The biggest challenge web marketers faced in 2011 was generating relevant email copy, and delivering it at a time that maximizes open/response rates.

This according to MarketingSherpa’s newly-released 2012 Email Benchmarking Report, which also found:

• Nearly a third of companies have identified a strategy that works effectively in terms of increasing open/response rates
• A fifth of marketers are still sending email without paying much attention to timing and/or the impact of copy on response rates
• What’s proved most effective in segmenting email lists is separating leads and email copy by buying history, stage in the lead pipeline, and/or specific preferences customers have mentioned during the online registration process
• Despite the fact 13% of execs are now primarily checking their email via a mobile device (a number that will continue to climb over the next five years), less than half of websites/emails are optimized for customers to view or respond to via handheld resources, and
• For the first time ever, landing pages that emails link to were found to have more impact on whether a prospect made a buying decision than the subject line of the email itself.

Source: MarketingSherpa’s 2012 Email Benchmarking Report.

Nearly a third of prospects report they receive more than 20 email offers from sales organizations per week, a new Kanter Media study reveals.

More importantly, the study found 9 out of every 10 prospects will open and click through on an email link every now and again if the subject line/copy grabs them.

How do you break through the clutter? Here are three proven keys, according to blogger Stephanie Miller:

1. Segment your audience. Use SIC info and past buying history to send targeted copy/offers to specific segments of your audience.
2. Improve your call to action. Engage buyers by giving them an incentive to click through (e.g., register on our site to receive a 10% discount on your next purchase, etc.).
3. Test, track and adjust. The most important part of any email campaign is determining what went right, what went wrong and why. Have strict metrics in place so you can pinpoint strengths and weaknesses, and capitalize on new-found opportunities.

Source: “Seven Ways to Improve Email Click-Through Rate,” by Stephanie Miller, Customer Collective, 11/1/11.

Email marketing garners higher ROI than any other direct selling method, according to research by the Direct Marketing Association ($45 return for every dollar spent).

But high response rates aren’t a given. They’re the result of targeting the right prospects, writing copy that sells, and — most importantly — choosing subject lines that compel prospects to open the message.

Almost 75% of prospects open email messages within the first 24 hours (if they open them at all). That means the biggest challenge for sales organizations is writing a subject line that grabs prospects’ attention and creates urgency for them to click on the message.

An annual study published by MailerMailer, which analyzed over 3 million emails, also revealed:

• Messages that are personalized with prospects’ names in the body of the copy have higher response rates, while those that include their name in the subject line actually have the lowest response rates (because prospects assume they’re spam).
• Emails with subject lines that are less than 35 characters are opened 3% to 4% more often than those with longer subject lines.
• Open rates are highest on Monday and decrease every day as the week goes on (Friday emails are opened 4% to 6% less than those sent Monday).
• The smaller and more targeted the recipient list, the greater the response rate.
• Copy that’s specifically written for small clusters of prospects (e.g., 250 to 500) based on past buying history (similar title, industry) is the most effective.

A recent MarketingSherpa survey found that 64% of key decision makers now view most of their emails via BlackBerrys (or other mobile devices).

Sales organizations that want to maximize the effectiveness of their
emails can respond to that by:

• Including a button when prospects register on their site, asking if they prefer a “mobile phone” version of your emails or HTML.
• Create a separate e-mail for that audience which uses mobile-friendly text, and
• Include a link to the “HTML” version of the email.

The ramp-up time for new hires to start reaching or exceeding quota on a regular basis has dropped 12% over the past year, according to a study conducted by the Sales Benchmark Index.

Nationwide, the time it takes for new reps to hit quota breaks down as follows:

• 7% of new reps < 3 months
• 51% in 3 to 6 months
• 19% in 7 to 12 months, and
• 23% in 12+ months.

The study also polled 736 successful new sales recruits across 12 industries to determine which steps they felt had the most lasting impact in terms of a successful transition.

