_One Degree contributor “Stefan Eyram”:http://www.onedegree.ca/contributors/stefan_eyram just announced that he has taken the new position of Canadian Business Development Manager for US E-mail Service Provider ExactTarget. I took this opportunity to ask Stefan five questions about his new gig._
*One Degree: Congrats on bringing ExactTarget to Canada! What can we expect from ExactTarget?*
I’m very excited to be associated with “ExactTarget”:http://www.exacttarget.com. ExactTarget delivers on-demand email software solutions for permission-based email marketing. More than 3,800 customers in organizations of all sizes, including many Canadian companies, have chosen the solution. Analyst groups, such as JupiterResearch and Forrester, rank us high for CAN-SPAM compliance, ease of use and business suitability.
*One Degree: Are there any “uniquely Canadian” issues that you’ll have to introduce to the ExactTarget team?*
ExactTarget is very good at listening to their customers. Opening a Canadian office is a direct response to requests from clients and prospects. ExactTarget is a global company, with customers in 17 countries, so the company has the experience to deal with multi-language campaigns, including both English and French in Canada, and different spam and privacy compliance issues. We also have specific deliverability services focused on Canada and the top ISPs like Sympatico, Rogers, Telus, Shaw, Cogeco and others.
*One Degree: Do you see any trends towards larger companies either bringing e-mail in-house, or is the move towards getting an agency involved?*
As email ad campaigns becomes more complex with the addition of dynamic content, sequenced emails, integration with CRM systems, etc., organizations often look to outsource their email technology. Companies in highly regulated industries, such as financial services and healthcare, and those who have difficulty managing their compliance, also like this approach. These companies work closely with their Email Service Provider (ESP) and their agencies to ensure consistency, optimization and results. As email campaign cycles become shorter more companies are deploying their own email but working closely with their agencies and other partners.
*One Degree: Can the little guy in Canada do cost effective e-mail campaigns that get delivered, or have spam filters made e-mail marketing something that’s only for the big boys?*
Deliverability is a big reason that organizations opt to outsource their email to an ESP such as ExactTarget. We have excellent relationships with all the major ISPs and works with its customers to ensure good email practices. As a result, our deliverability rate is the highest in the industry. ExactTarget has clients doing as few as a couple hundred emails at a time to as many as millions of emails a month. Everyone gets the same attention to deliverability. One key with ExactTarget is the flexibility of the solution to cost-effectively address a company’s requirements today, next year and well into the future.
*One Degree: US companies seem to be all over the map in terms of how they support Canadian sales operations. How will ExactTarget deal with online Canadians interested in ExactTarget in Canada?*
Our customers and prospects told us they wanted local representation, so we listened. ExactTarget has been present in the Canadian market for some time and has existing partners in Canada, including salesforce.com, WebTrends, WebSideStory (Hitbox) and Hot Banana. And now you will hear more about our Canadian customer wins and what we are doing here.