Email is used heavily in both B2B and B2C markets. The medium has obvious advantages- immediate, cost effective, real-time tracking and quick feedback loops for testing. The benefits are well documented, but this only tells half the story. UK email practitioners are facing difficult challenges when trying to manage an email program.

Adestra have conducted a survey of 65 UK based email practitioners to discover what the main challenges are that are facing them today. The results make interesting reading, with participants readily recognising that they could improve their email program.

In this article we provide a detailed summary of the main findings and Adestra’s suggestions of how you can address them. We also look to the US. A more advanced email market than the UK, a recent Marketing Sherpa study has provided insight into the challenges facing US marketers. Despite a more advanced email market, the challenges described are similar to those facing UK experiences showing that all email practitioners across the globe are facing similar challenges

Survey reveals challenges facing UK email marketing practitioners

Published in June 2005 as part of the preparation for the Adestra email marketing clinc at the Online Marketing Show, Adestra have just conducted a survey of UK marketers to understand their challenges:

Methodology of the email marketing survey The survey canvassed 65 UK based marketers to investigate what they believe are the main challenges facing them within their email marketing. Both B2B and B2C companies participated including companies such as Ford Motor Company, Coors Brewers, Prudential, Investec Asset Management, RAC, Future Publishing Ltd, Cotton Traders and Reed Business Information. Findings of the email marketing survey

• 34% of B2B and 29% of B2C marketers in the sampl
  Are You Leaving Your Yellow Pages Advertising Results To Chance?
  So do me a favor right now...Pull out your copy of the Yellow Pages and look up Auto Repair. What do you see? That is right, almost all of the ads are the same! Why is this I wonder? What would differentiate your business from the other businesses in your particular section of the Yellow Pages?The reason that almost all ads are the same within a particular section of the Yellow Pages is that they are designed by the Yellow Pages company that produces the book or sells the advertising! There is no opportunity for market differentiation with the "cookie cutter" approach that most Yellow Pages advertising companies (the ones that sell the space) use in their approach when they position and place the ad...and speaking of positioning...could you be in a better spot so your ad stands out?What about trust and credibility? Does your Yellow Pages advertising separate itself from the competition in these KEY areas?And...editorial style ads win everytime over the flashy, phone number at the top ad.Can you really say that your ad "separates" itself from the crowd? Is the ad written in more of an editorial style rather than as an ad? If the answer is no...then you need to rethink your marketing through the Yellow Pages, and quit wondering why you fork out $300 or more a month and get no results!That is all from this month's tip...keep tuning in...because we are just getting warmed up here!
  am.

  Adestra have conducted a survey of 65 UK based email practitioners to discover what the main challenges are that are facing them today. The results make interesting reading, with participants readily recognising that they could improve their email program.

  In this article we provide a detailed summary of the main findings and Adestra’s suggestions of how you can address them. We also look to the US. A more advanced email market than the UK, a recent Marketing Sherpa study has provided insight into the challenges facing US marketers. Despite a more advanced email market, the challenges described are similar to those facing UK experiences showing that all email practitioners across the globe are facing similar challenges

  Survey reveals challenges facing UK email marketing practitioners

  Published in June 2005 as part of the preparation for the Adestra email marketing clinc at the Online Marketing Show, Adestra have just conducted a survey of UK marketers to understand their challenges:

  Methodology of the email marketing survey The survey canvassed 65 UK based marketers to investigate what they believe are the main challenges facing them within their email marketing. Both B2B and B2C companies participated including companies such as Ford Motor Company, Coors Brewers, Prudential, Investec Asset Management, RAC, Future Publishing Ltd, Cotton Traders and Reed Business Information. Findings of the email marketing survey

  • 34% of B2B and 29% of B2C marketers in the samp
    Personal Visibility: How to Take Charge and Create Buzz for Yourself or Your Business
    Personal visibility is critical for success no matter what business arena you work in. Many women make the mistake that if they work hard and do good work, that they will be recognized for their efforts. This is just not so.Take a look around you at the people who seem to buzz with success, no matter what they do or what they touch. These are the people you read about in the paper and who seem to be at all of the right networking events and know all of the right people. They are also the people who are in demand to speak at events and whose articles appear in your local paper.What do these men or women know that you don't? They have mastered the art of personal visibility. I spoke with a woman that fits this description shortly after she had signed on to do her own radio show with a local station. I asked her what her secret of success was in terms of personal visibility. The main thing she told me was that you can't sit back and wait for visibility. Instead, you have to go out and find it.Here are some practical tips you can use:1. Send News Releases: Send out a news release for anything noteworthy that you might do. Signed a new client? Appointed to a new board position? Remember, local papers are often searching for stories with a local angle. Be sure to include a photo.2. Write Articles or Editorials: This is a great way to become recognized as an expert in your field. Remember to develop relationships with your local editors. Contact them with your ideas and help them when they
    o the US. A more advanced email market than the UK, a recent Marketing Sherpa study has provided insight into the challenges facing US marketers. Despite a more advanced email market, the challenges described are similar to those facing UK experiences showing that all email practitioners across the globe are facing similar challenges

