With marketers in control, the most important trend that can develop in 2010 is for marketers to seek a single mobile marketing solution and service provider that is not only responsible for the execution of an SMS campaign or strategy, but also has the capacity to manage the database, develop mobile websites and landing pages, deliver personalized and relevant content, and use data from other direct digital marketing – and traditional marketing sources – to power triggered messaging. In short, marketers must seek the complete mobile marketing solution to achieve sustained engagement, success, through the channel.

Consider some of the issues currently plaguing mobile marketing.

According to a recent report, eight of every ten mobile phone users encounter at least one problem when trying to access content on the mobile Web. The inflated time consumers are forced to spend browsing and searching and dealing with problematic interfaces cuts down on touch points while leading toward general frustration and, eventually… attrition.

The same report also highlighted the value consumers place on personalized content – an even more important principle of modern marketing when using the mobile channel. Sixty-one percent of those surveyed claimed they would, “spend more time or money accessing” content on their mobile device if it were personalized. Another lost opportunity.

Then we have the mobile app craze that seems to be finding its way into every marketing meeting. The boss, and the boss’s boss, is enamored with this mobile app concept. The problem? Apps are gaining an improper perception in the market as effective mobile marketing. Instead, apps are simply targeted marketing for a specific audience. For more basis, read this commentary from the Chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association, Federico Pisani Massamormile, or study the demographic data in this white paper from our own Bryce Marshall. Both experts agree that SMS is the best method of effective mobile marketing.

Last, there is currently a lengthy time to market inherent in every mobile marketing endeavor because of the various demands from the carriers, who – to their credit – work hard to preserve the privacy of their subscribers.

A complete mobile marketing solution is able to address the issues that are beginning to pile up in mobile marketing from user experience problems while helping to shape the developing habits of the feature phone and smartphone user. In 2010, get informed, and be smart. Your customers will be grateful!

Retail sales are reportedly up – way up – in the first quarter of 2009 (subscription required). Retail is generally divided up into 3 subcategories, Consumer Brand Manufacturers, Multi-Channel Retailers (online/bricks-and-mortar hybrids), and Web-Only. Comparing Q1 of 2009 to Q1 of 2008, sales were up 71%, 68%, and 39% respectively.

This is significant for two reasons. First, and most obvious, sales figures for something actually increased. Second, they increased a lot. It’s particularly interesting that multi-channels retailers saw such a leap, further underscoring the need for marketing investment in technologies that link the off-line and online channels together to create one, holistic view of the consumer. Here’s an interesting article on how to unify those data points, and what’s possible once you do. It also creates incentive to find ways to bring the convenience and wealth of information found online into the bricks-and-mortar store experience.

A deeper dive into these numbers yields yet another interesting nugget. It’s not just that increases in sales were reported, but 44% of respondents to the survey – across any of the 3 retail subcategories – saw increases of over 10%. That’s more than a blip on the radar. That’s evidence of increasingly improving consumer confidence, showing that consumers are still willing to spend for the right product at the right price.

I think it’s appropriate to start Monday off with some good news, staving off any lingering cases of the Mondays. If the trend continues later in the year, each quarter-by-quarter comparison of retail sales should improve thanks in no small part to improvement consumer’s confidence.

The first conversation was with John Lovett, who is a Senior Research Analyst at Forrester, formerly of Jupiter. He covers direct marketing professionals… which is a bit of a misleading title, as that includes optimization, onsite message relevance, and many other things. But, the conversation started because I was curious to see what his feelings were about Direct Digital Marketing. It was an interesting chat, ranging from all aspects of digital message relevance, but eventually settling on the topic of testing and optimization. He is, as you probably assume, a big fan of onsite testing. The most interesting comment from him was his theory of the “optimization ecosystem.” He has a few reports out that discuss this theory, and it’s impossible to recap succinctly, but, basically, message and content relevance online are an extremely important part of an ecosystem he breaks down. It’s conceptually compelling stuff, and recommended reading.

