MindComet

Gmail Themes Causing Rendering Issues

With the release of the 30 or so Gmail themes this week, comes some predictable rendering issues.  Now, with the implementation of these themes, it’s even MORE important to style all of your emails using inline, longhand CSS.  The most obvious issues come with the attributes of backgrounds, text and links.

According to The Retail Email Blog, “approximately 40% of all retailers have the potential to be significantly affected by this rendering problem”. Click here for an example of the rendering issues that may persist.

You should have been doing it to begin with, but make sure to ALWAYS define background, text and link attributes independently—colors and otherwise.

If you see any other issues related to the Gmail themes pop up, comment below.

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Posted by MindComet on Nov. 25, 2008

Zappos Email Sign Up

So there have been a few email posts about Zappos email and advertising strategies lately over at The Email Wars, The Email Experience Blog and Traffic and Conversion Blog and thought I’d chime in as well.  Believe it or not, to my knowledge I have never purchased anything from Zappos before.  So with all this talk about their email program and advertising, good or bad, I wanted to provide my feedback based on my experience but I cant. 

Since Im not a customer, I dont get their emails and I cant find anywhere to sign up on their site.  What if (in this case) I am a customer looking to buy some shoes yet have not been sold on (in this case) the service/offerings of the brand I’m buying from?  How does the brand drive conversions, simply based on word of mouth and brand awareness? 

If you’re reading this and on Zappos email list, can someone hook me up with a forward to a friend on their newsletters please .  Upon receiving their emails, based on the feedback Ive been reading, I have to wonder if this will turn me away or at least show me the value Zappos have to offer to its customers which from WOM, they seem to do quite well.

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Posted by MindComet on Nov. 25, 2008

Show Me, Dont Tell Me

Im trying to knock out my holiday shopping early this year to avoid the upcoming madness.  Last year I did the majority of my shopping online however this year I have been hitting up the sales and specials in store.  I bought a few things at Pier 1 Imports over the weekend and upon being asked for my email, gave it to them.  I received my welcome email message the following day.  Props to Pier 1 Imports for sending a welcome message, seeing how so many brands are not taking advantage of this easy touch point.  However the welcome message wasn’t worth my time (see screenshot below).

Thumbs Up
• Received the welcome message
• As a valued customer, I will be included on sneak peeks and special offers, etc.

Thumbs Down
• Email doesnt show me how Im a valued customer (no discount, no incentive).  If Im a valued customer, shouldn’t I be presented with something that shows that?

Maybe Im being too harsh because I didnt get anything in return from Pier 1 after my weekend purchase and providing them with my personal contact info.  I guess I should just be glad that they are at least sending welcome messages and perhaps with a little patience will start to see some return from Pier 1 for being a the valued customer they say I am.

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Posted by MindComet on Nov. 24, 2008

Gmail Unveils New Design Themes

It looks like GMAIL is breaking the mold again; this time with allowing their users to add themes to their interfaces.  The “themes” tab still hasn’t been added to my account, but I’m sure it’ll only be a few days until I see it pop up.  Some of the themes are obviously tacky and for the youngin’s, but most are designed quite nicely.

The tab will be under the settings section when available which, again, will be within a few days.  I can’t wait to see when they roll out the “upload your own theme” function.

Check out some screenshots below:

Thanks to albert via lifehacker via the official gmail blog for pointing this out.

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Posted by MindComet on Nov. 19, 2008

Restaurant Brands Have it Made When it Comes to Email

I can’t say Ive met anyone that doesnt enjoy food or love it for that matter.  With that, why arent more restaurant brand leveraging email to its full potential?  Why don’t more fast food or in and out restaurants send emails prior to the lunch hour to help persuade individuals or groups where to go for lunch?  We all know how difficult it can be to make a decision on where to go for lunch where the restaurants options seem endless, so why shouldn’t restaurant brands persuade us with their savory images of menu items.  Inbox overload? - yes, but how some imagery can really start a craving.