The top five answers:

1. Orientation. Sales organizations never get a second chance to make a first impression. Among other things, the first day should give new hires a sense of belonging, value and expectations. If it fails on one or all three levels, new hires may quit or simply never feel as if the job’s a good fit for them.
2. Hands-on learning. New hires were generally more successful if early training was based more on having them do things, as opposed to just discussing how processes work.
3. Mentors. Having a mentor program for new reps increases the sense of belonging, as well as gives them someone specific to ask general questions to as they go.
4. Benchmarks and follow up. Management should establish goals and benchmarks that reflect progress in terms of the learning curve. New reps should be awarded for achieving these benchmarks.
5. Audits. Regularly audit and adjust your training program to improve results and retention.

Source: “5 Classic Mistakes in new hire Sales Training,” by Matt Sharrers, The Sales Benchmark Index, 10/8/11.

5 profiles

The study was conducted by the Corporate Executive Board’s Sales Executive Council.

The five distinct groups of attributes tested:

1. Challengers (27% of sample). They have a deep understanding of the customer’s business and use that knowledge to challenge customer thinking and teach them something new about how their company operates. They’re not afraid to share their views, even when they’re different and potentially controversial. They tend to push their own managers and other senior leaders within their organization. They’re constantly bringing fresh insight to their customers and managers.
2. Hard Workers (21% of sample). They show up early, stay late and are always willing to put in the extra effort. They’re self-motivated and don’t give up easily. They’ll make more calls in an hour and conduct more visits a week than just about anyone else on the team.
3. Relationship Builders (21% of sample). They’re all about nurturing strong personal and professional relationships. They’re very generous with their time and work hard to ensure that customer needs are met. Their primary posture with customers is largely one of accessibility and service. “Whatever you need, I’m here to make that happen,” is the message they deliver to customers.
4. Lone Wolves (18% of sample). They are deeply self-confident and tend to follow their own instincts instead rules. More often than not, they drive sales managers crazy, because they do things their way or not at all. Lone Wolves tend to have a high turnover rate.
5. Problem Solvers (13% of sample). Highly reliable and very detail-oriented, they tend to focus heavily on post-sales follow-up, ensuring that service issues around implementation are solved quickly. They usually find ways to make customers happy but at the expense of finding new business.

Clear winner — and loser

When these five profiles were compared to sales performance, a clear winner and loser were identified. Challengers won in a landslide with nearly 40% of high performers falling into that category.

Only 7% of star performers fell into the Relationship Builder profile, a clear warning for salespeople who spend too much time trying to build deep relationships with customers.

Relationship Builders and Problem Solvers

Some salespeople are firm believers in “relationship” selling. They try to establish strong personal and professional relationships with their customers. They follow the theory that customers are always right and avoid challenging them, under any circumstances.

Others prefer “solution” selling, coming up with answers to all those problems customers present them with. They fail to uncover new problems, but only deal with those issues that customers pinpoint — the opposite approach of a Challenger

As the study points out, perhaps neither Relationship Building or Problem Solving is the class to be in.

Challengers

Challengers lead and simplify. Instead of asking prospects what’s keeping them up at night, they tell the prospect what should be keeping them up at night. Challengers excel at teaching, tailoring and taking control. They are focused on pushing customers out of their comfort zone.

Challengers are made, not born

A challenger is defined by the ability to teach, tailor and take control — three things that any motivated salesperson can do. There are many sources of information that can help salespeople tailor their approach to customers:

• What’s going on in terms of industry trends and current events?
• Has a big competitor recently folded or has there been a meaningful merger?
• Is a competitor rapidly gaining or losing share?

Taking control of the sale

Challengers have an ability to assert and maintain control over the sale. Being assertive doesn’t mean being overly-aggressive, annoying or abusive. It’s all about a salesperson’s ability and willingness to stand firm when the customer begins to push back.

A Challenger arrives at a presentation with a deep understanding of the prospect’s concerns as well as the specific results he or she wants to achieve.

A different focus

Challengers aren’t focused on what they’re selling but on what the prospect is trying to accomplish. They are able to pressure the customer’s decision-making cycle to overcome indecision and help them make decisions more quickly. They move customers out of their comfort zone by showing them their world in a different light. They do it with control, diplomacy and empathy.

