We’ve all been beating the “marketing relevance” drum for years, but now it really has come down to “get relevant, or get lost” — meaning that unless you practice extreme relevance across all of your marketing campaigns, your messages will get lost in the white noise of marketing overload. Consumers are bombarded by marketing messages virtually every waking moment via email, mobile devices, electronic billboards, online ads, television, and radio. Advertising and marketing truly have become part of the “fabric of our lives.”

The good news for consumers is that they have more control than ever before with the advent of spam filters, pop-up blockers, and DVRs. Legislative initiatives brewing in Congress like “do-not-track” are putting behavioral targeting under scrutiny. You might think all of this makes it harder for marketers, but the good news is that it pushes us to be more relevant in our marketing in every channel and across channels. The key is to first take stock by asking, “How relevant am I?” Then begin making improvements one step at a time. For this article, let’s tackle the email channel; however, rest assured that many of these same principles can be applied to most, if not all, of the marketing channels you’re using. More>>