Marshall Lyons

John, I'm very proud of you brotha. Congrats and much more success to you. Oh, and one more thing...GO BLUE!!!

This show is about my city and that's why I'll be watching.

Source: MarketingVOX

In a blog post, Jeffrey Rohrs at Exact Target offers up the last word on a debate that has fascinated the e-mail marketing industry from the beginning: when is the best time and day to maximize open rates? The answer has varied, depending on the industry sending the market messages (If the campaign is B2B, the morning is an optimal time as most deskbound workers usually start their day by going through their e-mail in-boxes, according to B2B Marketing Magazine) to the research organization looking at the question (MarketingSherpa says Monday).

Marketers, though, would like a definitive answer once and for all, especially as the debate has extended to Twitter. Rohrs' theory? There is no universal best day/time to send. That said, senders may discover - but only through analyzing their own performance data - that certain windows perform better than others. "The only way to know what the best date and time for you to send an e-mail is to test your email campaigns," he says.

A Moving Target

Exact Target has found the optimal day/time to be a moving target. Monday may be seen as the best day by many firms but Exact Target has found it consistently ranks 5th or 6th in the terms of open rates, Rohrs says, citing data from the company's 2004 Markeitng Response Rate Study. A study in 2005 found that Friday was the best day to send email to get a high open rate. Another problem with officially proclaiming the optimal date/time to send e-mail, he adds, is that spammers immediately dive into those windows. It is one reason why Exact Target has not updated its...Continue reading...

Interesting technological advancement but how could society make this useful? How would you use it?

SMSlingshot from FILE PRIX LUX on Vimeo.

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

It's no secret that the use of social media tools is growing, expanding and changing not only the way we communicate, but also do business. We're seeing an increase in "social shopping" - online consumers looking within their social networks for ideas on what to buy. For retailers, this represents an opportunity to reach these consumers who use these tools to share, recommend and find products to buy.

While there has been a lot of discussion around exactly how brands can leverage social media tools to expand awareness, LinkShare offers a few important things to keep in mind when developing a social media strategy:

• Use video - eMarketer projects that more than four out of five Internet users will watch online video ads in 2012 - up from the two-thirds of people who did so in 2008. This demonstrates an opportunity for the brand to engage with its audience - and hold their attention longer.

• Use multiple social networks - This allows a retailer to speak directly to its different audiences. Using tools like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and blogs interconnectedly, ensures a retailers stays consistent with one brand and one message.

• Avoid social media pitfalls - Be real and authentic; Maintain one brand; Don't be a social climber.

If you'd like more information on this topic, check out LinkShare's 2-part video series: http://www.youtube.com/linksharecorp

Source: Linkshar

The show debuts on SMCKids.com on Saturday. Will you make sure YOUR children are watching???

Featuring Channel 2's Huel Perkins, former police chief Ella Bully-Cummings and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.

A company's reputation is only as good as the customer service it provides. Please a customer, and your client base will swell with relatives and neighbors who catch wind of your top-notch representatives. But upset one, and brace yourself for disaster. "The experience that individuals have with a company and then what they hear from friends and family influence their perception of and likelihood to do business with a company," says Megan Burns, a senior analyst at Forrester Research, a Massachusetts-based research firm that specializes in customer service. It's "absolutely an essential moment of truth for companies."

Though a teetering economy may tempt executives to cut corners, improving service is your best chance for survival. "Companies of any size should understand what the customer experience is," says Andy Fromm, president of Service Management Group, a Missouri-based firm that works with retail and restaurant chains on improving customer service. Fromm stresses that companies should streamline their resources without sacrificing the essentials. "Understand what's important to customers. Speed and availability of service are universal truths."

But how do you balance satisfying demanding customers with maximizing cost-effective resources? Read on.

Click to continue reading at INC Magazine