In the latest episode of J&See: Views on Marketing, J&C's Meg Goodman chats with Jason Baumann. He's a serial entrepreneur, non-profit alum and the president/founder of the digital marketing company Boxless Media. Together, they talk about retooling marketing plans amid the pandemic, leading with compassion, and how failure doesn't define you... it's the way you get back up again that does.

Click below to listen to the interview now. And of course, make sure to subscribe to J&See: Views on Marketing to hear a compelling interview like this once a month.

The elusive email subject line...

It's the first impression. The teaser. The little moment you get to plead your case in someone's inbox. It's the difference between getting a click... or getting sent to the trash. 

So, how do you do it? How do you create that perfect subject line that gets the reader to pause... click... and read the rest of your email? Well, there's not one formula. But there are a few tried-and-true techniques that WORK... and a couple that usually DO NOT.

Check out the do's and don'ts of email subject lines in the infographic below. 

Email marketing is essential... especially for the financial services industry. As banking and finance management becomes more digital by the day, it makes sense to utilize this all-important channel for marketing. Read on to learn how you can use email marketing to build trust with your customers.

Email marketing is both an art and a science. The art comes in with elegant designs, punchy subject lines and well-written copy. Then there’s the science. The data and statistics prove which parts of the art gets people to interact with your email… and which parts don’t work as well. That’s where A/B testing comes into play. Running head-to-head tests allows you to experiment with the creative and understand the effect. Read on to understand the rules of A/B testing, the parts of an email you can test and the metrics you should look at afterwards.

So, you’ve acquired a new customer... You probably spent a lot of money doing it. You crafted the perfect campaign to get your prospect to pull the trigger and choose YOUR brand over the competitors. Congrats... but don’t get too comfortable.  

You have a chance to create a long, fruitful relationship with this new customer. Or... they might be gone just as quickly as they came. It all depends on what you do next. And that’s where retention comes into play. 

Sure, customer acquisition is important. But what happens after you clinch that conversion? How do you ensure you don’t lose the new customers you worked so hard to get?  

Well, that’s where a well-thought-out retention strategy comes in. When you invest in customer retention, you can increase customer return rates, cut down on churn and drive purchase frequency to keep customers in the buying cycle. And it’s worth it: check out this infographic to see how a good retention strategy can boost your bottom line. 

When it comes to building a successful brand, you need a loyal customer base. And as much as you work to attract new buyers or clients... it's even more important to keep your current customer base happy. That's where an effective retention strategy comes in. 

Customer retention is more cost-effective than acquisition... and it can have a ripple effect. When current customers are pleased with their experience of a brand, it's becomes even easier for you to convert prospects. So before you roll out your next acquisition campaign, consider what you're doing for your current customers. It pays off in the long run.

Check out the infographic below to see why customer retention is worth the investment. And keep scrolling to see a video of a successful retention program in action. 

Storytelling is a successful tool across all marketing channels. In fact, an emotional brand story is key to creating a message that resonates with consumers. And when it comes to email... storytelling can really set your campaign apart.

If you need a primer on how to craft an emotional brand story, check out this blog from last week. If you’re ready to see how to apply those tenets to email, read on.

Consumers make decisions emotionally.  

It’s true.  

According to Gerald Zaltman, emeritus professor at the Harvard Business School, 98% of buying decisions are made in the subconscious.  

That means these buying decisions come from the heart or the gut… rather than the brain. Emotion beats logic nearly every time.  

And that’s why it’s vital to have an emotional brand story.  

Facts appeal to the brain. Stories stir the heart. If you want to create a real connection between your brand and your customers, you need a brand story that sticks with your buyers. 

So how do you do it? How do you craft a brand story with emotional impact?  

There’s no doubt that the pandemic has thrown a wrench into everyone’s plans for 2020. To avoid tone-deafness during a crisis, many brands have had to tweak, pivot or completely scrap their marketing calendar. In a recent survey of marketing professionals across industries, only 6% didn’t have to change their marketing strategy. The rest are refocusing messaging or changing how they do business. Forty-five percent of companies surveyed say the impact is moderate… they haven’t had to throw everything out the window. But 18% have found themselves changing drastically.