IMN / iMakeNews, Inc.

www.imninc.com

Beyond email marketing: Using Podcasts, RSS, and other technologies to build customer relationships.

Kimo Kong – April 26, 2006

E-Communications – Beyond HTML Email Marketing

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Delivery Vehicles

– RSS – – Blogs Mini-sites •

Content Handling

– Sourcing – – Layering Integration/Workflow – Wizard+Portal “Wiztal” •

Rich Media

– Podcasts – Video •

Analytics

– Real-time, CRM Actionable – Automated/Pushed Email Reports

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© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

Lessons Learned from Building Vertical Solutions…

• Technology – IMN Total Channel Communications TM • Automotive – IMN Loyalty Driver TM • Direct Selling – IMN Party Pulse TM © 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Across a Wide Variety of Customers…

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

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RSS, Blogs and Other Technologies – Scenarios

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Business to Consumer (B2C)

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Business to Business (B2B)

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Small Office/Home Office (SOHO)

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Small/Medium Business (SMB)

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Large Enterprise

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Overall Observations Beyond Email Marketing… Putting it into Context

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© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

Business to Consumer (B2C)

• Automotive Dealer Example

From Engaging Content to Actionable Sales Leads

– Content Sourcing – automated sender-level personalization – Content Layering – structuring content to move reader from content designed to retain and engage, through soft sell, on to strong call to action to drive sales leads – Real-time Actionable CRM Analytics – driven by content layering – Video Media – new market tests

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© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

Top layer of content designed to retain and engage readership Links back to dealership web site are featured on every page, thus driving traffic from eNewsletter to web site.

Sender inserted custom content (e.g. Letter from General Manager)

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

Each page is branded for the dealership.

Professionally written article synopsis engages readers and invites them to click through to the full story.

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Next layer of content designed to detect product specific interest Progression from editorial mention, to vehicle specific soft sell, to call to action (e.g. invitation for test drive)

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

Content layering leads reader into product specific content and soft sell 8

Deepest layer of content designed to drive sales/lead related action

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

Strong call to action – 9

Buy Signal Alerts are sent in real time via e-mail to a designated recipient at each dealership as they are received.

Each Buy Signal Report shows the specific information dealer has requested from customer. In this example, dealer has asked for the best time to contact this individual. All contact information is automatically captured by Loyalty Driver. Additional information can be requested on the Buy Signal form and automatically added to this person’s CRM system record.

Same information can also be Sent directly into CRM system 10

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

Video ~ +58% response in A/B split test vs. HTML

Videos are similar in production quality and editorial format to nationally syndicated weekly automotive television show, but are originally produced image articles covering same and image articles covering same vehicles – video response dialup vs. broadband users)

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Business to Business (B2B)

• IMN Newsletter Example

Practicing What We Preach at IMN

– Podcasting – audio plus full text transcript – RSS – subscription alternative to email, trackable RSS • • • Podcasts increasingly used by major technology vendors (posted on websites) RSS increasingly a must-have for publishers, particularly technology publishers Still early ~ 5-12% of total internet users have RSS capability, but RSS integration into MS Vista (replaces XP) will ensure adoption

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© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

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RSS Subscription Option – Alternative to Email

RSS Subscription Icon Alternative to Email Subscription 14

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

RSS – Really Simple 1) Pick a Channel 2) Pick a Topic 3) Read/Watch

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Trackable RSS

Trackable RSS response Anonymous (no spam risk) Or Identifiable with Opt-in

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Small Office/Home Office (SOHO)

• Direct Selling Example

Extreme Ease of Use is Key for SOHO Users

– Wizard+Portal ‘Wiztal’– extreme ease of use for content control by SOHO users who act in effect as publishers/senders of newsletter – Automated/Pushed Email Reports – Call Targeting, reports sent 1/3/7 days following e-newsletter send date, proactive send means highly actionable for sales effort

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© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

E-newsletter Example

Consultant photo Consultant name/phone Hostess specials, Highlighted product, Lifestyle content Linda Porter 781.890.4700

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Content Management Wizard+Portal

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Strong Email Marketing Performance

• •

Reinforcing Personal Relationships…

• E-newsletter open rates are as high as 40-45% • First article read rates are as high as 26% Second and third article read rates 10-15% Opt-out rates are as low as 1%

We now have a highly personalized relationship with every customer and prospect, leading to greater brand awareness and loyalty.”

