February 2011 Archives

From: AT&T U-verse
Subject Line: Get to know your AT&T U-verse
Date: Monday, January 31, 2011

From: AT&T U-verse
Subject Line: AT&T U-verse: one day away
Date: Monday, February 7, 2011

I received a surprisingly catchy email confirmation from AT&T U-verse within 24 hours of signing up. A week later, I got an email encouraging me to become acquainted with the AT&T U-verse services and a "one day away from installation" email prior to the installation.

The design and layout for the most part are eye-catching and visually appealing. The concept of the AT&T U-verse email transactional series is nice. I liked their clever headline "Confirmed for Liftoff" for the confirmation email. They reinforced this concept of "taking off" with hot air balloon images and illustrations throughout the series.

There are some formatting issues, however, in the details section of the confirmation email where tables are not aligning. I confirmed this by opening it in different email clients to see if the issue would be recreated.

I also think integrating the "Your order details" closer to the top left section of the email would be more effective because it would deliver the most important information upfront. Since I was expecting this email, it might not have been as crucial but in a land of tens to hundreds of daily emails, making it easy for customers to find out the reason for the email and any important information is key to a successful email campaign.

Overall, the concept came through in the emails and built anticipation in my mind for their services.

Welcome!

Today we are kicking off Responsys Interact 2011 bringing together marketers from around the world to talk about the New School of Marketing. I've had so many exciting discussions with many of the marketers here today, and one of the things I always love about our Interact conference is how much we learn and share with one another. We all know how much marketing is changing, but this is the forum where we get to learn and share what to actually do about it. Over the next few days we will get to see and hear firsthand how New School Marketers are realigning strategies, budgets, and skills to get closer to their customers and improve their bottom line.

We've got some amazing guest speakers lined up this year: Blake Mycoskie, Founder and Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS Shoes Inc., William Morris, Director of Mission Control, the hub of social media strategy and analytics from Gatorade, Alexis Ohanian, Co-Founder of Reddit.com, Julie Ask and Shar VanBoskirk, Vice Presidents and Principal Analysts from Forrester Research, and of course Responsys customers, including some of today's most progressive brands such as EPSON, Harley-Davidson, Newegg, and Southwest Airlines.

Alongside these thought leaders, we will discuss the big trends for marketing in the year ahead and how marketers are building deeper relationships with consumers through email, mobile, social and the web to drive business value. We will also look at how technology continues to transform our industry, creating new opportunities to reach today's empowered consumer.

But it wouldn't be Interact without having some fun too, and this year we are proud to welcome a Grammy award-winning performer into our mix.

There are more announcements and surprises planned throughout the week, and I invite you to join the conversation here, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more news and updates from the show.

What questions do you have about New School Marketing? What are your biggest challenges that we can help address at Interact this year? Please let us know. This conference needs your input and I can't wait to have more 1:1 conversations with you!

Best,
Dan Springer
Chief Executive Officer
Responsys

From: Dropbox
Subject Line: Start using Dropbox!
Date: Thursday, February 10, 2011

While I appreciate a cute illustration as much as the next aspiringartist, and while I respect an automated message as much as the next digital marketer, I felt slightly violated when I received Dropbox's "Start using Dropbox!" email message. While I did download the software, I wasn't aware that I gave the company explicit permission to look inside my machine to see whether or not I'd actually installed it. 

I believe they could have done right here by changing up the messaging. This message would have been better positioned as implicit rather than explicit. Less "we noticed you don't have the software installed," more "check out our installation tutorials!"

Tone is super-critical to data-informed automated messaging. Don't overlook the importance of your copy when it comes to these types of delicate messages.

Subject Line: Exclusive Discount: Save 10% on your ENTIRE order!

Date: 1.25.2011

What's this...another sale email? Yes, but it's not your average sale email, this one has been created specifically for me! The product shown here is the exact item I had looked at when I was browsing the site a few days earlier...CLEVER! 

Bonus: when I click on the image in the email, it takes me directly to the product's landing page. 

This is similar to a cart abandonment email, except I never actually put the item in my cart. I think this a great approach to remind the customer of items they were interested in, while giving them a little extra incentive to go back and buy it. Genius.

Subject Line: Come See What Your Shopping Cart Has Been Up To!

Date: 11.29.2010

I love Zappos' approach to their Cart Abandonment email.  Giving the shopping cart a life of its own with the headline "Come See What Your Shopping Cart Has Been Up To!" and showcasing Dash the Dog (who looks after the items left in your shopping cart) are a fun way to remind customers of their un-purchased items.

Including the image of the item helps remind customers why they put it in their cart in the first place, and listing the benefits of shopping with Zappos seals the deal!