Home > Companies > Thought Leaders > Q&A with Christopher Marriott, President and Founder at Email Connect LLC

Q&A with Christopher Marriott, President and Founder at Email Connect LLC

Media 7 | February 9, 2021

Christopher Marriott, President and Founder at Email Connect LLC, is a recognized expert in the process of connecting leading brands with the right marketing technology partners and platforms. Before founding Email Connect as a consultancy focused exclusively on the ESP/CRM/CDP vendor selection process, Chris served as a tenured executive at Acxiom, leading and building its Global Digital and Email Agency Services team into one of the industry’s top services providers. He is also a regular columnist on email marketing and the RFP process and is an adviser to several emerging marketing technology companies including AudiencePoint and Shotzr.

Content marketing isn’t King- it’s King, Kingdom and Cathedral!



MEDIA 7: How did you come up with the idea of Email Connect LLC?
CHRISTOPHER MARRIOTT: I spent over 6 years running the global agency services team at Acxiom when it was still a leading ESP (they sold that part of their business to Zeta Global a couple of years ago).  During that time, we probably participated in over ESP 100 RFPs, and I saw how over the years how the decision process was becoming much more complex.  In 2006, ESPs competed primarily on price, and that drove the selection process at the brands.  By 2010, the differences in the platforms were significantly greater than mere price, yet most brands were ill-equipped to sort through those differences.

That’s where I came up with the idea of starting my consultancy designed to help brands in the RFP/vendor selection process, specifically focused on ESPs.  Fortunately, I was correct, brands did need and, more importantly, want help!  Over the years we have averaged between 18-20 billion emails out to bid annually. We’ve worked with some of the biggest names in travel & hospitality, retail, e-commerce, and publishing. All those names you would recognize.

M7: What tools do you use for email marketing and which ones serve as the most effective, given your target customers?
CM: Given that we are a B2B company, the majority of our marketing and sales are direct.  I often speak at conferences, and even when I am not a speaker, I attend the major email marketing events.  We do use email to keep in touch with past customers and prospects.  As far as platforms go, I’ve had my eye on Delivra marketing automation and would like to deploy it sooner rather than later. We won’t need to do our RFP!


When you are a small company with big ideas, contributing thought leadership to other industry sites is a great way to expand brand recognition.



M7: What role does content play for email marketing? Which content format performs the best according to you and why?
CM: For us, content marketing is absolutely critical! I contribute a lot of articles to sites like Email Vendor Selection and the Only Influencers blog, and use these to drive traffic to our web site.  We also provide links to them in our own email campaigns. When you are a small company with big ideas, contributing thought leadership to other industry sites is a great way to expand brand recognition.

I am also the co-host of “Email Geeks at Home Drinking Coffee” (www.emailgeekspodcast.com), a weekly podcast I started with Paul Shriner of AudiencePoint back in April of 2020.  For my purposes, content marketing isn’t King- it’s King, Kingdom and Cathedral!

M7: What do you believe are the top three product marketing challenges in the post COVID-19 era?
CM: I believe we are going to be seeing a seismic shift in how consumers shop even after the lockdowns end across the globe. I call this emerging phenomenon the “Store to Door Theory of Marketing.” It goes like this:
“Once consumers have learned how easy it can be to order a much wider variety of goods and services online for delivery to their door, they will be unlikely to go all the way back to shopping at brick & mortar stores absent a compelling reason to do so.”

If my theory is correct, the implications for retail are enormous. Before COVID-19, most consumers had developed a pattern of behavior where certain items were regularly purchased online for delivery, whereas others were purchased in-store and brought home by the consumer himself. That all changed in the blink of an eye. Stores were ordered closed. People were directed to shelter in place (at home). But people didn’t stop needing things. So lots of things that people were used to buying at the store, everything from coffee filters to shoes to tools, were now ordered online and delivered to the front door, or picked up at curbside. Even houses and condos were not immune from this change. I sold a condo before the buyer had ever set foot in it (not that I delivered it to the front door)!

