You might not realize it, but simple acts of neglect rank among the most important aspects of our daily lives as marketers and consumers.

Consider the process of checking your email inbox first thing in the morning – you scroll right by email after email, neglecting the very messages that you’ve specifically requested from your favorite businesses.

But is it really neglect? To the marketer focused solely on open rates and clickthroughs, sure it is. No clicks, no love, right? Think again. There’s a lot to be said for those emails – some opened, many not, a few previewed and then passed by – that sit stoically in our inboxes, relatively untouched. After all, these messages are accomplishing the one fundamental task that every marketer requires from their communications: reminding the customer that they’re there.

And therein lies an unsung power of email: the potential to supercharge the rest of your marketing channels through a simple reminder that stares customers in the face.

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Using e-mail and your website for online survey/sweepstakes can be timely and effective. When done well, it’s a win/win for you and your customer. In the last week I’ve received survey emails from Simon Pearce, Talbots and Key Bank, and as I’ve gone through them, I’ve had some time to reflect on what makes an effective survey. 

A survey is an offer of value that should be consistent with your brand and provide a positive customer experience.  Online surveys are great directional indicators, particularly in these tough times.  But don’t over-interpret results, and remember that respondents represent a particular type of customer and are not likely to be a random group. In other words, use results with caution.

Let’s take a look at some of these survey programs in more detail:

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If you’re considering launching an official company page on Facebook but are concerned about measuring results, you’ll be happy to know that the social network has recently created a new application which allows companies to delve deeper into visitor analysis. The application displays a graph which demonstrates shifts in day-to-day visitor trends. A drop down menu allows for additional graph customization in categories such as unique visitors, photo views and wall posts. You can drill down even further by downloading an excel spreadsheet with all the statistics side by side. The spreadsheet allows for comparison of various page activities and tracking new fans based on sex and age group demographics.

If you are actively promoting your Facebook page, the application allows you to quickly measure campaign results. For example, if you email a newsletter to clients promoting a Facebook link, you can instantly see if the communication yielded results by monitoring visitor spikes using the graph as a comparison tool to days when no communication took place. If your company advertises on Facebook and targets specific consumers, this insight can help you determine overall response rates, as well as exactly which demographic groups have been most receptive to your messages.

It looks like Facebook is making constant adjustments to the corporate portion of the site and is starting to understand the importance of measuring marketing results. There are still many kinks to be worked out, but the social network is certainly making strides in attracting advertisers by offering these new tools.