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Add to Your Marketing Toolbox
March 31, 2008
Use integrated marketing campaigns to increase your reach and profits
By Mark Kolier
Today there are more new marketing channels available than ever before, and it can be quite intimidating to consider how to incorporate the latest marketing tactics—especially if you're not sure what they can do or how you can best utilize them. Additionally, the occurrence of customer-centric marketing is giving customers more choice and control in the marketing relationship. Now, company owners and marketing executives alike are charged with the job of:
• Acquiring more customers / Increasing revenue,
• Improving customer retention,
• Speeding the pace of "go to market,"
• Developing and cross-selling new products, and, most importantly,
• Showing a return on your CRM investment.
One tool to consider for your marketing toolbox is an integrated marketing campaign that comprises direct mail, e-mail and Web landing pages. Integrated marketing campaigns are capable of driving a targeted and relevant message and enabling customers to choose if, how, and when they want to respond. Using integrated marketing campaigns helps you increase customer acquisition, retention and conversion rates. This is especially true when you employ personalized direct marketing tactics.
It's easy to get started. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Categorize your target lists by their displayed interests, purchases and behaviors.
2. Create a unique message you want to communicate for each of the categories to be used as an individual landing page on your Web site.
3. Use a PURL (personalized URL) either in a mailed piece or e-mail, to drive your customer or prospect to a unique landing page. This page should have a related look and feel to the initial hardcopy marketing outreach.
A PURL might look like this:
To find out more, visit: Marksample.Bigsweeps.com Password: 7529
The password provides a sense of security and heightened importance.
4. Make sure the look and feel of the campaign is carried throughout—from the initial promotion through the landing page to the "Thank You" follow-up page.
When they receive a PURL, your recipients are compelled to visit the landing page since their name is prominently displayed. The offer that is served up should be relevant to meet their already defined criteria or their industry and interest in general.
Car manufacturers, financial organizations, mortgage and insurance companies and retailers are just a few examples of vertical marketers leveraging the low risk and high return using PURL's
How Your Organization Might Give Away PURL's
• Trade shows are often a good time to make use of PURL's to drive prospects to attend a specific presentation at a specific time during the show. A few weeks prior to the show, send a postcard to attendees (usually working with the show management) and by use of a PURL attendees are directed to visit your landing page where they can indicate if they a) can make the presentation; b) would like to meet some other time; c) be contacted by a representative; or even check off that they are not attending the show at all.
• Travel companies use PURL's to reach their previous customers with offers on future trips they might take that are based on trips other travelers have taken after they have visited a particular destination. For example, an analysis of customer data might indicate that people who took a cruise to Alaska most often chose a cruise in the Caribbean as their next vacation. It would then make sense that an offer showing pictures of beaches and palm trees, with a cruise ship sailing in the beautiful waters of the Caribbean, would be highly relevant and much more effective than showing a variety of destinations.
All data is captured in real time and by use of a marketing dashboard can then be evaluated to measure open rates, response rates and the overall success of the campaign. It is not at unusual to have response rates exceeding 20 percent (and even MUCH higher) for a campaign using a PURL.
Consider the use of a data-driven, integrated marketing campaign using PURL's to create highly-efficient and effective results. It's a tactic that you will want to have near the top of your marketing toolbox.
Mark Kolier is President at CGSM, a privately held direct marketing agency specializing in the marketing strategy, design and production of e-mail campaigns, direct mail-packages and inserts. For more information, please visit www.cgsm.com
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
This article is brought to you by Sales & Marketing Management, the leading authority for executives in the sales and marketing field.
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