Peggi Peaslee Manager, Extranet Services PartyLite

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© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

Call Targeting – Automated/Pushed Email Reports

Sally Chang

Activity summary Call targeting

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Small/Medium Business (SMB)

• Blog Example

Sustainable Content is Key for Small/Medium Business

– Very high open rate performance for internal sales force blog which can be proactively pushed (sent) as email – Published weekly to 300 sales staff – blog format enables sustainable content for medium business (2 hours per week) • Content Sourcing – Content Library Example – Vendor supplied content for SMB Value Added Reseller (VAR)

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© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

Initial open rates were 23%, moved quickly over 4 month period to 60%, and have now stabilized at 75%

Technology Blog to Salesforce

Symmetricom Inc., based in San Jose, Calif., is using a blog to communicate with a decentralized salesforce spread across the world. So Hopkins launched Symmblog to disseminate product specs, pricing information and staffing information with a tool available from Symmetricom's e-mail marketing vendor iMakeNews Inc.... Hopkins outlines an editorial calendar and hires an outside person to put together the Symmblog, which is posted in the company's extranet up to three times a week. It has proven to be an effective communication tool. "Once people realized what it was, they couldn't say enough nice things," Hopkins said.

"It became a focal point from a communications standpoint.“

Jeanne Hopkins, Senior Manager for E-Marketing and Transactional Channel Sales Channels, Symmetricom

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Technology – VAR Access to Vendor Content Library

Content Library Workflow

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© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

Large Enterprise

• Third Party Example

Matching Enterprise-Wide Content to Enterprise Wide E-Communications

– Mini-sites for Account-based Marketing – portal sites personalized for large prospects/customers • Technology Example – Content Integration/Workflow – “To and Through” from enterprise to partner, through to end customer

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© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

Account-based Marketing – Mini-sites

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Content Integration/Workflow –

Multi-tier

Multi-tier E-Communications Networks • Applies to B2C and B2B Markets • Flow from content source to partner to end customer • Partner (intermediary) level personalization vs. recipient personalization Enterprise Content Partner Partner Partner End Customer

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© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

Content Integration – Enterprise Partners Self-Profile

Partner opts in to receive enterprise content Partner defines content preferences

Partner 28

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

Enterprise Partners Receive Profile-driven Content

Workflow enables publishing of the partner newsletter to end customer… virtually as easy as forwarding an email Topics and content are displayed based upon partner profile

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

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E-Newsletter – “To and Through” Workflow

Partner receives enterprise content Partner customizes enterprise content in Co-branded E-Newsletter End customer receives enterprise content

via Partner

Workflow from Enterprise to Partner through to End Customer End Customer 30

© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

Overall Observations – Over-Communication

• Over-communication is a growing problem – Multiple Content Sources – Communication from Enterprise and Partners – Multiple Campaigns • Solutions to over-communication are at hand – – Content Integration Content Workflow to and through Partners – Campaign “within” rather than across emails – use layered content to drive reader from editorial to soft sell to strong call to action and a transaction

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© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

Overall Observations – Content & Community

• Content is King – Lost lessons from magazine publishing • • Create a ‘community of interest’ …to create a conversation with readers Implement the reader dialog with … moderated blogs, surveys, email to the editor – – Retain and engage readers with great editorial content • Commission original, professionally written content Low single digit (~1%) opt-out rates are achievable • Retain ~90% of email data asset over 12 mailings vs.

… lose ~67% of email data asset at common 9% opt-out © 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Q&A …and an Invitation to Continue the Interaction

Pro&Content

If, How, and Why – Content Matters to Marketers

Pro

vocative Surveys ~

Con

troversial Interviews

Pro & Con

Perspectives on Email Marketing (Including! … RSS and Podcasts)

Launching May 2006 Subscribe at www.imninc.com

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© 2006 iMakeNews, Inc. All rights reserved.