile-optimized version of my design portfolio. At Webinar Resources, we are developing a line of mobile-ready applications to support lead generation, multimedia content delivery, personalization and cross-channel communication. Here are a couple of examples of our mobile mix Mobile Replay and url shortener and QR code generator. We invite you to keep in touch with us via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or our newsletter to stay updated about our latest mobile offerings.

Santa's Following Webinar Resources

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 by Mark Rice

Hello from Santa and MyChristmasBook.com

We have written a lot about personalized marketing campaigns, mobile Brainshark presentations and social media, but this week I have witnessed the real power of "Community".   As we have been promoting our web storybook, "Santa Claus and the Lost Dog" through a blended multi-channel mix, the jolly old elf himself has started following us on our Twitter account - @webinarresource.

It was quite a surprise to see Santa join the mix of conversations about lost dogs, QR codes, magic tickets and of course Santa.   I think this is the legal evidence and credibility that was needed in the great Christmas classic, "Miracle on 34th Street", to prove the existence of Santa Claus. If that movie were produced today, the evidence that Santa exists would clearly be a Tweet from the North Pole on everyone's mobile phone.

So Santa, we are pleased and privileged to have you follow us.   Now, let's all get together and help Santa find Bella, the Lost Dog and order a child the web storybook at http://www.mychristmasbook.com.   To hear a special message from Santa, text Santa to 88769.

MyChristmasBook Trailer Most Viewed/Popular Presentation on MyBrainshark

Tuesday, December 22, 2009 by Mark Rice

The elves at Webinar Resources are busting their buttons as the MyChristmasBook Trailer on MyBrainshark is now the most viewed and most popular Brainshark presentation. Says Santa, who just read this latest update in the Webinar Newsletter from Webinar Resources, "We are very proud that this on demand presentation has received such wide appeal. Rudolph told me that "rich media" was the way to reach the masses so I thought I would give it a try."

The MyChristmasBook Trailer has been viewed across the country and across the world. Webinar Resources launched this campaign to drive lead generation for North Pole IndustryCo. Every MyChristmasBook online Christmas Photo Story Book contains personalized text, images and audio using a good little boy or girl's name and is delivered on a unique personalized North Pole web page. Says Jack Frost, CMO in charge of North Pole's lead generation and personalized marketing campaigns, "We hired Webinar Resources to produce the story of Santa Claus and the Lost Dog as they are the experts in demand generation marketing and the theme song has the reindeer tapping their hoofs."

The success of the campaign can be summed up by Mrs. Claus, "Things have gotten a lot more jolly around here now that the old man is coming home from the shop at a decent hour. Thanks to Webinar Resources launching MyChristmasBook.com with their partners ExactTarget, Brainshark, Vontoo and Compendium, Santa is much more productive and best of all, there are no more cold calls which is important in the frozen North.

"Connections '09: Success by Design" Follow Up

Monday, October 19, 2009 by Carolyn Hasenfratz

Mark and I returned from Indianapolis Thursday evening after attending "Connections '09: Success by Design", a one-to-one marketing conference where we learned a lot of new information about email marketing, social media integration, email + SMS, video in email, personalized marketing campaigns, and much more. In the future we'll be blogging about how we're using the new concepts and techniques that we have learned.

I haven't always done the best job after a conference or trade show of absorbing everything I learned and keeping up with the contacts I made. I was determined to do a better job this time of taking advantage of the opportunity afforded me and our company, by doing the following as quickly as possible after my return home while things were still fresh in my mind:

1. I put my photos from the trip into an album on Facebook and announced the link in our Webinar Resources Twitter feed, as well as my own personal social media tools.

2. I entered the contacts I made into my database and emailed all of them a link to the photos.

3. I organized all the takeaway information from the conference and retyped my handwritten notes (20 pages worth!), cross checking and adding urls to resources whenever appropriate. There were lots of whitepapers, slide presentations, blog posts and other resources to keep track of, and putting links to them in my notes I think will help me remember the context and get more out of the information.

4. I made an action item list of all the ideas I picked up for improvements to make to our marketing materials and strategies.

