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Featured Links: New Media/Technology

	“E-marketing in the Fast Lane”

	Judging from the size of the audience at the “E-marketing in the Fast Lane” presentation at the 2007 annual conference, e-marketing is definitely on the minds of marketing professionals in the transportation industry. They got an earful from presenters Kevin Senne, from Premier Global Services; Michael Madej, from Industry Week; and Jim Graziano, from Schneider National. Discussion ranged from effective e-marketing strategy to implementation and the associated challenges. Think it through. E-marketing needs to be done for the right reasons. “Lots of companies are doing e-media because everyone else is doing it or because their CEO wants to do it,” Madej notes. “But they’re not putting a lot of thought into it. They’re not sure what the messaging should be. You need to ask, ‘What do we want to accomplish? Why?’ Do that first and then think about the right media for you.” Senne agrees, saying, “You have to have a start-to-finish plan that addresses expectation and context. Make sure that you have the right expectations. Then stick with your plan.” Graziano adds, “Make sure that this is something you can get into, that you have the resources to manage it, and that you have a plan to keep them coming back for more.” He emphasizes that e-marketing is not something to rush into. It needs to show simplicity, engage the audience and be relevant. It's a two-way street. If you decide that e-marketing is appropriate for meeting your objectives, be sure to use it effectively, the presenters cautioned. “We’re not seeing a lot of people engaging a target in meaningful dialogues,” Madej observes. “They’re talking at prospects, not with them. It needs to be a thought-leadership type discussion.” Graziano agrees that e-marketing is an opportunity to engage in a two-way conversation with your target audience. “Consumers want more control of the conversation,” he cautions. “Give your target control.” “If you’re trying to put together a good campaign, ask a lot of questions,” Madej adds. “Have a good idea of where you want to go, and look for a good media partner or someone to coach you through the process.” Effective implementation. On the tactical side, Madej emphasizes focusing on one simple message to communicate in your online ad. “Hit on pain points. Solve a problem for them. Then ask for a click-through.” Remember to think through what happens after someone clicks on your ad. Rather than just sending visitors to your company home page or a general product page, Madej recommends creating a landing page specifically designed for your campaign. The page should have a clean look, with a plain white background, simple graphics that tie to the campaign, no unnecessary site navigation tools, and a couple of sentences explaining what the visitor is going to get – a white paper, special offer, etc. And if you’re capturing information for lead generation purposes, keep questions to a minimum. Senne sees value in transactional messaging – communications that are in direct response to an action the user performed with you. For example, when you buy a video camera, Wal-Mart sends you an email with a receipt or confirmation, along with ads and other pertinent marketing information. E-marketing doesn’t work in a vacuum, of course. The presenters were quick to point out that e-marketing efforts should complement your other marketing efforts. “Electronic media is very tempting because it’s measurable,” Graziano says. “But you can’t exclude other activities that may build brands and shareholder value. Coordinate e-marketing with your regular marketing.” Beware the Challenges. Four billion messages are sent on AOL each day, Senne notes. “There’s too much spam. It’s a trust thing. You have to personalize the message.” Graziano acknowledges that finding the information necessary for personalization can be challenging. “In the transportation industry, we have a lot of data about our customers. The trick is aggregating it to give you a 360 degree view of your customers.” “We’ve taken our databases beyond name, address, etc..” Graziano says. “We know where our customers are shipping and what they’re shipping. It’s a very manual process now, but we’re working to make it more automated. We’re taking a harder look at our targeting efforts.” Another challenge is the need to sustain e-marketing efforts. “Once you’ve launched, it’s difficult to provide continuous value for the customer. You need the resources to keep the e-marketing effort on-going continuously,” Graziano explains. Understand your audience. Research was also a topic for discussion. Graziano emphasizes, “This type of marketing gives you the opportunity to get more connected to your customers. It’s a very personal thing. You need to know what’s important to them.” He says Schneider National has changed the direction of its market research efforts – moving from quantitative measurements to more qualitative ones. “We need to understand the emotional payoff of customers doing business with us. What emotional drivers get us there? What are we going to give them to make them believe what we tell them?” he explains. Asking these kinds of questions is still rare, Madej says. “Not many companies have serious research efforts in place.” It seems that e-marketing requires us to follow age-old marketing principles – know your audience, identify the message you most need to share with them and show that you understand their needs. While e-marketing still may not be a smooth ride, by reminding us that these truisms apply to the online world as well, these presenters have certainly helped to pave the way for success.
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