Email Marketing Rate Comparisons

I often get this question: How do we know if our email program is good or bad?

The answer varies for everyone, but Eloqua's Benchmark study is a great place to start.  They recently compared their benchmark data from Jan.-Nov. in an effort to provide you with some guides for click rates, open rates, and click to open rates.  The results can be seen here.

Take-away: Check out the benchmarks and see where you rank against the Best in Class.

KISS, Your Customers Will Like It

My notion of simplicity was based more on my own experience than any study, and even without the data, I have preached simplicity for years. 

I worked with a firm launching a new product recently.  They came to me to see what I thought and give an honest opinion.  My opinion was that the product was great, so I asked how much it was...they proceeded to share with me one of the most complicated pricing structures I have ever seen.  I recommended they simplify it before they went to market.  They did not heed my advice.  When the product launched they immediately had some interest, and every time they got to pricing, they lost the customer and the deal.  They have since restructured the pricing and made it; as you guessed, simple.

The Corporate Executive Board, recently conducted a study focused in on what makes consumers “sticky.”  "We looked at the impact on stickiness of more than 40 variables, including price, customers’ perceptions of a brand, and how often consumers interacted with the brand. The single biggest driver of stickiness, by far, was “decision simplicity”—the ease with which consumers can gather trustworthy information about a product and confidently and efficiently weigh their purchase options."  Big shock, they found that what consumers want is, simply, simplicity. 


The article further shows the top ten reasons customers connect online, the number one reason DISCOUNTS.

Take-away: As you look at pricing structures, new product, service offerings, keep one thing in mind.  KISS KISS KISS!!



A portion of this blog is republished from the Harvard Business Review: http://hbr.org/2012/05/to-keep-your-customers-keep-it-simple/ar/1

Another Airline Experience Lesson

I have been meaning to write this blog post for some time now and on my return flight from the Grant Professionals Conference I finally got the push I needed.

About 6 months ago, I was on a Southwest Airlines flight returning home after a long week.  I was working on my way home, and as we prepared for landing the flight attendant asked me to stow my laptop.  I was in the front row, so I had to put it in one of the side bins.  As soon as I locked the bin, I thought there is no way I am going to remember this.  Sure enough, I got off the plane and headed home.  About 11 PM that night I realized that I had left my laptop on the plane.  I went into panic mode.  I called Southwest with no real hope of getting it back, but figured it was worth a shot.  The first person I spoke to transferred me to the office in Austin, and in less than 5 minutes (and I am not exaggerating) they had found my laptop.  The lady asked if I wanted her to stay, so I could pick it up that night.  I told her that was not necessary and that while I appreciated it, I would collect my once lost laptop the next day.  AMAZING!!!!

The next day, I went to the terminal, showed my ID, and picked up my missing laptop.  I mean seriously, it was amazing.  They had a process in place to transfer left items from the plane to that city; makes sense to me.  Everyone knew what to do and where to send people with lost items.  Sure is nice to have a process in place that helps your forgetful customers.  As I look back on that experience, I realize that sense the incident, I have flown Southwest every time I have flown expect once and I applied for the Southwest credit card.  I guess good customer service does pay off.  That interaction really did have an impact.  I wasn’t thinking about the loyalty they created with me until I went to write this blog.  It was just organic because the experience made me feel so good about them.

Now, this is what actually prompted me to write that story.  Today in great contradiction to Southwest, I was on an American Airlines flight.  As I got ready to board, the flight attendant told me that my roll aboard was not going to fit.  I told her, that no indeed it did fit and that I traveled with it all of the time.  (Then I thought, maybe this is a smaller plane.) So, I asked, “Is this a smaller plane?”  Well, a normal response to that question would be, “Yes Ma’am it is, so your bag is not going to fit.”  Instead, I got “Well, why don’t you roll it back there and see, and then you can roll it right back out because it ain’t gonna fit.”  SERIOUSLY!!!!!  I just starred at her; surely she didn’t just say that.  “Ma’am, it won’t fit.”  She is still talking, I am still shocked.  Needless to say, this experience really did shine a light on how important customer experience is.  I won’t fly American Airlines again (by choice). 