5. I posted my notes and links to pertinent materials on our private company portal, and sent a notice to all of our team members, so they can benefit from what I have learned.

What do you do after a trade show or conference to help you retain all the new information you have consumed?

Pass it on

Friday, March 27, 2009 by Mark Rice

Everyday we are encountering more social media tools that allow you to quickly share information with others. Today we launched an email campaign for one of our customers that contained a personalized video for the recipients. Each customer received a PURL, a personalized URL, that embedded the customer's name in the video. It was a pretty slick application.

Using ExactTarget, we launched the email movie clips through personalization strings that contained the PURLs. This was an effective lead generation process for driving customer acquisition. Through personalized marketing campaigns, you can capture your reader's interest and move them to take an action.

We are using Brainshark presentations to personalize on demand presentation content and further honing our abilities to deliver a Webinar for ONE.

Go the Extra Mile and get more than Salad!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 by joanna hamilton

Like everyone, we have some customers who come and go across our desks a couple times a year, and then we have some who are there a couple times a day to drive lead generation.

Recently we drove customer acquisition for one of our frequent customers for an event through a personalized marketing campaign. Through a lot of work, the event sold out in two weeks and our customer was thrilled.

Because we work with this customer on an almost daily basis, we decided to go the extra mile and support the event locally, though there's nothing in our contract that defines our work in that way. I found myself pulling what props I could from my children's closets so that I could dress like a pirate and take pictures at the event.

My thoughts were, "OK, just give me a salad at the customer dinner in exchange for these services, and we'll call it a draw." What our team got in return was much more than a salad.

Yes, I dressed like a pirate and managed to draw enough smiles from our client's customers to create a spiffy memory book for the occasion. We also managed to meet with no less than 9 cricital contacts in the span of 2 business days. As a result of these meetings- some scheduled, some by chance, we are better positioned across our client's corporation, and we were able to schedule new business.

So - while the salad and the meal were really good, what was even better was the unexpected developments with existing and new contacts. It's definitely worth it to partner with your clients in ways you might not consider "your area"- - it was well worth our while!

Attend Your Customer Events

Saturday, February 28, 2009 by Mark Rice

I just had the great opportunity this past week to attend one of my customer's events onsite in NY. My events team spent a great deal of time setting up online tools to support customer acquisition including the use of a Brainshark presentation for customers.

Through specially designed personalized marketing campaigns, we were able to draw a record crowd of customers in less than three weeks. The event also had a "pirate-theme" and we produced personalized pirate maps with the customer's names on them.

I attended the event and was able to participate in the festivities which included wine, grog, spirited networking and the opportunity to meet my customers and their customers. I also repurposed one of my old pirate tunes from college and added new lyrics to fit the event. I will share the song in a future post.

What I didn't expect was that I would run into other contacts from my customer's account that I have been trying to meet for over two years. The success of the customer event established my company's credibility for building lead generation conferences like this one and our dialogue was both positive and productive.

So next time you put a lot of effort into setting up an event or campaign for your customer. make sure you participate in the event as well. You will learn more about your customer's business, their customer's business and you may just meet that key contact/decision maker that will influence additional business in your customer's account. You also will be considered more of a partner than a vendor and your business relationship will continue to grow.

Blogging and Google Alert

Monday, December 8, 2008 by Mark Rice

It is amazing to witness how quickly blogging can drive activity.   One of my team recently blogged about the Discovery Light project that we supported at a recent trade show.   Using our webinar service, we posted a Brainshark presentation about how we marketed the show and our lead generation conference exhibit.

As we were using a combination of email and personalized landing pages to drive customer acquisition, our reference to the words "landing page" triggered a Google Alert for another company, ExactTarget.   Within one week of posting our blog, ExactTarget contacted us after visiting our post.   They had set up a Google alert for the words "landing page".   ExactTarget recently released their Landing Page feature and we have been putting it to good use for our demand generation marketing programs.   Make sure you opt-in to receive our next newsletter to see a great example of a personalized image marketing campaign.

Quite often we receive a Google alert after posting a blog as we also monitor keywords.    We have heard Chris Baggott, of Compendium Blogware, a number of times comment on how Google likes old content, recent content and frequent content.   We produce Webinar for ONE replays of their webinars and we hear these words in every presentaiton.

