Digital Marketing blog

dotAgency Christmas and New Year opening hours

noreply@blogger.com (dotMailer) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:38:00 +0000

Just a quick update on our opening hours over the Christmas break.

Our offices will be closing at 12pm on Christmas Eve, remaining shut until Dec 29. We'll be running a skeleton support service (by email) from Dec 29 to 31. We then close, reopening on Jan 4 for business as usual.

Have a great Christmas break!

New HMVCurzon site scores NMA 'site of the week'

noreply@blogger.com (dotMailer) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:20:00 +0000

By Dave Ivy

Just how big a TV can you fit in your front room in search of the home cinema experience these days?

Pretty damn big if you take enough furniture out.

But for all the plasmas and home surround systems, we know it's not really a patch on the true cinema experience.

The silver screen has more impact than any HD LCD and the shared experience of sitting in a quality movie theatre watching a great film is a unique one.

That's why, here at dotAgency we were very excited at being asked to work on a new joint venture between HMV and Curzon cinemas, cunningly called - yes, that's right, HMVCurzon (well, with brand names like these, you're not going to risk doing a PWC 'Mondays', are you!).

The new website was concepted and designed by one of our favourite brand partners, Winkreative, and incorporates streaming trailers of every current and forthcoming movie the cinema is showing, up-to-the-minute film information and online booking that integrates directly with Curzon's in-house ticket system. It's a great example of how ecommerce solutions can be really engaging for visitors.

There's also lots of screenshots of each movie and information about the state-of-the-art cinema itself, with its rather more exclusive interior (it's nothing like some larger 'volume' rivals). There will be more features to come on the site too, but clearly it's in a good place already having won the NMA 'site of the week' on November 12th.

So what is the cinema like? Fan-tas-tic.

Each screen is a very cosy affair - around 70 people capacity - and offers crystal clear sonics with a HD picture that is quite simply the best I have ever seen in a cinema. We were lucky enough to be invited to the screening premiere of 'Up' in 3D and this was truly a beautiful cinematic experience.

Oh and of course, there's the bar, something that is sadly missing from other cinemas that tend to attract less serious moviegoers and more bored teenagers, looking for a handy head target for their peanuts. At the Wimbledon HMVCurzon, you know that you're in altogether much better company.

So the next time you watch a DVD huddled around your home plasma, remember how movies should really be viewed and book yourself in to the Wimbledon HMVCurzon. You'll very likely see us there...

Charities feeling the recession

noreply@blogger.com (dotMailer) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:58:00 +0000

By Cliff Guy

New research released by the Charity Commission reports that around 52% of charities in England and Wales say they have been adversely affected by the credit crunch - up from a figure of 38% when similar research was carried out in September 2008.*

The survey included more than 1000 charities, and shows clearly how the impact of the financial downturn on charities is kickin in. Nearly two thirds of charities with an annual income of £1m said they were concerned the economic problems would impact on their work, and one in three charities has taken steps to try to combat the impact.

14% of charities have reduced costs as a result of the downturn
11% have increased fundraising
6% are drawing on reserves
5% are holding off from offering new services
2% have cut head count
3% have considered collaborating with another charity

Many charities face the double-whammy of a drop in income along with an increased demand for services. Charities who rise to this challenge by focussing on the most cost effective channels and techniques for acquiring, retaining and upgrading donors, are the charities who will safely ride out the recession.

Getting the 'thank you' right is a critical piece in all charities' donor care strategies. Now more than ever it is essential for charities to effectively use both the online donation experience and email campaigns to thank and reassure donors and supporters of their value and importance, and keep the donor relationship recession-proof.

For practical guidance, download 'Hitting the Heart' - dotMailer's benchmark study of charity website design, based on the websites of 15 top charities.

*Source: Metro News

Technology For Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (dotMailer) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:21:00 +0000

By Eleanor Workman

800 dotMailer folders - all handed out
600 dotMailer pens - picked up
10 large boxes of chocolates - eaten
dotMailer sales and marketing team members - very tired
and 1 jam packed seminar with many visitors - turned away...

... it must all mean that dotMailer has once again completed a successful TFM&A show.

For me the highlight of the show was our Director Simon Bird's seminar on 'Improving the Effectiveness of your Website'. The seminar was so popular that visitors were queueing in both directions from the entrance to the seminar theatre half an hour before Simon was due to go on.

Although this did mean lots of disappointed visitors unable to get into the seminar, (and one ever so slightly nervous Simon) the seminar was a huge success and the video presentation will be posted on our website very soon. Simon's posted his slides in the dotMailer Resource Centre if you can't wait for the video!