Adapted from the book The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson, both are directors with the Corporate Executive Board’s Sales Executive Council in Washington, D.C.

The study, conducted by McKinsey & Co., found that inside salespeople at a global manufacturer spent 75% of their time off the phones — revisiting stalled deals, handling service requests and administrative tasks.

The study also found even the most productive employees were spending 45% of their time dealing with internal support and tracking the progress of shipments.

What’s worse? None of this is uncommon at a modern-day company.

Based on its research, McKinsey offers these five tips for maximizing the effectiveness of every department and achieving peak performance:

1. Identify problems and opportunities. Use key metrics and feedback from employees to list and prioritize the biggest challenges that are plaguing each department. In addition, make a list of the most viable opportunities the department isn’t taking advantage of.
2. Implement solutions. This may sound like a no-brainer, but the majority of organizations have meetings during which they air out all the major issues and map out solutions, but then fail to follow through on any of those solutions.
3. Choose metrics to gauge success. Set firm benchmark dates and choose quantifiable metrics to measure and adjust your progress along the way.
4. Create rewards. If you’re setting goals for an entire department, ask employees for ideas about the type of group incentive that’ll motivate them to achieve the goal.
5. Create consequences. In order for employees to endorse change, there usually has to be a consequence for them not doing so.

Source: “Freeing up the sales force for selling,” by Olivia Nottebohm, Tom Stephenson and Jennifer Wickland, McKinsey Quarterly, 7/11.

While traditional sales organizations compete on issues of price, service and quality, “engagement” (i.e., the level of loyalty buyers have to a company or brand) is the real key to boosting business during an unsure economy.

Customers become “engaged” with businesses based on consistent, positive interactions over the course of time.

There are four specific motivators (or drivers) that lead to higher levels of engagement, according to a well-known Allegiance Marketing study:

1. Protection — How strongly do you guarantee each buyer’s investment? How do they know they’re safe doing business with you?
2. Confidence – Are buyers always kept in the loop about new products or changes to existing ones? How do you reinforce the notion they’re receiving the best value on the market?
3. Appreciation – How do buyers know you value their loyalty? Do you offer buyer rewards or preferred customer status based on loyalty and purchase levels?
4. Service – Do salespeople maintain consistent contact? Is there a system to ensure problems are resolved quickly and efficiently?

Because engagement is such a qualitative measure, it’s often difficult for organizations to measure the impact they’re having with buyers.

Here are some indications that buyer engagement initiatives are actually paying off:

• Increase in revenue – Higher levels of engagement lead customers to buy more (and more often).
• More referrals — Engaged buyers are motivated to send more business your way (top companies offer incentives to encourage referrals).
• Less customer turnover – Engaged buyers are loyal buyers.
• More feedback – Engaged customers feel more comfortable sharing feedback about what they like (and don’t like), mostly because they view their relationship with your company as more of a partnership.

Ritz-Carlton, Netflix and Google are always among the top 10 companies in the country when it comes to engaging buyers, according to PeopleMetrics Annual Customer Engagement Study.

While each of these companies serves a different niche, there are two things all three have in common:

1. Constant interaction with buyers. One in four customers never contact a company when they have a problem or concern. Top companies take proactive steps to avoid that and resolve issues ASAP (e.g., Netflix asks renters for email feedback on every DVD they view and encourages subscribers to contact them 24/7 if any issues arise).
2. Strong emphasis on employees. Best-in-class companies consider employees their most valuable resource. They provide frequent bonuses and incentives for dedication and first-class service. They also treat employees with tremendous respect to ensure high levels of commitment (e.g., Ritz-Carlton refers to all employees as “ladies” and “gentlemen”).

The annual PeopleMetrics study reveals companies that achieve high levels of buyer engagement enjoy three benefits:

1. Fully engaged buyers recommend a brand or company to friends and business associates four times more often than ambivalent customers.
2. 13% of fully engaged buyers post to a blog, website or message board about their experience.
3. A fully engaged buyer visits the company’s website twice as often (and makes three times as many online purchases).

