Hello,
I'd like to get a feel for how direct marketing systems
(namely, email) are being adopted online. I'm working
on product development for another system in this
space, and had some initial questions on use amongst
small- to mid-sized- sites. Any relevant references
would certainly be appreciated.
I'm aware of the larger systems (such as comprehensive
packages offered by Epiphany, or hosted services
offered by Digital Impact, Responsys)... for those of
you who have adopted one of these services, I'd like to
know a little about your profile and experiences. Are
they mostly targeted toward larger companies with
frequent mailings and huge user databases? Is the
pricing reasonable and sustainable for
smaller/mid-sized businesses?
Who are some other preferred vendors in this space?
For those of you who have yet to adopt an email system
(how many of you are there, anyways?), are there plans
to do so in the near future? Certainly there have been
a tremendous amount of noise regarding the benefits of
permission and one-to-one marketing, and has that been
sufficient in motivating you toward implementing these
solutions?
What combination of price/functionality is important to
you? Do (or would) you take advantage of advanced
segmentation and tracking in your email lists?
Finally, what of the metrics frequently associated with
your direct email campaign do you feel has the most
potential for improvement, and would interest you
immediately:
- opt-in rate (users becoming granting you enough trust
to join the mailing list in the first place.. I've seen
industry numbers around 66%)
- open rate
- click-thru/response rate
Thanks for any help you might be able to offer.
- Chon-Chon Tang
- ztang_at_mit.edu
Received on Fri Sep 15 2000 - 14:21:39 CDT
