“To build customer loyalty — to build a brand — companies need to keep their customers engaged in a continuous dialogue.”

That sounds like something you might have heard at the last marketing conference you attended. Or maybe it was something you read in one of the dozens of industry newsletters that clutter your inbox.

Nope. That line was actually written in July 1995. That means when that line was published, you couldn’t watch the first Toy Story movie on DVD because neither Toy Story nor DVDs existed yet. You could, however, buy a gallon of gas for $1.09, and you were probably enthralled with the O.J. Simpson trial.Continue Reading

Have you ever marveled at a brand that engages its Facebook fans, Twitter followers, and YouTube subscribers in friendly conversation while delivering remarkable, relevant social media content? In contrast, have you ever received an email from that very same brand that’s so aggressively bland it could only have been built by an intern or a spam bot?

How did email content become a forgotten marketing channel when it has higher click-through rates, conversion rates, and ROI than any other channel? And not only was email the most popular online activity of 2012, but it’s also the channel through which a staggering 77 percent of consumers prefer to receive permission-based marketing communications.Continue Reading