Chris is right on target.   You can drive effective lead generation through frequent and relevant blogging.    We are witnesses to the process and we are becoming evangelists for compended blogging.    The combination of blogging and Google Alerts is another step to helping you achieve that "virtual knock" on the door and another step away from no more cold calls.

Other people are watching and waiting for their Google Alerts to trigger a message about keywords they monitor.   The more you blog about a particular subject, the more chances you have of driving effective lead generation.

Social Media in Business - Part of 4 of 4: Provide the same level of respect online as you would in a on-site meeting

Monday, November 24, 2008 by Carolyn Hasenfratz

It all adds up to: let your "Subscribers Rule" and let your customers communicate with you the way THEY like to communicate with you, which these days is very likely to include Social Media. I am a recent and enthusiastic convert, but I am trying very hard to be careful and not offend anyone with my Social Media experiments. I know what it's like to get unwanted commercial messages, just as you do. For example, I've taken the rather drastic step of having the text messaging function on my cell phone disabled because I resented having to pay to receive spam messages. This past June I saw the rock band Rush in concert for the 15th or 16th time and would have loved to have been able to text message something like "Geddy Lee Rules!" and have it show up on the big screens during intermission (as if people didn't know that already), but that's one of the small pleasures of life I was deprived of when I gave up on text messaging with my phone!

People can get resentful toward you for much less egregious cyber-offenses than that. One reason for the popularity of Social Media is that users feel it's something they can control better than their email inbox, so please keep that in mind when you are thinking about how to use Social Media for business lead generation. If you take the time and learn the technology and the culture by using the media for more casual, personal purposes first, you should get a feel for what is acceptable behavior and what is not, and then get ideas for how it can help with customer acquisition.

If you want to learn more about the kinds of concepts that were discussed at Connections '08, which include the customer acquisition process, personalized marketing campaigns, and effective lead generation, try visiting the Subscribers Rule Blog.

Marketing for Mobile Messaging

Friday, November 21, 2008 by joanna hamilton

While I refused to fight the crowds to be on of the first through the door to pick up a brand new Blackberry Storm, I will be going this afternoon to make my purchase.

My boss, Mark, and I have a very un-official, un-scientific experiment (aka competition) we're conducting. He has the new G1 (Google) phone from T-Mobile. I'm getting the Blackberry Storm from Verizon Wireless. We're putting the networks aside, and comparing the phones for how well they enhance our ability to conduct business.

Mark got his G1 about a month ago, and has been bragging ever since. He L-O-V-E-S it. Just for fun on the weekend, he creates a brainshark presentation from his phone, records the voice, and then sends a vontoo message over to us just to gloat.

I'm hoping that I will be able to return the favor with the Blackberry storm. I know I won't have Windows mobile, but what will I be able to do? At a minimum, I should be able to enjoy the latest and greatest in screen resolution and display options to view what our custoemrs view. At most, will I be able to operate the Blackberry Storm as a miniature laptop, of sorts, the way that Mark has been able to do with his G1?

Our whole business centers around effective lead generation and customer acquisition through managed services and internet marketing. We drive personalized marketing campaigns through interactive technologies that may include any or all of the following:
--Video Web Conferencing
--Email Movie Clips
--Variable Data embedded in html emails
--Web Conferencing
--On Demand Presentations

We are also heavy users of many interactive programs including but not limited to online calendars.

Over the next few weeks, we will be testing out these technologies with the G1 and Blackberry Storm. Maybe we'll even keep a scorecard. For now, I have to sign off to go place my order.

Stay tuned, and if YOU have a G1 or a piping hot new Blackberry Storm--please post and tell us about the SMS feats you've conquered.

Social Media in Business - Part of 3 of 4: OFFERING A PREFERENCE OF AVAILABILITY

Friday, November 14, 2008 by Carolyn Hasenfratz

In my last post I talked about how social media gives your audience more ways to receive your content. They can choose many different ways to send you information as well. In addition to calling you or filling out a form on your web site, depending on what services you make available to them, they can for example leave a comment on your blog, or write on your wall in Facebook. Effective lead generation includes giving more choices to your audience so that they can have the kind of relationship with you that suits them.

