Jeff Haws, Author at MessageGears

Webinar Recap: Rethinking ESP RFPs

January 28, 2019
Jeff Haws
Expert Advice

For Super Senders looking to switch ESPs, the RFP — executed well — is a valuable tool for maintaining an efficient and objective process with a result that greatly improves a company’s cross-channel messaging operation. But our new research suggests that many marketers are making crucial mistakes that are undercutting the effectiveness of their RFP process. And that’s leading to negative misconceptions about ESPs and decisions that cause immense frustration for the marketing and I.T. teams.

In our recent webinar, MessageGears CEO Roger Barnette and Marketing Democracy President Chris Marriott discussed the research, and offered expert advice from both the ESP and consultant perspective on how you can make your next RFP more efficient and successful.

MessageGears Research: The RFP Process Isn’t Working

January 24, 2019
Jeff Haws
Research

For Super Sender companies looking for a new ESP, the RFP is often a key component, helping to streamline and simplify what can be an arduous process. But is it working in the way it should? Our new research report dives into that question, asking 100 Marketing and I.T. professionals their views on the RFP process, and how it works for ESP selection. If you’ve been part of an RFP at a large company, the numbers may not be all that surprising. ESP technology is advancing faster than most companies outside the industry can fully appreciate, and that’s causing their RFPs to come up short.

Our new whitepaper (Free download; no strings attached) dives into the full details of the survey, including plenty of commentary from Marketing Democracy founder Chris Marriott.

Why Cross-Channel Beats Multi-Channel Messaging

January 17, 2019
Jeff Haws
Industry

While email is a highly efficient and profitable messaging channel for Super Senders who put the resources into doing it well, there’s no doubt that push messaging and SMS have plenty of potential for companies who want to maximize their customer reach. If you’re a marketing or martech leader who’s trying to evaluate providers, though, the terminology and options can be confusing. When a vendor calls themselves “multi channel,” what does that mean? And how is “cross channel” different?

Similar as they may sound, there’s actually an important difference in how email service providers use them. Multi-channel providers can enable marketers to create campaigns in multiple channels — push and SMS being the most common — but doing so typically means building the campaign for one channel at a time, often using very different UIs for each. With cross-channel messaging, though, you’re building one campaign and choosing the channels within that campaign, on the same screen.

MessageGears Research: Marketers Think All ESPs are the Same

January 10, 2019
Jeff Haws
Best Practices

Think back to your latest RFP process when your company was picking a new email service provider. Why did you make the selection you did? Ideally, it was because this particular vendor described in detail why they were the best fit for your particular needs, and how they could help you meet your specific email-related goals.

But, quite often, that’s not the case. At the end of a long, exhausting RFP process, a company might choose an ESP for a variety of reasons. Maybe their sales team had a key connection at your company. Perhaps they had the broadest set of features, or you had an existing relationship via other tools. Or maybe they merely offered the lowest price, and the higher-ups said that was the bottom line.

Webinar Recap: Two Teams are Better Than One

December 7, 2018
Jeff Haws
Expert Advice

For many marketers, their conversations with I.T. are mostly limited to times when they have a problem or need something, and they’re hoping I.T. has a solution. That can lead to a largely transactional relationship, where the two are separate teams that only come together when they have no choice, and only for as long as necessary.

That can lead to a lack of understanding — on both sides — of the crucial role the other team plays with respect to the success of the business, and to growing mistrust. The Marketing team thinks I.T. is being too iron-fisted about security and standing in the way of them drumming up new business. At the same time, I.T. thinks Marketing has no appreciation for the risks associated with data exposure, and that it’s I.T.’s responsibility to be the guardians.

Email Marketing Discussion Series with BrightWave

November 29, 2018
Jeff Haws
Expert Advice

No matter how long you’ve been in the industry, successful email marketers know there’s always something new to learn. The evolving nature of email is part of what keeps #emailgeeks coming back, keeping up with new technology and trying to use it to deliver the sorts of messages that excite your subscribers.

Because it’s always changing, sharing knowledge and hearing from others is essential if you want to keep up with where the industry is headed. That’s a big part of what we want to help with, spreading our experience and helping others be better at what they do.

MessageGears Research: Marketers Tackle Martech Challenges

November 16, 2018
Jeff Haws
Research

As marketing technology improves and evolves, it can be challenging for today’s marketer to keep up with all the new tools, and understand which ones best fit their needs. Balancing the level of need with concerns about budget, competitiveness, implementation time is never easy work, and it can even lead to paralysis where a team just treads water with the martech it has because sticking with a mediocre or worse status quo is less daunting a challenge than doing the work necessary to identify and implement the right solution for the future.

Litmus Live Contest: “Show Us Your Dream Campaign”

October 18, 2018
Jeff Haws
Industry

If you’re an #emailgeek, odds are good there’s a dream campaign you have rattling around in your head. It’s an idea you’ve probably had for awhile, but you just haven’t quite figured out how to execute it — Maybe you don’t have access to the tools you’d need, or you haven’t sold your team on it just yet. But one day, you hope to put it into action.

We wanted to hear those stories, so we put out a call to hear about your dream email campaigns, with a promise that our favorite would win a free ticket to the Litmus Live conference in San Francisco next month. We received many terrific, passionate entries from marketers who love the power of email, and have big ideas about what they can accomplish with it.

Webinar Recap: What Does the Future Hold for Email?

October 8, 2018
Jeff Haws
Expert Advice

Being proactive instead of merely reacting to every new technological advance in the industry is essential if you’re going to stay ahead of the competition and deliver the sorts of email experiences your customers are going to come to expect in the future. It’s always important to remember that you’re not marketing in a vacuum. Your subscribers’ inboxes are being flooded with marketing emails every day, from companies large and small. Some of them are going to take advantage of the latest technology, using machine learning, AI, or other cutting-edge tools in order to create sophisticated, highly personalized email campaigns. And once your customers get those emails, that’s the level of experience they’ll come to expect from everyone. You included.

Marketing Lessons Learned in a Time of Crisis

September 12, 2018
Jeff Haws
Best Practices
0 Comments

With Hurricane Florence bearing down on the Southeast U.S., it seems everyone is on edge as a looming crisis unfolds. Everyone’s hearts go out to those who are in the path of the storm.

It’s a sad reality that major events like this happen often — hurricanes, earthquakes, violence, terrorism, etc. — and we as marketers can be so involved in our day-to-day operations that we lose sight of the fact that each email we send (even if it’s sent as part of a larger automated program) lands in the inbox of a real person the crisis is impacting. And, even if they’re not directly impacted, they may be sensitive to certain content. It’s not hard to spot when a brand isn’t showing empathy toward those affected, and that can turn anybody off.

Jeff Haws

Webinar Recap: Rethinking ESP RFPs

MessageGears Research: The RFP Process Isn’t Working

Why Cross-Channel Beats Multi-Channel Messaging

MessageGears Research: Marketers Think All ESPs are the Same

Webinar Recap: Two Teams are Better Than One

Email Marketing Discussion Series with BrightWave

MessageGears Research: Marketers Tackle Martech Challenges

Litmus Live Contest: “Show Us Your Dream Campaign”

Webinar Recap: What Does the Future Hold for Email?

Marketing Lessons Learned in a Time of Crisis

Quick Links

Follow Us

Sign Up for News, Insights, and Advice

Primary Logo

Reverse Logo

Black Logo

Icon