Lyris exhibited at Internet Retailer 2009 in Boston and we’re pleased with the response from marketers and participants from the booth and in conference sessions. While it’s true the recession is certainly challenging for many retailers in terms of store traffic and sales, email marketing and e-commerce are shining stars in the online retail universe.

A recent Forrester report, “The State Of Retailing Online 2009: Marketing,” notes that “email in general is regarded as the best marketing tactic because of its cost-effectiveness. Not surprisingly, as retailers focus more on retention marketing, retailers indicate that email therefore represents the most increased marketing priority for 2009 (88%).” Forrester projects that, “Web sales will be more than $156 billion in 2009, representing approximately 6% of the total US retail pie and 11% growth over 2008 Web sales.”

Ten suggestions we heard from Internet Retailer 2009 speakers and participants:

1) Do more with less is the mantra for many marketers in the retail sector

2) Borrow good ideas from innovative companies and don’t feel guilty

3) Infuse more personality into customer service operations to create rapport and build trust

4) Create urgency and response with “limited time offers”

5) Focus on relevance by leveraging customer data and segmentation

6) Use Twitter to monitor customer feedback and brand sentiment

7) Cultivate community-sharing and user generated content with contests

8) Internet and email marketing spend is on the rise due to proven results

9) Don’t dwell on and spread negative news – seize opportunities

10) Now is the time to prepare for and gain competitive advantage

According to Forrester, and these thoughts shared in discussions at Internet Retailer, online marketers should put more effort into messaging and email marketing execution to retain the most valuable customers. New customer acquisition is also an important goal of search marketing, but don’t spread yourself too thin or you'll risk compromising customer retention and transactions.

Further, social media done right can help inform marketing strategy and messaging without the need to conduct expensive focus groups. By simply taking time to listen and engage with customers in social media and networking channels, marketers increase their odds of crafting marketing campaigns, messages and offers that resonate with customers and prospects in online and offline channels.

There’s no question that online channels are well-positioned to weather the economic storm and provide marketing efficiencies and accountability. We recommend online retailers focus on and integrate email, social and search marketing to acquire and retain customers. Need more opinions? We suggest reading the new Forrester report mentioned above, and talk to Lyris experts who are standing by to help you.

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About the Authors

Erick Mott is the communications director for Lyris, Inc. Connect and collaborate with him on http://twitter.com/lyris and www.linkedin.com/in/erickmott.

Daryl Michalik is a product manager responsible for Lyris HQ Search Marketing and client services. He has over 6 years of experience in online marketing and Web analytics, plus a background in strategic marketing, financial analysis and product marketing.

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