The dotMailer stand was as busy as ever with many visitors looking to sell online through E-Commerce and our newest platform dotCommerce as well as stacks of interest in our well loved email marketing platform dotMailer proving that digital marketing is well positioned to take companies through to the other side of the recession.

We'll be out and about next at Internet World at the end of April - with more seminars and, to celebrate our 10th birthday, more special offers and celebrations. Make a date in your diary and we'll see you there.

My travels this week

noreply@blogger.com (dotMailer) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:01:00 +0000

By Eleanor Workman

The travel industry has embraced internet marketing in recent years, which is why for the past couple of days, dotMailer has been exhibiting at the Travel Technology Show in Earls Court.

Tink Taylor, our Client Services Director presented to a packed seminar theatre (standing room only) on Wednesday. Two strong themes from the seminar and the two day show were delivery and content.

An interesting question was posed to Tink in relation to personalising subject lines. Tink and his DMA colleagues have blogged extensively about this on the DMA blog but in a nutshell the feedback was that ISPs such as Hotmail are recognising personalisation in subject lines and as such are treating those emails as spam. General advice then - avoid first name personalisation in the subject line.

Overall the dotMailer stand was, as ever, busy with visitors interested in making more money and increasing conversions through email marketing, websites and SEO. A lot of current clients stopped by the stand to say hi, (and hopefully a lot of potentially new clients did too). What was encouraging from speaking to all the visitors was the interest in SEO. The digital journey for many begins with SEO, both natural and ppc, and is a necessity for online success in 2009.

Building natural search rankings doesn't happen overnight, so the message for many at the Travel Tech show was to get an SEO strategy in place now, to make sure you don't miss out on your spot in the sun.

Is it time to stop supporting IE6?

noreply@blogger.com (dotMailer) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:28:00 +0000

by Michael Duxbury

With the full release of Internet Explorer 8 around the corner (Release Candidate 1 was released on Monday), we've started to wonder if the time has finally come to stop supporting version 6.

Released in August 2001, IE6 is looking a little elderly to put it mildly. It suffers from key rendering issues - and some serious security flaws (earlier this month, Secunia reported 142 vulnerabilities). With a mammoth 234 distinct releases over the last eight years, it's nigh on impossible to test sites on them all.

However, current usage statistics show the ageing browser still has a market share of around 30%, despite the recent advances of Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. But does that figure really represent our users? A lot of our sites are UK-focused, and a large proportion of those have a young demographic. Within this group, the percentage using IE6 could be a lot lower - and that's something that tools such as Google Analytics can show us on a site-specific level. On our dotmailer.co.uk site, IE6 users over the last month accounted for just 15% of visitors (down from 20% six months ago, and from 33% a year ago).

Not testing our sites in a browser used by 2 out of 10 of users seems like a bad move - so I think we're stuck with it for now. However, a 50% drop in usage over a year means that people are moving on to newer browsers - if only they were doing it quicker...

In recession, traditional ad agencies need to seek out digital partners

noreply@blogger.com (dotMailer) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:03:00 +0000

By Tink Taylor

Bleak news reported on bnet.com last week, that the Ogilvy Group is to lay off around 10% of its workforce. BNET's Ad Agency Layoff Counter when I last checked was running at over 6,500 heads.

Unfortunately, no-one in the ad business is surprised that when clients start to cut back on above the line and print spend, agencies are forced to make cut backs themselves.

When times get hard and budgets get tight, above the line ad spend in particular is vulnerable, as it can potentially be difficult to measure and prove the return on investment. Next goes print and mailings - especially when looking at response rates against the cost of production and distribution. Then there's the pressure of the ‘environmental cost’ that the print sector faces.

Digital marketing spend however, has remained robust - precisely because it is both measurable and can demonstrate outstanding ROI. Retained clients will start to spend again - maybe it will take 12 months, maybe longer. So it's critical for agencies to maintain their client relationships and continue to provide a quality service in the meantime.

Digital services will play a crucial role here. Clients cutting back on traditional channels will be ramping up their spend on online marketing. The crunch is that with headcount losses and less manpower it becomes harder for agencies to cover off increased demand in this specialised area - and that's where outsourcing to a specialist digital agency will help.

Dedicated digital agencies like dotMailer - with many years experience of working with agencies behind the scenes to provide website design, build and support - can be a godsend in these tough times. At dotMailer we've been partnering with traditional agencies for over 9 years.

The irony is that by the very nature of the work, it can be hard for digital agencies like dotMailer to shout about the agency to agency work we do, as so much of it is done confidentially. But that's the whole point - we're happy to work our socks off behind the scenes so traditional agencies can take centre stage and deliver a block buster of a digital campaign to the client.