The answer, overwhelmingly, seems to be yes, according to a new study from the University of Missouri.

Since its launch in April last year, Apple’s iPad tablet has defied skeptics and set a high bar for manufacturers that are now introducing their own tablets.

An internationally recognized authority on media tablets and e-readers from the University of Missouri, has found that iPad owners are reporting exceptionally high levels of satisfaction and that user satisfaction appears to be increasing the longer they use the device.

Roger Fidler, program director for digital publishing at the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri, has been conducting surveys of iPad users since last fall to figure out how iPad owners use the devices in their daily lives and how the iPad may influence journalism and news consumption.

Fidler says he is surprised by the high levels of user satisfaction.

“It’s unusual for new technology devices,” Fidler said. “In most cases, satisfaction tends to drop off significantly after about 13 weeks. That clearly is not the trend with the iPad.”

Fidler found in his first survey last fall that 94% of the 1,600 respondents were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their iPad. In his follow-up survey this spring, nearly 70% of the 561 owners who responded said they were even more satisfied than they were last fall.

“While the iPad is designed for consuming all kinds of media, it has become clear that leisure reading of news and features is very popular with owners,” Fidler said. “The iPad’s ultra-thin, lightweight nearly magazine-size screen is more conducive for reading than laptop computers and other mobile devices. The screen size seems to be one of the main reasons for its sustained user satisfaction.”

Fidler also found that a majority of owners prefer to use their iPads at home during the evening hours while relaxing in an easy chair or on a couch. For complete results of Fidler’s surveys and a full report about the project, visit here.

Fidler is currently working on another survey for this summer that will gauge satisfaction with all tablets now on the market.

The strategy: Engaging employees.

Only 27% of employees maintain a strong passion for their job, the Gallup study.

The other 73% describe themselves as either partially or wholly disengaged or disillusioned with management’s willingness to consistently ask them
to do more with little or no reward.

The study found high levels of employee engagement are the primary key to overcoming this epidemic.

Companies that consistently asked employees for feedback, provided consistent (and public) recognition, and gave employees at all levels an active voice in decisions that would impact an entire department or division enjoyed a 240% boost in overall revenue over the past three years!

Source: www.gallup.com

A new study of small businesses by Roost shows that an overwhelming number of them (71.4%) now put their marketing eggs in the social media basket.

Only 15% said paid search was their marketing tactic of choice.

More telling stats:

• 88% said social media marketing is either “somewhat important” or “very important.”
• 84% said Facebook is the most effective social channel
• 8.3% said it was LinkedIn, and
• 7.6% said they rely on Twitter most.

One challenge businesses are still trying to overcome: How can they measure the value of their social media marketing efforts — and the eventual payoff?

Nearly half (45%) of small businesses surveyed are still seeking the answer, and 38.5% admitted it was pretty much a shot in the dark for them.

Unlike the past when a value proposition usually meant presenting a list of features and benefits in a unique way, today’s managers are better served to base their value proposition on the “experience” of doing business.

Researchers insist to survive in today’s marketplace, businesses need to orchestrate interesting events for their customers, engaging them on a constant and vigilant level.

The Miller Heiman study uses the example of FedEx, a company which has a very simple value proposition (that doubles as its slogan): “When It Absolutely Has to Be There Overnight.”

This has replaced FedEx’s previous credo (i.e., “Delivering the world on time”) because it’s more specific, and speaks to the reputation and reliability of FedEx’s system.

More importantly, it addresses the primary concern most customers have when considering how to safely get a package from A to B in less than a day.

In other words, value propositions need to be more active, explaining not only what a company does, but why it can be trusted to do it more efficiently than any competitor.

Or, as Rich Blakeman, VP of Miller Heiman, puts it, “Your customers absolutely cannot experience any variation associated with their expectations and the results of your value proposition.”

“Without predictable, consistent value in your customer experience, you’ll have no predictability in your results.”

Source: “Put the Value in Your Value Proposition,” Miller Heiman.