While implications of this change in buying behavior are huge for retailers and DTC brands, they are also extraordinarily important for email marketing and email marketers. Consumers won't necessarily go back to the same mix of shopping online and offline depending on the item. Habits have been broken, and new ones established. As the old retail experience of shopping in a store morphs into one, that is more of a logistics experience—did you get my order, when will it arrive, is it on the way—the ability to provide timely and ongoing email updates on delivery status will become critical in separating winners and losers. And providing truly relevant “people who bought this also bought this” recommendations in emails might save consumers from the frustration of not having everything he or she needs to use the item originally purchased (a simple example being an HDMI cable to connect a new piece of electronics).


What’s truly effective in generating leads is providing something of value in the email itself to the prospect who is receiving it.



M7: What is your marketing mantra to stand out in an overly saturated MarTech space?
CM: So many Martech vendors are faceless entities. I think the best move to make is to have a person who is the face of the company, and who contributes to the MarTech community through various forums, as well as speaking at conferences.  This is why content marketing is so important in the MarTech world!  Brands often use emotional shortcuts when determining which vendors to look at, and one of the most frequently used shortcuts is “do I know anyone at that vendor?”.  Knowing the sales team isn’t enough.  It needs to be something that can be considered a thought leader if at all possible.

M7: Your tips on effectively generating leads through email marketing?
CM: I am so tired of people saying to be relevant.  That’s been going on for years. Of course, an email pitch needs to be relevant, but it needs to get opened in order to demonstrate its relevancy. What’s truly effective in generating leads is providing something of value in the email itself to the prospect who is receiving it.  And if that thing of value can be communicated in the subject line, you’re much more likely to get opened. 

Now I’ve written that as if it’s an easy thing to do. It’s not.  But, if you can’t come up with a good reason why someone should open your email, then you shouldn’t be surprised when it doesn’t get opened.

Once you get it opened, then communicating your value proposition in as few words as possible is the most effective way to generate leads.  Don’t force your prospect to think!

ABOUT EMAIL CONNECT

Email Connect is the world’s leading authority on the vendor selection process (RFPs) for email and database marketing platforms (ESPs and CDPs).   Clients include Fortune 500 companies in the retail, publishing, insurance and travel & hospitality industries. Representing 18-20 billion emails out to bid every year, Email Connect has unparalleled insight into the pricing models and service quality of the leading enterprise email and multichannel service providers.

Our scorecard-driven methodology ensures an objective and efficient evaluation RFP process where every client stakeholder can participate; every stakeholder can influence the outcome; every stakeholder has a voice. Our services include contract negotiation, platform migration oversight, and ongoing email program optimization with an eye towards maximizing the selected platform’s feature and functionalities.

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Lauren Gottsacker of CyberPower Named on CRN's 2023 Women of the Channel List

Business Wire | June 01, 2023

Cyber Power Systems (USA), Inc., a leader in power protection and power management products, announced today that CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Lauren Gottsacker, channel account manager at CyberPower, to the Women of the Channel list for 2023. Every year, CRN recognizes women from vendor, distributor, and solution provider organizations whose expertise and vision are leaving a noticeable and commendable mark on the technology industry. The CRN 2023 Women of the Channel honorees bring their creativity, strategic thinking and leadership to bear in a variety of roles and responsibilities, but all are turning their unique talents toward driving success for their partners and customers. With this recognition, CRN honors these women for their unwavering dedication and commitment to furthering channel excellence. Gottsacker joined CyberPower in 2019 following channel account and business development roles at Carbonite, a data backup solutions provider. At CyberPower, she has focused her efforts on developing best-in-channel partnerships, partner enablement and creating new sales pipelines at her accounts which include CDW, among other major direct market reseller partners. “Lauren brings a talent for both strategy and execution. She is a true connector and has developed a number of channel outreach programs that not only enrich the customer’s product knowledge but brings people together such as monthly ‘women of the territory’ and sector-specific events,” said Scott Koller, vice president of channel sales at CyberPower. “Her contributions to CDW include creating a sales incentive program for their inside sales agents and developing a custom a dashboard for their representatives to view product inventory in real time which has accelerated the sales-to-delivery process.” Gottsacker said: “I’m honored to be recognized by CRN as channel leader. Whether it’s learning about an organization or new product offerings, or seeking a better understanding of an audience, I have a never-ending desire to be curious and learn. I look forward to continuing to create meaningful connections in the channel.” “We are ecstatic to announce this year’s honorees and shine a light on these women for their significant achievements, knowing that what they’ve accomplished has paved the way for continued success within the IT channel,” said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. “The channel is stronger because of them, and we look forward to seeing what they do next.” The 2023 Women of the Channel list will be featured in the June 2023 issue of CRN Magazine, with online coverage at www.CRN.com/WOTC. About Cyber Power Systems (USA), Inc. CyberPower designs and manufactures uninterruptible power supply systems, power distribution units, surge protectors, remote management hardware, power management software, mobile chargers and connectivity products. The company serves customers in enterprise, corporate, government, education, healthcare and small office/home office environments. CyberPower products are available through authorized distributors and sold by value-added resellers, system integrators, managed service providers, select retailers, and online resellers. For more information, visit https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/. About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end-users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com