    Survey reveals challenges facing UK email marketing practitioners

    Published in June 2005 as part of the preparation for the Adestra email marketing clinc at the Online Marketing Show, Adestra have just conducted a survey of UK marketers to understand their challenges:

    Methodology of the email marketing survey The survey canvassed 65 UK based marketers to investigate what they believe are the main challenges facing them within their email marketing. Both B2B and B2C companies participated including companies such as Ford Motor Company, Coors Brewers, Prudential, Investec Asset Management, RAC, Future Publishing Ltd, Cotton Traders and Reed Business Information. Findings of the email marketing survey

    • 34% of B2B and 29% of B2C marketers in the samp
      Good Marketing Results
      The first step in preparing your marketing plan is look at where you are today. You must know who is your target customer. You must know the workings of direct and indirect competitors. You must understand your industry and where you stand in it.In order to market to your target customer, you must know who they are, what they want, and what motivates them to buy. In order to understand your competitors, you must know who they are, how they do what they do, and how you are better than they are. In order to understand your industry, you must know its current status, its history, its anticipated future, and any possible trends.Good marketing enhances your brand when you can say what is important about your product in three or four words. For example, “Best tasting chicken,” “A world apart,” and “It’s the real thing.” Your brand must be simple and easy to articulate. You can still have a longer tag line, but your brand should be recognizable by a three-four word statement. Think about major brands, and you will see they all use these short, simple statements that relate to their product.The foundation for your marketing should be to deliver a message that helps brand your product and conveys your unique selling proposition. You must know your unique selling proposition, and you must be able to articulate it clearly and succinctly. You can use it to distinguish yourself from your competitors. Your unique selling proposition should be responsive to your customer’s wants and needs.When you prepare yo
      itioners

      Published in June 2005 as part of the preparation for the Adestra email marketing clinc at the Online Marketing Show, Adestra have just conducted a survey of UK marketers to understand their challenges:

      Methodology of the email marketing survey The survey canvassed 65 UK based marketers to investigate what they believe are the main challenges facing them within their email marketing. Both B2B and B2C companies participated including companies such as Ford Motor Company, Coors Brewers, Prudential, Investec Asset Management, RAC, Future Publishing Ltd, Cotton Traders and Reed Business Information. Findings of the email marketing survey

      • 34% of B2B and 29% of B2C marketers in the samp
        Unconventional In a Conventional World
        Ah, human nature! It's pretty amazing how much the creatures of habit label really sticks to so many of us, 90 to 95% I am quite sure would be a very realistic number! We go through our lives, getting an education and eventually getting out into the real world, securing our 9 to 5 jobs, working for someone who we hope sees the value of our perceived worth.Year after year, we hopefully assess our position in a financial and professional sense, looking forward to the day when we can retire and eventually enjoy the fruits of our labor! Retirement, simply uttering the word conjures up visions of travel, recreation, little or no worries, and the proverbial good life! What is the amount of financial insulation required these days to experience this sequential event, and can we possibly employ the means necessary to fulfill this requirement?We, as a society, find ways to consume every last dime of income we earn. As our paycheck increases, so does our ability to find ways to spend it, along with a rate of speed that far outpaces that with which it arrives! Hmm, now what do we do about that retirement thing and the discretionary income that we need to ensure it becomes a reality?Welcome to the world of the home based business and the incredible opportunities that a direct marketing business affords us! How else can you work for the most dependable and trusting boss on the planet...YOU!! How else can you have the flexibility to do the things that you have always talked about doing? How else can you make as much money as
        hem within their email marketing. Both B2B and B2C companies participated including companies such as Ford Motor Company, Coors Brewers, Prudential, Investec Asset Management, RAC, Future Publishing Ltd, Cotton Traders and Reed Business Information. Findings of the email marketing survey

        • 34% of B2B and 29% of B2C marketers in the sample agree that the growing, cleaning and management of their email contact database is the aspect of their email marketing program that they could improve most

        • When considering what ‘hot topics’ marketers wanted to learn more about to improve their email marketing, both B2B and B2C marketers voted for the same aspects:

        • Deliverability: ensuring messages get to inboxes

        • Message design: optimised design and lay-out of messages

        • The future for email: new emerging technologies within email marketing e.g. rich media

        • B2B marketers want to learn more about best practice lead generation email programs whereas B2C marketers prefer to discover more about eZine newsletters.

        • 4 out of 5 respondents in the sample plan to use email marketing more in 2006.

        Conclusions of the email marketing survey Interestingly, both B2B and B2C marketers are facing similar challenges despite using email marketing in different ways. They want to learn more about issues such as deliverability and spam and most recognise that there are faults within their existing programs, especially in the way they manage their email contact database With 80% of the UK marketers in the sample planning to use email marketing more in 2006, and the willingness of the sample to accept that there are numerous ways in which they could improve their email marketing program, marketer