Just how mega was 'mega Monday'?

noreply@blogger.com (dotMailer) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:26:00 +0000

By Cliff Guy

Christmas 2009 saw the word 'Mega-Monday' enter the e-marketing and retail domain. Used to describe the predicted record online spend day of December 8th, the phrase was way too 1980s for its subject matter, but it did make a point.

So just how mega did it all pan out to be? According to the latest numbers released by IMRG Capgemini, it all panned out very well! Christmas online sales were up 14.2% on December '07, following a record online spend in November '08. All this in the face of one of the harshest Christmas retail periods in living memory, with High Street names seeing significant slumps in sales, despite massive in-store reductions.

The message to marketers is clear - the opportunities for exploiting growth in the current contracting market lie fairly and squarely in digital marketing. Now, that's mega.

dotMailer Ltd becomes dotDigital Group PLC

noreply@blogger.com (dotMailer) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 10:33:00 +0000

By Peter Simmonds

I am proud to announce that from 30 January 2009, subject to shareholder approval, dotMailer Ltd will become dotDigital Group PLC, a company quoted on the PLUS Market following the reverse takeover of West End Ventures PLC.

dotDigital Group PLC will be made up of three businesses initially:

• dotMailer, the email marketing company that provides over 2,000 users with high deliverability and advanced ROI-boosting features through an intuitive and easy-to-use interface;

• dotAgency, the digital marketing specialists that offer design, website creation, search engine optimisation and strategic digital marketing consultancy; and

• dotCommerce, the affordable, flexible and scalable off-the-shelf ecommerce package that fits like a tailored solution.

2008 was an exceptional year for dotMailer. We were named one of the Deloitte Fast Track 500 in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, having grown revenue by 97%, profit by 118% and staff numbers by over 100%.

We plan to use the proceeds from the reverse takeover to continue improving our product and service range utilising an even stronger balance sheet to continue investing in growth in these challenging economic times.

Becoming a PLUS Market quoted company opens the door to additional equity funding and if the right opportunities arise we will seek to acquire complementary businesses in the digital marketing space.

All of this puts us in great shape to continue the impressive growth story into 2009 and beyond.

Of course, we couldn’t have done this without our fantastic and highly committed team, who have worked extremely hard to bring us to this point. One of the most rewarding aspects of this deal is that our employees will now be able to share in our long term success.

The aftermath of IE7 security issue

noreply@blogger.com (dotMailer) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:39:00 +0000

By Eleanor Workman

Between 70-80% of all internet users browse the web with Internet Explorer 7, but with the recent security alerts, users are being urged to use a different browser to protect their passwords and personal details.

With the world’s security experts calling people to change their browser I would expect a rise in the number of Google Chrome users. However, I’ve been using Google Chrome for a while now, (it’s now out of Beta and available on major release) and I'd say around 10% of websites that I visit break in Google Chrome.

At dotMailer we test all our websites across a wide spectrum of browsers to ensure they render correctly.

I would strongly advise you test your websites in Google Chrome, as well as Firefox, Safari, Opera and also, currently in testing, IE8.

While Microsoft build the patch to protect their users most private details, we must consider the effect swapping browsers will have on our websites.

Testing is the only way to guarantee your website will render and ensure your visitors have trust and confidence in your site, no matter which browser they visit you with.

Building your brand online

noreply@blogger.com (dotMailer) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:22:00 +0000

By Tink Taylor

Many marketers continue to see the Internet as little more than a cheap way to generate leads, without taking account of brand building and support. But by investing in online brand-building now, marketers can engage with prospects and build long term market share.

The issue for many is that in today's climate it is increasingly hard for companies to gain the trust of customers online. Here’s why:

Consumers are wary, thanks to years of spam, phishing threats and media coverage. This issue is likely to become more pressing with Microsoft’s upcoming browser, Internet Explorer 8. This contains a new feature called InPrivate, which allows surfers to keep their data and browsing activity secret.
Monitoring your brand online is more important and complicated than offline. The Internet creates an echo-chamber for potentially dissatisfied visitors to voice their opinions and thereby damage brand reputation.
Unifying all messaging and outward-facing contact is harder to control, because there are so many online channels and different methods of communication, such as search, advertising and email.

A few years ago, Facebook was an unknown brand with very little awareness. Now it is one of the most recognised brands in the world - all through online activity. So how do companies establish Facebook-levels of online trust and brand loyalty? Begin by following these 3 key steps:

Step one. All successful marketing campaigns depend on saying the right thing to the right person in the right way at the right time. Mass marketing tactics just won’t work online. Formulating a clear message and value proposition will help you promote an effective brand identity.

Step two. Address the concerns of wary users. As Google famously says: “Don’t be evil”. You must to be transparent and clearly set out privacy policies and ensure you comply with data protection and best practice. Don’t hide unsubscribe links. Frame your privacy policy in easy to understand language.

