ExactTarget’s user conference wows again

Several MBers attended ExactTarget’s user conference Sept. 13-15, and they’ll each be sharing the key ideas they took with them from the event. Check back in the coming days and weeks for more insight!

Last week I had the privilege of attending ExactTarget‘s annual interactive marketing conference, Connections 2011. Overall, the conference was fun and very informative. ExactTarget does a great job putting the event together and carrying it through to the end.

I thoroughly enjoyed everything from the opening keynote speakers, to the breakout sessions and the closing day “marketing burst” sessions. I left with a few “aha” moments and lots of key takeaways from the event.

Can’t ignore it: mobile is growing. Quickly.

One of those key takeaways is just how fast mobile is growing. With smartphone sales outpacing desktop computer sales, it’s an audience or medium that everyone should pay more attention to. And it’s not just about reading email or keeping up with social media on the phone—it’s making purchases directly from the device, as well. Retail emails (those emails typically sharing a product and/or offer) see almost equal numbers of clicks from mobile users and from desktop users.

Measure and manage.

Another significant takeaway from the breakout sessions was the common theme, regardless of session topic, of data measurement and management. Nearly every presentation included a strong stance on finding out what you should measure and how you should measure it. One presenter even said, “If you don’t have the ability to measure it, why are you even doing it? Every time you begin something, you need to ask, ‘Why are we doing this, and how are we going to measure it?’”

And it’s not just measuring it—it’s measuring it correctly, using reliable data sources to gather and review the information that is important to you. With so many data sources today, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds. Finding the sources that will provide you the best information for what you are trying to track is key.

All in all, the event as a whole was great. Getting to hear people like Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia) and Aron Ralston (inspiration for the film 127 Hours) speak and share their stories and passions was incredible. I find it pretty cool that ExactTarget can bring so many interactive marketing experts to one place. It doesn’t hurt that they’re just minutes away.