The second conversation I had was with a gentleman from a consulting company that apparently spends a good bit of time implementing software solutions at large companies. The conversation initially started as a discussion of Knotice’s technology (well, it is a trade show) and evolved into an overall commentary on the much-discussed concept of “The Online Marketing Suite.” At the heart of the discussion was the basic, elemental question facing us all – what, exactly, comprises the online marketing suite?

The conversation was a fascinating one (with a brilliant person), and now I pose the same question to you loyal Lunch Pail readers. Think on it, ask yourselves the question, ask colleagues, or comment here – What, in your mind, are the ingredients to the most useful – or most possible – online marketing suite?

Our CEO, Brian, once again had his thoughts published, this time by DM News. He talks about the importance of unifying all online marketing data in one spot (whether it’s known customer attributes or behavioral data), and how it empowers better targeted online marketing programs that increase sales.

Also, it was mentioned in another post, but it’s worth re-posting that our email delivery assurance partner, ReturnPath, mentioned our software in a recent blog post from Stephanie Miller. Specifically, she talked about the advantages to recognizing a website visitor as an email subscriber, and how that can positively impact the buy-flow and the conversion process.

Two more quick mentions. One is from Nation’s Restaurant News where Brian spoke to the benefits of email marketing for restaurants, and that relevance is king over frequency. And, our local paper (the Akron Beacon Journal) did a story on businesses with unique cost cutting ideas – Brian gave a very interesting answer.

Here’s what to look forward to in December: We’ll post some online shopping tales that will include some pointers on how to improve the stuff that wasn’t so good, or why the good stuff was good. Stay tuned for this Monday’s post, too. Our systems administrator, Joe Minadeo (and another Knotice musician) will be posting on some super-cool email delivery assurance trends.

As usual, there is no rest for the weary here at the Lunch Pail. In fact, it would be decidedly UN-Lunch Pail to take time off, so, we refuse to do it. That means you can still count on posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, regardless of the holidays. I know you’re all excited to wake up one morning during the holidays, grab your coffee, and then check for the new post on the Lunch Pail. Enjoy!

Rather than me explain it, I’ll actually defer to Stephanie Miller, Global Markets Catalyst at ReturnPath. She summed it up really well in a recent post on ReturnPath’s blog while recapping a panel discussion from the Shop.org Annual Summit. For the full post, click here.

An excerpt from Stephanie’s post:
“One of the key issues for retailers looking to move to a lifecycle-based approach to email marketing is gathering data from the disparate systems that allow us to send triggered messages based on subscriber behavior. Typically this means sending abandoned shopping cart messages or recommendations based on browsing or follow ups after purchase….

…Several retailers lamented the lack of ability to access website browsing data at all. And all the speakers acknowledge that even when you can access the data, you need to include multiple segments to make the numbers worthwhile. Consider that you start with a high number of site visits, then cut it based on visitor recognition (cookies) then cut it again based on a match to email address (and a third cut is against your suppression file). So you can have hundreds of thousands of browsers, but only tens of thousands of mailable subscribers.

One email service provider and Return Path partner Knotice that I met at Shop.org has a unique solution to address part of this data access and automation challenge. Knotice can authenticate a customer based on a trackable open (the technology is cool and complicated, but it’s similar to the way that a one pixel invisible image lets us track opens today). So your email system can identify if the email subscriber is a known visitor. That can help you understand the behavior of your email subscribers (are they more or less frequent site visitors, for example), and customize the next visit to the website based on email behavior. If the subscriber opened, you can feature the products highlighted in the email. If the subscriber did not open, you might show something else (on the assumption that the subject line on that product did not engage). You can also easily see how much of your site browse behavior is from email subscribers – and keeps that data in the email sending database – which lets you then trigger appropriate browse and post purchase messages without a complex data integration.”