Step three. Monitor what people say about you online. The beauty of digital activity is that it is so easy to measure. There are several free tools you can use - Google Alerts, Omgili and Technorati to name a few. I talk much more about this, and unifying your brand and messaging online, on my DMA Email Marketing blog post.

Surfing the airwaves

noreply@blogger.com (dotMailer) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:57:00 +0000

By Tink Taylor

On Monday this week I can report that I spent 4 hours locked in a sound-proof box, wires clamped to my head, answering question after question, whilst never seeing the faces of my questionners... welcome to the world of radio!

dotMailer had been invited by a large media news agency to take part in a series of radio interviews on the subject of the internet retailing boom and how businesses can take advantage of the pre-Christmas online spending rush.

I was interviewed by 10 different radio stations, commenting on recent research into trends in regional online spending patterns and how the credit crunch has impacted. I was keen to show how local and regional businesses can take steps now to get quick wins out of their digital marketing, email and ecommerce sites and buck the down-turn trends on the high street.

From Swansea Sound to BBC Radio Leeds and nationally from Kerrang FM to TLRC I spread the message of digital marketing and how it can work for businesses of all sizes. An interesting and enjoyable morning – but please, no mention of my having the perfect face for radio!

The awards flow in!

noreply@blogger.com (dotMailer) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:10:00 +0000

by Dave Ivy

Wow, what a week - it's been pretty hectic at the company of late and our great staff have been working harder than Santa's helpers on Christmas Eve recently. What makes it all worthwhile though, is to be recognised once in a while - even better, is to be recognised twice in the space of a week!

Our first award was the Bobs Best Growing Business in the Borough, presented by Tim Campbell of the Apprentice fame (more here - http://www.croydonbobs.net/growing.php. Our second was from Deloitte, recognising us as one of the fastest growing 500 companies in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Asia). Even we couldn't match the winner with 28,500% though!. Find out more at http://www.fast500europe.com.

Both great awards and great bashes to compliment - our biggest thanks to the organisers.

Money for maps

noreply@blogger.com (dotMailer) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:13:00 +0000

by Michael Duxbury

Maps are still a huge craze, and rightly so. The advent of the free (for non-commercial use) Google Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth - among others - has meant that what was historically extraordinarily complicated has now been hugely simplified. So much information is better displayed in map form, and they're great interactive tools.

Charities in particular have been quick to realise the potential of these services. We've implemented mash-ups for both Stop Climate Chaos and the Fairtrade Foundation recently. And although the costs of projects like these have come down dramatically, they can still take a large part out of a charity's online budget.

It was interesting to read, therefore, that Google are offering grants for mapping projects to charities and not-for-profits. You'll have to be pretty quick putting your case together - proposals need to be in by 22nd December - but it's a great time to try and get budget together for the mapping project you thought you couldn't afford.

Google saves lives!

noreply@blogger.com (dotMailer) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:55:00 +0000

by Dave Ivy

We all know Google has gone beyond Search - Mapping, office applications, shops and a plethora of other online inventions are making Google more powerful than Microsoft. This article - http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/nov/12/google-health - highlights that in a test run in nine US states, Google predicted flu epidemics up to two weeks before the Federal Centres for Disease Control and Prevention spotted an outbreak. Nobody knows exactly how many lives might be saved but as they say, prevention is better than cure and a virus can spread very fast in two weeks.

It got me thinking about how else Search might better be used to market on a site. Already, we've built sites that personalise page names based on search referrers and alter landing pages to suit the search terms but what else could we do? How about improving the user journey to 'strip out' non-related items...?

Here's an example: I'm looking to buy a digital camera so I type my search term into Google and then pick a retailer from the results (type 'cough' in and you get refinement options in Google so in this example, one of the options might be 'retailers'). The site then loads and is fully customised with digital cameras, stripping out all the non-relevant stuff such as washing machines, TVs and the rest of the inventory that doesn't interest me at this time. All the offers are cameras or related accessories and my journey through the site feels less crowded and less buried within the sites structure. It feels more like I'm at a specialist - someone like Jessops. All the menu options make sense straight away ('portable technology' as a heading on the Comet site makes sense to me but possibly not to my Auntie Ruth who is just expecting to see 'cameras') and I can choose from cameras, camera accessories, photo frames - whatever is actually relevant to my search. Obviously some cross-sell opportunity is lost but a tab can still be present at the top, something like 'see all departments'.

A quick play on Amazon shows they're already doing this to some extent, hiding lots of the navigation in deep-linked pages to keep the user journey clean but it'd be great to see this on more sites.