Maybe Im in need of an afternoon snack or maybe food is to me what Apple is to Mac fans.  Regardless I still think restaurant brands have a step up in the email world if they use their assets to their advantage. Now who can tell me where cookware company, William Sonama gets their dessert imagery from, that’s what I want!

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Posted by MindComet on Nov. 19, 2008

Shop.org Provides Insight into Retailers Holiday Marketing Plans

From our previous post we were looking for insight into this years marketing trends as it relates to the holiday season and what marketers were doing to get consumers to spend with them.  Low and behold just a day later MediaPost’s Research Brief released information from a eHoliday study Shop.org did.  I’ve provided the findings below for easy reference.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Retailers Make Online Shopping More Attractive For Christmas

According to results of the 2008 eHoliday Study from Shop.org, 56.1% of online retailers expect their holiday sales to increase at least fifteen percent over last year, compared to 77.5% of retailers surveyed last year who expected their sales to grow more than 15 percent.
Scott Silverman, Executive Director of Shop.org, says “...Retailers will be heavily promotional to attract shoppers on a budget, but have also invested in new site features to improve the online buying experience.“

Despite an increase in transportation costs, retailers do not plan to cut back on popular free shipping promotions. This year:

• 78% of retailers plan to offer free shipping with conditions
• 40.4% of retailers are compensating for increased shipping costs by renegotiating terms with shipping providers
• 33.3% are closely managing company headcount
• 15.8% are reducing other promotions
• 21.3% of retailers say they will require a higher purchase amount for customers to be eligible for free shipping
• 10.6% will cut back on usage of free shipping with no conditions

In addition to free shipping promotions, many retailers have rolled out new website features to improve the customer experience.

• 42.9% of retailers added or improved site search to help customers navigate sites more easily
• 42.6%  added product video
32.7% offered customer reviews
... to give shoppers more information to make buying decisions.

For price-focused shoppers:

• 27.1% of retailers have added and enhanced clearance sale pages
• 31.3% added featured sale pages
• 25.0% of online retailers added a Facebook page this year
• 58% of consumers acknowledge that 24-hour shopping convenience is one of the main reasons why they choose to buy online. Additionally, shoppers’ other top reasons for buying online instead of in stores include:

• Not wanting to fight crowds (41.1%)
• Easy price comparisons (36.4%)
• Free shipping (33.3%) Also, nearly one in four shoppers says they are
• Online spending due to high gas prices (23.1%)

Helen Malani, Shopzilla’s Online Shopping Expert, concludes “... budget-focused consumers… are starting on the web to look for gift ideas… whether they make those holiday purchases online or in stores, the Internet will have a tremendous influence… this year.“

For more information about the study, please visit Shop.org here.

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Posted by MindComet on Nov. 19, 2008

Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Its not even Thanksgiving and I’ve already got the winter holidays top of mind.  Perhaps its the cold front that has moved through Florida giving me hope that Im not going to have to use my A/C for a couple months, the fact that all the retail stores Ive been in have their holiday decorations up or the fact that my inbox is being filled with all sorts of deals enticing me to shop. 

What I am interested in seeing based on state of our current economy and trends of consumers spending less, will the retailers do more this year in regards to sales and specials or will they just get smarter?  I stumbled into a retail store yesterday to pick up a few purchases and along with my purchase I was given a giftcard that is worth $10, $50, $100 or $500.  The catch? I have to go back to the store between December 1-24th to discover the value of the giftcard, meaning I have to purchase something to see what its worth.  I have to admit, they’ve totally got me sold. Even though the likelihood that the gift card will be the lowest value of $10, Im still hopeful that maybe Ill be one of the lucky ones.  If Im not, I still have a strategy of my own in place, we cant just let these marketers outsmart us .  My plan is to purchase something small and if they happen to reveal to me that its worth $500 then of course Ill gladly find a way to spend it so we are both winners unless of course they hide all the $10 valued items that day.

Is this strategy one to encourage consumers to spend more in a down economy or have I just blocked these strategies out in the past?  Stayed tuned for more holiday email marketing favorites.

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Posted by MindComet on Nov. 17, 2008