Why good email costs more…supposedly

The thrust of why good email costs more, so the article goes, is because of data. You need to have an analytic data mart, you need to have an analytics team, you need to have a marketing database. Right, I don’t disagree. However, it’s not necessarily the cost of these things, but how marketers go about implementing them. Everything is separate, it’s scattered all over the place. And it’s a pain. I was chatting with a friend at a web analytics firm. They have a great product recommendation capability. The client wants it. Unfortunately, the client’s Email Service Provider wants $50,000.00 for the integration. Get out the check book.

The real problem

Ask interactive marketers (with a bit of a technical bent) to design the ideal operational infrastructure for interactive marketing. It’s a safe bet that they would not design the fragmented platforms, integration, and processes that are found in over 99% of the companies that do online marketing today.

I’m painting with a fairly broad brush here, but whether it’s poor site personalization, or crappy email, it’s this fragmentation that’s driving the inefficiencies and undo cost. That’s the problem. And we shouldn’t expect marketers to perpetuate it by asking them to spend more. We should fix it. So they can get good email for the same price or less.

Email the author with your comments, or post one below. bdeagan@knotice.com

Aphorisms for struggling superheroes aside, how can you make sure that you get all the value possible out of your data without imposing on the privacy “comfort zone” of your consumers? First, follow some privacy best practices.

Here are a few with which you may already be familiar, and apply across any digital channel:

• Allow for easy, conspicuous opt-in and opt-out.
• Allow customers to update preferences without necessarily opting out.
• When users opt out, delete previously stored data.
• Take abuse complaints seriously and act quickly.
• Have a posted, up-to-date privacy policy. Live it and breathe it into your marketing efforts.

Second, you need to educate your consumers on the value proposition of the relationship – it’s a set of transactions, after all, so make them understand the value. If you can adequately answer the “What’s in it for me?” question, your customers may be willing to accept your (careful and respectful) stewardship of their data.

• Be transparent and concise about how the data is going to be used, but do it in a way that stresses the benefit to your consumers.
• Tell them that by tracking this information, you will provide more relevant search results and suggestions, for example. Communicate your willingness to help them shop more efficiently.
• Consider special pricing, shipping, features, etc. for your most valuable customers who choose to participate.
• Be forthcoming about the frequency and purpose of the communications you will expose them to, based on their private data.

As you design new marketing programs, be exceedingly cautious about how your privacy policy and your consumers are impacted. Facebook’s Beacon fiasco demonstrated just how wrong it can go. A few others have earned reproach in similar ways since then. It’s important if you are making dramatic changes to how you treat your consumers’ data, you make sure you notify them, start with a default opt-out state and, most importantly, sell the program just like you would anything else.

Of course there are challenges to getting around this. After all, customer service reps are only trained as customer service reps. But, expanding their training will help solve the potential issues encountered by your irate, soon-to-be-former, customer. Service reps won’t get bored talking to engaged, prospective buyers seeking information and assurance in a purchase decision. A change of pace like that offers a more complete, cohesive, customer-friendly experience.

Process Failure 4: When customers come in, don’t let them out.

Comparison shopping? That’s your customers’ problem right? At least that what it seems like. Customers like to compare – but you’ve only provided the information they need to buy from you. If they want to wander the World Wide Web all on their own, thirsting for information…well best of luck to them. Happy hunting, right?! There is a better way. Provide customer reviews so there appears to be an impartial third-party giving some word-of-mouth that could push a consumer to buy. If that’s too expensive, make sure your offers are compelling and tested. Push service to take away any lingering risk point. Shave some time off of the buy-flow to keep the customer engaged and the process shorter. Best yet, inject content into the website that provides new incentives to drive conversion. They didn’t convert right away, which is their choice. But, if a website doesn’t remind a customer of what they’ve looked at…that’s the website’s fault.

Process Failure 5: Accept the customer’s decision not to purchase, and everyone move on.