Take-away:  There are a few for this blog post:

1.       Don’t put people with poor customer service skills in a customer role.  I am sure that flight attendant gets crazy annoyed with people telling her their luggage will fit all day when she knows it won’t, BUT guess what she doesn’t get to get annoyed.  She is being paid to provide a service.  Customer service shouldn’t stop in a customer service role EVER!

2.       Put procedures in place to create a memorable experience when people least expect it.  The positive ramifications of a positive experience have a trickle-down effect which = positive feelings, and in the case of Southwest Airlines positive ROI!

10 Reasons Why You Should Learn About Cloud-based Software

Web-based or cloud-based software and/services are all the rage right now, you hear about them everywhere. You are probably wondering how they can benefit your business and if any of them are a good fit for your organization. There are so many types of cloud services today it can be a bit of a daunting question to ponder. Keeping things very simple, here are ten reasons why I think you should learn more about cloud-based solutions and how they can benefit you and your business.

1.Save Time: Running a business is like having two or three full-time jobs. Because there are so many things to do – time – is one of the most valuable assets you have. In my experience, cloud-based software = substantial time savings.  From easy to access email to no longer having to install software updates, cloud-based solutions can really make an impact on efficiency.

2.Share and Empower: I have found cloud-based software to be much easier to access, use and share information across my team. My team is more empowered to do things that only I used to be able to do. That is a win/win!

3.Work from Anywhere: I spend a lot of time traveling, so being able to work, in addition to accessing my full email and calendar from my mobile device is critical. This allows me to be productive when I am waiting in lines, at restaurants, and anywhere really. The thing I love most is that when I am in the office; I am not playing as much catch up.

4.Keep in Touch: When I am traveling I like to keep in touch with my family via mobile video calling, but I also use it to stay in touch with donors and my team. Video calling adds a face to face interaction (which I am a huge fan of) in a very convenient way.  I recommend Skype, but there are a ton of great services.

5.Stay Safe: Your data is your lively hood. Backing it up in a secure environment is essential.

6.Learn More: Take time this fall to use a web-based survey tool to learn more about your customers. The information you gather can be used to build a more successful marketing plan. I recommend Survey Monkey because it is easy to use and the base product is free!

7.Build Awareness: I meet businesss all of the time that have not yet started an email marketing program. There are a multitude of web-based email solutions that will really make getting started easy. Consistent communication is key to building awareness for your business. So, what are you waiting for?

8.Network Online: Social is another blog post all together, but becoming social and networking online is critical to your businesses future. Make it your goal to join the top 3 by the end of summer. (Start with Facebook, Twitter and Linked In.)

9.Collect Mobile Payments: My new favorite web-based service is mobile payment processing. Check out my other blog at www.donorexpereince101.com to see why I love it so much, and check out Sage Payment Solutions mobile offering.

10.Get Current: Now is a great time to consider moving your old solutions to the cloud. Think about how your organization might benefit from moving your accounting, CRM or other application to a cloud-based solution.

Take-away: Cloud-based solutions can really make your life easier and increase productivity.

Republished from Sage Nonprofit Solutions.

The Most Powerful Word in Loyalty Building

SORRY!

You can’t win them all, but you sure can apologize and own your losses.  Pleasing everyone is a daunting task, and if that is all you try to do you probably won’t ever get anything done.  Worse, you are pretty unlikely to be unsuccessful.

With all of that said, one of the best tools you have to create a positive experience in an unfortunate situation is the power of the phrase, I am sorry.  I think we all know it, but it can be hard to execute.  It means that you may have to have a difficult conversation or swallow your pride, but I can tell you an apology can go a long way to build loyalty.

Take-away: Next time you are in an unpleasant situation here are some steps to follow.

1. Listen to the person share why he/she was upset.
2. Repeat what you did that upset the person in question.
3. Apologize for that action.
4. Share what you will do to prevent that action from happening in the future.
5. Take action to prevent the action as you indicated you would.
6. Move on!  Life is short, don’t dwell on mistakes.  After all, we are all human.