Author Archives: klubar

It’s not news that Internet Explorer is losing market share, but the question is “who is winning?”

EMI recently completed a comprehensive web analytics assignment for a large consumer, membership organization. Using a combination of server-based web data capture and Google Analytics, EMI analyzed user demographics, page frequency, site paths and many other factors.

It didn’t surprise us that Internet Explorer’s market share had declined significantly over 2010. In January, IE enjoyed a 70.8% share; by the end of the year, it was 63.4% — a 7.4 point decline. In the past we’ve seen that most of IE’s share loss was Firefox’s gain, but this no longer appears to be the case. During this same time period, rather than showing an increase, Firefox’s share actually fell slightly (from 18.8% to 18.5%).

For this client, the big winner in the browser wars was Safari (which includes the WebKit-based Android browser), growing from 7.8% to 12.2%. Chrome was in second place with a 2.1 point gain (from 2.1% to 4.2%).

Graph with browser share
Most of Safari’s gain can be accounted for by the increase in Apple Mac’s share, which grew from 9.8% to 12.7%. But the big story, and the trend for 2011, is mobile access growth. The “iFamily” (iPods, iPhones and iTouch) share more than doubled: from less than 1% at the beginning of the year to 2.1% by the end. Android devices started from nearly nothing at the beginning and ended the year with a 1% share of all users’ operating systems.

The takeaway for e-marketers? The small screen is big, and getting bigger in 2011. EMI has found that an ever-increasing number of consumers are using their mobile devices to access the web. This shift has significant implications for information structure, site architecture, graphic design and technology platforms.

Next update: what mobile devices are consumers using?

Writing a perfect (or nearly so) email

Like a good memo or haiku, internal and external emails should have a specific style and rhythm.

First, start with a meaningful subject. If you want the recipient to open the email and take action on it, make it clear from the subject line what the email is about and what needs to be done. A meaningful subject also makes it easier for the recipient to find the message by a quick search or scan of their messages. 

Recycling is good for things like paper and cans, not emails. Don’t keep recycling an old thread by clicking reply or reply all. When you have a new topic, create a new email with a new subject line. This ensures that there is no unrelated information in the email, which can confuse recipients and waste their time (“better read this, must be something important in here…why else would I get it”).

Make your request or call to action clear within the body of the email. What do you want the recipient to do and how should they do it? If there is more than one point (or request), start out with introductory sentence that explains this in email, something like “The four items below need to be completed by Wednesday on the Fenton project:”.

If you send an email with a request to six people, be sure to make it clear who should do what. This avoids the “oh, I thought someone else was supposed to be doing it” excuse or duplicated efforts. It also helps to use the cc: section for people you want to keep up to date, but who aren’t directly responsible for any action needed in the email.

And finally, look before responding to all. Does your response really need to go to everyone?

Growing bank deposits

As banks reduce budgets for consumer lending, growing deposits has become ever more important, both to gather assets and to drive effective acquisition.  We’ve just released an in-depth benchmarking and analysis of the leading deposit generation programs in banking today to help banks assess competitive marketing messaging, media, and content, understand best practices and monitor deposit industry financials to learn who’s winning, and why.  

Specifically, the report includes two volumes:

  • 50 pages of trends and analysis including market share of the top banks, perspectives on how well each is doing in growing deposits (based on their deposit performance through 3Q08), categories of deposit programs – online and offline, marketing trends, with leading features and innovations recently seen.
  • A deep dive into the marketing programs of 20 banks — from the national leaders to regional innovators to the aggressive online banks (100+ pages of analysis). 

If you are interested in learning more about this report, please email Alicia at arecupero@emiboston.com.