Other than the natural instinct to make it as easy to contact you as possible, what other reasons might there be for making the effort to branch out into social media? At the Connections '08 conference, I took lots of notes. Here are some excerpts from those notes:

"Relationships with customers are one thing that competitors can't copy."
"79% of customers buy from companies that they are in a relationship with, rather than just on price."
"About 30% of email addresses go bad every year."
"22% of Internet users are using social media instead of email."
"Facebook - must be on it to understand what is going on."

Those random notations lead me to some ideas about why businesses might want to have a social media presence to help with customer acquisition. If about 30% of email addresses go bad every year, then you can't count on email alone to keep in touch with your customers. It makes sense to have other channels available.

Relationships with customers and personalized marketing campaigns are clearly important - how can social media help to build those relationships? Blogs can help a great deal by humanizing your company through informal communication that allows transparent feedback. Blogs are also a great way to possibly get on social networking and bookmarking sites without you having to do anything - for example on our Webinar Resources Blog, at the bottom of each post is a Share This chicklet. If you click it, you will see dozens of chicklets that a visitor to this blog can use to share our posts using the service of their choice. This is just one of many ways that the people who really like what you're producing can do some of your marketing for you by their own free will.

If 22% of Internet users are using social media instead of email, as effective as email is, it's clear you are going to have to reach those particular customers some other way. If your customers are looking for you, it's important to be where they are. If you are using a social networking service, are fellow users on that service manifesting their relationships with different causes, organizations, brand names or products? Can you get any ideas from how they are doing it?

Discovering the Discovery Light at Graph Expo

Tuesday, October 28, 2008 by Mark Rice

We have launched personalized marketing campaigns before but last week we had the opportunity to announce an event and related website using personalized landing pages. Using ExactTarget and their new landing page feature, we were able to create a customized landing page for each of our customers attending this week's Graph Expo Printing show in Chicago.

The invitation was used to increase customer acquisition for attendance at the booth where we are showcasing a book and invention - the Discovery Light and Discovery Light educational materials

The author/inventor, Louis Donovan, is here with us in Chicago and is talking to customers about the product.   We are getting rave reviews on the book and the concept.

The Discovery Gang book contains hidden text that can only be revealed with the Discovery Light.   The book combined with the Discovery Light add a new dimension to learning to read while making reading fun.

We also are launching http://www.discoverylight.com which contains more information about the Discovery Light.   One of the pages of the site contains an embedded Brainshark presentation that includes a YouTube video that Louise produced.

Stay tuned for more information on this exciting product.

How to Acquire Customers and Influence People with Personalization

Monday, October 13, 2008 by Mark Rice

Dale Carnegie's famous quote "Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language" is still a valid lesson when approaching people.   Everyone likes to be called by their name and have their name remembered.

Mr. Carnegie didn't realize the impact that today's technology could have in influencing people to take an action, especially when personalization is involved.
We have all seen the personalized approach marketing campaigns have taken in addressing the recipient by their first name and including variable data in the communication that is related to the recipient. Personalized communications are an open door to a conversation with a prospect, a partner or an existing customer.
The latest breakthrough technology for personalization is the ability to convert text into personalized images.  A recipient's name can now be an image emblazoned across a label on a wine bottle or carved into a piece of fine wood.   This approach takes personalization to a new level.

Imagine seeing your name embossed on a director's chair?   Would you be more likely to learn more about the message behind the link or in this case, your personal name on an image?

We recently modified a webinar replay follow up email and inserted a personalized director's chair in the body of the email. We predicted that the personalized image would increase click-throughs to the Brainshark presentation (webinar replay) that was linked to the recipient's personalized chair. The results of the campaign were significant with dramatic increases in:

click-throughs - 50% increase
number of views - 50% increase
total replay viewing time - 25 hrs - 3X increase

When the targeted recipient selected their personalized,director's chair, the personalization experience continued as the recipient's profile information was automatically transferred to the guest book in the webinar replay.

Through the use of variable data and XMPie's uDirect Studio, we were able to create and personalize a chair for each recipient. Using attributes in our personalized marketing campaign, we posted each recipient's chair into the email.

