With this in mind, I was somewhat surprised by the results of our recent survey* conducted at ad:tech Sydney and Melbourne. We found that while the majority of Australian marketers (89%) are now interacting with customers across more digital channels, they are doing so with minimal personalisation and automation - the corner stone of any successful campaign.
Uncovering the disconnect
Specifically, we found that marketers require more support or tools to help them implement cross-channel marketing campaigns (79%) - demonstrating a misalignment between Australian businesses' objectives of targeting the engaged consumer and the marketing teams' capability to achieve results.
Our research also revealed that less than one third of marketers communicate with customers through their preferred digital or social channel, and 23 per cent admit to never reaching out to customers through their channel of choice. So what does this mean for the industry and what can marketers do to improve the performance of their campaigns?
Getting personal
The amount of data now available from digital channels means marketers can target their audience in a highly personalized way that hasn't been achievable before. However, if marketers want to see real returns from their cross-channel marketing efforts they need to find a way to still send relevant messages, but in an automated and orchestrated manner.
While Australian marketers are incorporating a variety of digital channels like email, mobile, social, display and the web to reach their customers, the level of personalization they are using remains relatively low. What's more, they are spending far too much time executing campaigns and not enough time being strategic. It's time for marketers to move away from manual, 'batch and blast' approaches and set up automated programs based on a customer's lifecycle. Only by doing this will they enjoy the long-term benefit of increased efficiency and strengthened customer loyalty.
What we also found -- a snapshot of how Australian marketers are leveraging social networks:
- Facebook remains the social channel of choice for marketers, with 81 per cent executing a marketing campaign on the social network in the last 12 months
- Twitter has cemented itself as an increasingly important channel for marketers, with 70 per cent implementing a campaign on Twitter in the last year
- YouTube and LinkedIn are an equally important part of the marketing mix according to those surveyed with 49 per cent (YouTube) and 45 (LinkedIn) per cent of marketers using these channels to reach consumers in the last 12 months
- Google+ and Pinterest are yet to become a fully integrated part of a marketers' digital tool kit, as only 30 per cent (Google+) and 13 per cent (Pinterest) of marketers reported having executed a campaign on these platforms














From: The Hatch at Hayneedle.com
From:
From: Lisa Harmon
From: net-a-porter.com
From: Gilt Groupe
From: Veer
From: Let's Not Motor Day: Friday June 5
From: CB2: Unsubscribe Request
From: Please add our new mailing address to your contact list
From: Lisa Harmon

From: Sirius
From: Neiman Marcus
From: Smith-Harmon
I know, I know: sales go down and the emails go out. But how many is too many? Thanks to two of my favorite marketers – the online marketing dynamic duo Amy Norton and Alexis Howe at Costco.com – for bringing this series of Restoration Hardware emails to my attention. The folks at RH went so far as to send seven semi-identical emails over the course of just five days promoting their friends and family event. I believe in reinforcement through repetition, but this particular execution has me ... seeing lots of red ;)! I'm curious about your thoughts:
From: Me
From: Me
From: Abercrombie

From: Anthropologie
From: Old Navy
From: eleVAte
From: J.Crew
From: Pottery Barn Kids
From: Nordstrom
I'd originally planned to use this post to scold Burberry for designing their emails again and again in a way such that the preview pane view is woefully unhelpful. (I've animated through five examples at left to give you the gist of it; please click the thumbnail to experience it at full size.) It's impossible to tell what the messages are about - and just as tough to find a point of click-through - without scrolling down.
From: west elm
From: Horchow
From: Bag Borrow or Steal
From: Apple
From: Crate & Barrel
From: UrbanOutfitters.com
From: Barneys New York
From: J.Crew
From: Customer Service
From: west elm
From: shopbop.com
From: Sephora
From: Ann Taylor
From: Design Within Reach
From: Eddie Bauer
From: Gymboree
From: Crate and Barrel
For those of you who haven't come across the EmailSherpa Ecommerce Benchmark Guide 2006 - or were wondering whether it's worth the $297 pricetag - I recommend picking it up; it's well worth the cost.