The study, which the Wall Street Journal conducted in conjunction with NBC News, found the bulk of pessimism was due to rising gas and food prices, while a stunning 64% claimed President Obama was either “not responsible” for the current economic mess or only “somewhat responsible.”

Nearly 70% of Americans claimed they’d been significantly effected by the increase in gas prices. Meanwhile, more than a third of respondents said their economic situation had gotten worse in the last year, while only 20% claimed their situation had actually improved.

Nearly 40% of Americans take the conservative view that cutting federal spending will help the economy, while 31% believe federal spending is actually helping the economy long-term.

Finally, 46% believe there should be less government interference in business – a belief that reflects the mass deregulation of the aughts that many feel contributed to the recession in the first place.

Source: “$4-a-gallon gasoline contributed to Growing Pessimism on Economy,” by Neil King, Wall Street Journal, 6/6/11.

Understanding why a sale is lost is critical, yet some salespeople fail to pinpoint the true reasons for losing.

When 500 salespeople were asked what percent of the time they believed they were at fault for losing deals, they blamed themselves only 25% of the time.

The study shows that salespeople underestimate how much their actions actually contributed to losing sales.

Working in the dark

Looking for the solution without accepting the problem is like working in the dark. This is what salespeople do when they continue to sell without fully knowing why they lost the deal.

Some blame product/service features or pricing issues. Others say it’s all about chemistry and feel — and there’s nothing they could’ve done to change the outcome.

Improving performance via debriefings

The best salespeople don’t see losing as in inevitable process that can’t be changed. They work to learn everything they can about why they lose and are constantly improving themselves. As soon as they learn a sale is lost, they call the prospect immediately to conduct a post decision debriefing.

The problem: Prospects don’t always give straight answers when salespeople ask why a sale is lost. They often feel uncomfortable giving feedback and criticism directly to salespeople because they don’t want to hurt their feelings.

They also fear confrontation or criticism from a salesperson who may become defensive. The study showed that prospects share the complete truth less than half of the time.

Real v. perceived problems

The study matched up the reasons that salespeople provided for why they lost specific deals with the real reasons given by prospects. Only 40% of the time did salespeople identify the real reasons. Another 28% were partially right, but 32% of them were totally wrong in their assessments as to why they lost a deal.

Here are five reasons why salespeople are unable to accurately assess the reasons for losing the sale during a debriefing:

1. Bias and perceptions. Even in situations where prospects are giving candid feedback, salespeople may misinterpret what they’re saying or may find themselves selectively listening.
2. Lack of chemistry with the prospect. Deals are lost because the salesperson failed to develop the right chemistry with the prospect. They same problem may prevent the salesperson from getting the real reason in a debriefing session.
3. Inaccurate of assessment of prospect’s needs. The salesperson doesn’t accurately assess the prospect’s needs and fails to focus on hot buttons during the debriefing session.
4. Fear of accountability. Some salespeople may not want to gather the truth because they don’t want to be held accountable for the loss.
5. Hesitancy to reach out to a prospect after a loss. Some salespeople fear bothering prospects when conducting debriefing calls. They feel they will be better off moving on to the next deal instead of tracking down the reason for the present loss.

Adapted from the book From a Good Sales Call to a Great Sales Call by Richard Schroder, President of Anova Consulting Group, a market research and consulting firm.

While email is still considered more cost-effective and easy to use, more marketers are migrating to social media in response to competitive trends and to reach new prospects, according to an April 2011 study by Pitney Bowes.

The study also gauged social media’s popularity in comparison to several other well-known marketing channels. It found that while social media is now more popular than direct mail and advertising, most marketers still don’t have faith in social networking’s ability to deliver consistent ROI.

Meanwhile, newer marketing modes like QR codes (sending bar code discounts via text) and mobile apps are slowly eating into social media’s popularity among marketers.

More than a third of companies now prefer marketing special offers via QR codes because they’re:

• Trackable. Companies can monitor when they’re used, how many times they’re used and which users are cashing in on QR discounts (and when).
• Easy to use. Once a company learns how to use the technology, setting up special offers is as easy as sending out a mass text message.
• Instant. Companies can launch a QR campaign at the drop of a hat, allowing marketers to cash in on any event, news story or trend that could have a positive impact on sales (e.g., A local BMW dealer once made thousands by announcing a special on snow tires 24 hours before a major blizzard hit).

