We believe that the most effective one-to-one marketing programs seek to communicate with people, not lists.

This statement is much more than an affirmation of our long-held policy that email, SMS, and other one-to-one marketing efforts must be built upon a foundation of permission. Rather, it is a broader acknowledgement that we, as marketers, bear a responsibility to deploy one-to-one marketing technologies in ways that put subscriber needs first.

We believe that the subscriber rules the one-to-one marketing environment, and must be given the means to dictate and control the manner and frequency by which companies can communicate with them.





The subscriber-centric philosophy is built upon three simple directives:

• Serve the individual
• Honor their unique preferences with regard to communication channels, content & frequency
• Deliver them timely, relevant content that improves their lives

Check out the new whitepaper from our partner ExactTarget on subscriber preference. The interesting thing to note is the preferances between email, sms and social network messages.

Enjoy!

Labels: best practices, e-mail marketing, subscribers, superfan

So yah we all know that Radiohead's self release and "pay what you want" model was super cool... ground breaking... unprecedented... inspiring. But there is an important benefit that is often overlooked and rarely talked about.

What is it? The Fan Database.

Never before in the history of music has an artist had a more comprehensive and all encompassing database of fan permissions. Because they ran their own store and allowed fans to set their own value they have a crystal clear view into the SUPERFAN. Who spent the most money? Where do they live?

Sounds a bit like big brother... right? But now that they know exactly who their fans are... now that they know how to contact people who CARE directly... they won't ever need a label again. Any cause they want to push, any side project they want to undertake is just a matter of posting a message. Anything that they ever want, is just going to be a matter of contacting the right fan.

Labels: fanbase, subscribers, superfan