Dale Carnegie was right - people love to hear their name. They are also more likely to respond to a personalized image of their name as a call to action to in a relevant and targeted email. We see some great opportunities and applications where image personalization can give your emails that extra edge that will increase open rates and effective lead generation.

Will YOUR Event be a Shot in the Arm?

Tuesday, October 7, 2008 by joanna hamilton

Our customer acquisition team landed in Indianpolis for the Exact Target Connections 08 Agency and User conference. Our management attended last year's event and found the sessions so valuable that additional investment was made to send three of us to the conference this year.

Little did we know what we were in for. I have to say we were all a bit weary and war-torn getting there, as the end of 3rd Quarter has resulted in quite the rush to crank out events for 4th quarter.

What a shot in the arm we received from this conference! They got it right on so many levels.

Exact Target used their own technology for effective lead generation for months prior to the event. They launced their own personalized marketing campaign to first get us there, and then, once registered, to get us to the break-out sessions they had carefully planned.

And it didn't stop there. Once we were there, we continued to get cues from all angles as to what not to miss and how we would be "rewarded" by making it to certain meetings. (Amazing what grown adults will do for a free beach towel or oversized foam finger).

Yes, we went to the conference tired, and weary. However, we left energized and ready to take on not just the day's challenges, but new horizons, as well.

Good job Exact Target!

Any suggestions? Yes!

I think ALL event/conference organizers could use some Vontoo in their back pocket. While everyone is rushing around with their cell phones in their pockets--send them a voice reminder that "The keynote speaker will begin in 10 minutes."

AND---Include in your follow-up an email-embedded brainshark presentation or email flash movie to remind your folks of the best points in that keynote, or the funniest jokes at the last-night-reward dinner.

Get Them There with a little extra info.!

Monday, September 15, 2008 by joanna hamilton

Have you ever hosted an event and during your last hours prior, spent hours on the phone and email clarifying the details for the participants, when what you really need to be doing was preparing for the event, itself?

You drive customer acquisition through events, but the marketing tools you use to get them to your event or location can dramatically improve attendance and lead generation.

When you put time into a beautiful html invitation, include links that will provide an on demand presentation that explains how register, how to get there, and what's expected of them once they are there.

Don't assume that what you think is obvious will be obvious to everyone. Of course it's obvious to you--it's your event!

An email-embedded movie or short brainshark presentation can provide the "over your shoulder" instructions that can make all the difference between clarity and confusion for your customers.

Here is how I determine if my instructions have been clear: I imagine my 86-year-old grandmother reading them. If she could rsvp and/or register per my instructions, then I know it's good. Don't assume your typically technically-minded audience will make the same assumptions you do.

Another tip for getting your customers there--provide an incentive. Offer a clue word or key in the registration acknowledgement, and for all who present that clue or key at your event--reward them with something meaningful to them--a coupon to apply towards your services or products, or a handy item that complements either your services, product, or event at hand.

Our customers who have the most success in the customer acquisition process typically are more savvy with the both the information they provide to their prospects, and they way that they provide it.

For more information on how you can implement an effective lead generation process, produce a personalized marketing campaign, or turn around a beautifully executed interactive web presentation, check out http://www.webinarresources.com, or contact me directly at joanna@webinarresources.com.

Blogging in the early morning

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 by Mark Rice

It is almost 4:00 am and I have realized that I have not posted a blog lately. The wonderful thing about blogging is that you can do it at anytime of the day. It is best to blog when it quiet.

Now that I can get my thoughts together, I can start thnking about how I am going to put the presentation together on customer acquisition for my customer this week. We just created a great HTML email with an embedded Brainshark presentation that was recorded by a guest speaker for our customer's event. With this interactive web presentation we can quickly gain viewer's interest and launch a call to action for the viewer to register. We have many types of examples we have created for the customer to create effective lead generation. As I think more about it, the applications we have created are my presentation.

I will blog more as I travel this week and will be posting some interesting new technology that you might want to see and hear as you develop your marketing campaigns. Is the pen mighter than the keyboard for blogging? Stay tuned for the answer.