Source: “Social Marketing’s Benefits Rival Email for Small Benefits,” eMarketer, 6/6/11.

A recent study reveals one issue reigns head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to connecting with today’s customers.

The issue: Producing engaging content.

That’s according Content Marketing Institute’s annual benchmarking and trends study. The study, which surveyed more than 1,100 marketing execs nationwide, found producing engaging content was the most daunting challenge for 36% of marketers nationwide.

The next closest challenge was “producing enough content” with 21% of the vote. The remainder of the list was rounded out by:

• Creating marketable content on a limited budget (20%)
• Lack of buy-in from C-level executives (11%)
• Producing a significant variety of content (9%), and/or
• No answer/other (3%).

Other studies have shown the key to maintaining high levels of sales, satisfaction and loyalty in today’s competitive marketplace is finding effective ways to engage buyers on a regular basis.

Email and social media are two low-cost ways to maintain an ongoing dialogue with customers.

But in both cases, the key to writing effective copy is understanding what prospects respond to. Three ways to do that:

1. Use Twitter’s analytic tools to monitor (and respond to) what customers are tweeting about your company on a daily basis.
2. Use Alexa.com or Google Analytics to compare your company’s web traffic to competitors’, and determine what other companies are doing to drive heavy traffic.
3. Use email and social media to ask for open, consistent feedback about products and services. The key here is encouraging prospects to be honest, especially in cases where they had a negative experience (as this will generally provide a wealth of actionable info your company can use to improve its products and services).

To download the complete Content Marketing Institute’s Benchmarking Study, click here.

Sales organizations that maintain high levels of employee engagement generate 19% higher revenues than average companies, according to a recent Hewitt Associates study.

Meanwhile, companies with low levels of engagement average 40% less revenue than their competitors.

The question today’s sales managers need to ask themselves is: How can I engage my reps in such a way that it drives higher levels of performance?

Here are three ways to do just that, and, ultimately, generate more sales:

1. Create a culture of empowerment. Employee satisfaction levels have reached an all-time low, according to an annual Conference Board study. One of the biggest contributing factors: Employees feel they have little (or no) stake in the company’s success. That feeling’s been magnified over the past few years as employees have been asked to take on additional duties with little or no reward. Most managers who have overcome that problem (or avoided it altogether) have one thing in common: They empower their employees to pitch and pursue new, innovative ideas. For sales managers, that means giving reps an active voice in how the department is run.

A few key strategies:

• Offer a monthly incentive to the rep who comes up with the most effective way to help boost sales.
• Schedule town hall meetings once a quarter, during which salespeople can air their grievances, and/or suggest new ways of doing things.
• Create senior titles and positions so salespeople have an incentive to develop their leadership skills (and you can start delegating low-priority tasks to reliable subordinates).

2. Establish shared responsibility. One of the main reasons sales pros fall short of their goals: A lack of mutual accountability (between manager and rep) for results. Research shows managers who excel at developing average reps into superstars follow these three steps:

• They take an active role in helping reps succeed. Some managers ask reps to write down three goals they want to achieve. Then the manager adds three action steps he/she’s willing to take to help the rep accomplish those goals. The shared responsibility builds trust, boosts morale and increases the probability goals will be met.
• They offer rewards and enforce consequences. Ask sales pros what would motivate them to reach their goals, and then develop specific incentives based on that feedback. Also, make sure reps are aware of the penalties for low performance (and enforce those penalties).
• They schedule firm follow-up dates and adjust goals accordingly. Top managers make it a point to meet and reevaluate goals on a regular basis. Salespeople who know the manager will be “checking their homework,” so to speak, are much more prone to stay on top of their goals.

3. Be a strong and loyal advocate. It’s never been more crucial for managers to stand behind their people, providing reassurance to both customers and the C-Suite that every salesperson is doing the best job he/she possibly can. In a more-with-less marketplace, where salary increases and bonuses are difficult to come by, loyalty may be the only thing that keeps a top salesperson from testing the job market.