Too many times eCommerce sites are constructed as if shopping cart abandonment indicates a clear, decisive and final decision by your customer not to buy from you. The customer has carefully considered the product, features and price and made a reasonable, informed decision not to buy, right? Wrong. That phone call that interrupted your customer’s browsing experience had bearing on the transaction. The unexpected urgent email or the sudden need to discipline the kids are understandable things that disrupt a buying experience. Your customers can’t always maintain the steely focus on the online purchasing task at hand. But, don’t accept your fate and move on to the next prospect! Woo them and start the whole process over again by demonstrating an understanding of their needs and interests – show them the product they’ve been researching again if they didn’t convert before.

There is easily conceivable efficiency in re-engaging a prospect with a follow-up message, with the same or better offer on that same product, or complementary products. You have some idea of what they may have been interested in at some point. Some past behavior can inform future communication via email, text message or re-marketing in future website visits or external banner ads. That’s efficient. That’s effective. That keeps your customer engaged.

This is the second of two posts from Bryce Marshall providing key best practices and sarcastic insights about to how online retailers can improve their buy-flow processes and increase conversions. To read the first installment, click here .

There are some business questions surrounding the implementation of network behavioral targeting. Does network consumer targeting offer worthwhile data to build a long-term picture of individual consumer behavior? This is a complex question because many factors go into shaping an individual consumer’s online persona. There are some key unanswered questions that introduce too many wild cards into network consumer targeting – questions without a simple answer and without technology capable of addressing them.

Here’s a few:

• Does tracking of consumer behavior over a network give a complete understanding of an individual consumer? In a word, no. What if a consumer searches for a gag gift, or let’s a friend search something on their computer? Is their persona instantly, irrevocably reshaped and rendered inaccurate?
• Are consumers allowed to shift their interests? Gas is more expensive right now. Consumers are cutting back, but they’re still receiving ads deemed worthy according to their previous spending levels and corresponding online behavior. Is that using the technology to better communicate with the consumer?
• Does the technology identify a community computer from a personal one? Tracking is completely useless in computer labs, cyber-cafés, etc.
• If a family of 6 all uses the same computer, isn’t the created profile compromised for targeting purposes? Six different likes and dislikes from user to user is not something network level targeting can distinguish.

All of these questions help reinforce the notion that targeting within a domain is a more viable business practice now and in the future. There’s nothing wrong with a specific business remembering something about a specific customer. In fact, that’s a company trait most consumers welcome, off-line. My favorite stores are the ones where I hear “Hey, Josh, what’s new” when I walk in. Domain-level targeting is currently the best way to replicate that community level interaction online.

The future of online behavioral targeting, regardless of niche, likely boils down to two basic, general principles. Consumers don’t want someone following them around from store to store; but they don’t mind a personal greeting when they walk in.

So where do you get started to have an effective campaign? What are the requirements for the data, and how should it be managed so that your ideas don’t get pancaked or watered down? There’s no one answer that fits every industry or every company, but there are a couple of questions to get you started.

How will you make your message relevant and engaging?

The answer, of course is by targeting your messaging. You can:

• target based on behavior
• target based on segment
• target based on demographics
• target based on geography
• target based on predictive modeling
• personalize

Hopefully your final strategy uses some combination of all of these for the greatest effect. That means demographic, geographic, behavioral and personal data will all need to be readily available to deploy across multiple channels in order to adequately craft your campaign.

Imagine a campaign that employs email to a certain customer segment. We’ll reach others with similar demographics to our segment using display ads. Clickers are taken to a personalized landing page. Behavior on the landing page determines what offers that person sees on the rest of the website. This is the type of “tight” integration that is possible when the appropriate data is leveraged to its full potential.

Where will that data live so that you can maximize its value?

If all of that data lives on one platform, it will make putting together a multi-channel campaign much quicker, easier and more cost effective. In some cases it simply makes the campaign possible, since the behavioral targeting is done in real time across channels. It also makes measuring the success of the campaign easier since the metrics will live in the same place.

An article in DM News points out that once the marketing platform is in place, it not only provides infrastructure for relevant campaigns, but also begins to inform the strategy for the campaigns themselves. From message frequency to the appropriate channel mix – it’s all in the data. The marketing platform leverages that data to create an environment where it becomes easy to put the customer at the center of your communications.