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ZINFI Releases Latest "Feet on the Street" Video Podcast on Partner Ecosystems Featuring Asher Mathew, CEO and Co-Founder of Partnership Leaders

PR Newswire | May 31, 2023

ZINFI Technologies, Inc., the leader in Unified Channel Management (UCM) solutions that include affiliate marketing management (AMM), partner relationship management (PRM), partner marketing management (PMM) and partner incentives management (PIM), today announced the release of its latest "Feet on the Street" educational video podcast focused on partner ecosystems. "Elevating Partnership Leaders and Pioneering the Science of Partnering" features special guest Asher Mathew, CEO and co-founder of Partnership Leaders, and ZINFI CEO and founder Sugata Sanyal engaged in a lively discussion of partner leadership as well as industry trends and strategies for building high-functioning partner networks. The four-chapter video podcast series – which is now available on demand from the ZINFI website – begins with an account by Mathews of the history of the origins of Partnership Leaders, an international team and ecosystem of more than 1,800 members whose mission is to elevate the role of partnership professionals and strengthen partnership teams. "We view ourselves as a platform for success rather than just a community," says Mathews. "We really take this seriously." Chapter 1 of the series, "Pioneering the Science of Partnering: Rethinking Operations & Strategies for Success," builds on research Partnership Leaders conducted in collaboration with HubSpot and Canalys on the current state of partner operations. An important insight that emerged from that research is that most organizations, even some of the smallest companies, are managing multiple partner types. This means, according to Mathews, "a partner organization needs to be dialed in on what their ideal partner profile is and do that research work upfront, and then really go into defining why they're partnering and what value they can generate." In Chapter 2 of the series, "Scaling SaaS Companies: When & How to Build a Partner Network for Optimal Growth," Mathews and Sanyal discuss how organizations can determine when they are ready to begin establishing a partner network and what to consider as they begin to identify potential recruiting targets and develop a framework for partner programs. Chapter 3, "Community-Based Learning Model to Empower Next-Gen Partnership Leaders," features an in-depth exploration of Partnership Leaders' work to understand in detail the characteristics of great partner leaders, great partner programs and high-functioning strategic partnerships. In the final chapter of the video podcast series, "Empowering Partner Ecosystems through Collaboration, Loyalty and Automation," Sanyal and Mathews wrap up the discussion with a vision for success in partner operations where partner leaders are held accountable, just like other members of the leadership team, and where vendor organizations have a detailed understanding of what motivates their partner base, how to build loyalty among partners, and how to use automation, AI and analytics to ensure long-term growth. About ZINFI Technologies ZINFI Technologies, the leader in Unified Channel Management (UCM) innovation, enables vendors and their channel partners to achieve profitable growth predictably and rapidly on a worldwide level. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, USA and founded by channel veterans with extensive global channel management experience, we at ZINFI see an immense opportunity to build high-performing sales channels by deploying an easy-to-use, comprehensive and innovative state-of-the-art SaaS Unified Channel Management automation platform that streamlines and manages the entire partner lifecycle through three core state-of-the-art SaaS applications—partner relationship management, channel marketing management and channel sales management. In 26 countries, these three core UCM SaaS applications are locally supported by ZINFI's global marketing services team members. About Partnership Leaders Partnership Leaders is a leading industry association for partnership, channel and business development leaders. As the industry's premier community, Partnership Leaders empowers partner teams at top technology and services companies worldwide through an online community of over 1,000 professionals worldwide actively engaging in virtual events and insight sharing to drive personal and professional success.

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