Look for opportunities to go to bat for your salespeople, and consider sending a departmental email every Monday, acknowledging something positive a rep did the week before. A good manager knows how to discipline an employee for doing something wrong, but a great manager knows how to reward an employee for doing something right.

Based in part on “Create an Engaged Organization,” by Richard Axelrod, Bloomberg Business Week, 2/4/11.

Seems more than five million American workers have at some point called into work sick because they couldn’t face the commute.

The Workforce Institute at Kronos Inc. reports 4% of adults who commute to work called in sick rather than spend hours traveling. Their absences cost organizations 8.7% of payroll annually.

Only 6% of workers are paid for the time they spend commuting to their jobs, says the survey.

Almost half said commuting affected job satisfaction, 15% said they would change jobs to shorten their commute, and 11% feel their commute negatively affects their work-life balance, the survey said.

The online survey was conducted March 2-4 among 2,042 adults, of whom 1,077 commute to work.

With the flood of new mobile technology options, telecommuting is easier — and cheaper — than ever. Getting rid of “sick” days used by folks who dread their commute could be a healthy option.

The study, conducted by the consulting firm Accenture, found:

• More than a third of customers have had a negative experience with a service company and the majority of them have taken the time to complain.
• One-fifth of customers under 35 now express their negative views online, as opposed to contacting a company directly.
• Only 10% of customers 35-44 express their negative views online (The rest contact the company directly via email or phone).

The findings reveal a major shift, as Marketing and Service pros may now want to monitor online mentions regularly, so they can respond to negative views, salvage relationships and defend the company’s reputation.

In terms of how today’s customers react to a negative experience:

• 23% of buyers have switched to a competitor based on a negative experience, and
• 28% now prefer to “try out” other competitors on a regular basis, even if they consistently do business with one specific service provider.

The study also suggests consumers don’t only rate service providers based on the wealth of services they provide, but also how efficiently they provide those services, as well as how effective they are at resolving major issues ASAP.

Source: “Consumers Want Fast, Friendly Service,” by Ann Carrns, New York Times, 5/12/11.

If you begin with the premise that your goal with email is to get a prospective customer to open it, then there are two schools of thought on how that’s best accomplished:

1. The easier it is for someone to get the gist of your email — using a short, punchy subject line — the more likely it is they’ll open it.
2. Make email subject lines more detailed, with enough information to tell prospects exactly what information to expect when they open it.

Right now, it looks like the longer subject lines might be outperforming the short and sweet.

It was proven that longer subject can generate open rates 8% higher than shorter subject lines, according to a study reported on the MarketingExperiments Blog.

The reason for that: People out there aren’t looking for reasons to open email. They’re looking for ways to clear email quickly from their inbox, with the least possible effort.

Short “tease you” subject lines are more likely to get a shrug and a deletion.

If emails provide information about solutions you have for their problems, recipients are more likely to be interested.

Email like that will either be opened on the spot, or saved for later, when the recipient has more time.

While both are positive strategies, a study conducted by the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., found: “Companies that directly engaged their customers had superior results regardless of innovation strategy.”

The study also revealed companies that ask customers for targeted feedback prior to making changes, then act on that feedback have superior results in two areas:

• Profits. Average income for new product launches is three times higher than competitors, and
• Returns. The ROI on promotional costs, production and marketing
  is 65% higher on average.

The study makes a clear distinction, however, between companies that claim they take the customer into account, and those that specialize in gathering and acting on feedback.

Companies are generally labeled as either having:

• Indirect customer insight. The customer is considered when the company designs a new campaign, but the company bases its choices on past feedback or “knowing the marketplace,” or
• Direct customer feedback. The company uses focus research, social media, one-on-one interviews and solid numbers to determine how it will produce and market its products (and why).

The latter was found to produce stellar results time and again.

Based in part on “Customer Engagement: Your Secret Weapon for an Innovation Strategy that Rocks!” an article by Dan Adams.