Build Anticipation and Eliminate Mixed Messaging
Use Multiple Medium Campaigns
Each marketing vehicle or media has its own strengths and
weaknesses. Utilizing each marketing medias’ strengths in a
coordinated campaign can greatly improve a marketing campaign’s
effectiveness.
I am just going to focus on e-mail in this article.
Here are some of e-mail’s key strengths that can support
traditional direct marketing:
• Targeted Detailed segmentation and personalization
facilitates one-to-one messaging. Use these strengths to send
highly targeted valid messaging in sincere, personal
approach.
• Timely Most recipients will receive the message within
hours of it being sent.
• Efficient and Cost Effective E-mail can touch more
people more frequently at a lower cost.
• Responsive and Actionable With e-mail, a call to action
can be acted on immediately. A purchase is just a click away as
opposed to a printed or broadcast marketing medium, wherein the
customer is highly unlikely to have the ability to take
immediate action. This makes e-mail marketing very potent as a
marketing vehicle. The e-mail delivers the message as well as
the vehicle for taking immediate action.
The holidays are nearly upon us, here are some examples of
coordinating traditional media with e-mail marketing in holiday
sales campaigns.
Build Anticipation
If you are sending a holiday
catalog or brochure through traditional mail, they probably
account for a significant percentage of your annual marketing
budget. Inevitably, many will be thrown away without so much as
a glance.
To rise above the noise of the flurry of printed catalogs,
brochures, and other direct mail media, schedule an e-mail
campaign to arrive before the first mailing, notifying people
that the catalog will be arriving. Use your e-mail campaign in a
way that fosters significant anticipation. That way they’ll look
for it to arrive with heightened awareness and greater
anticipation. Customize the message with highlighted items,
offers, and promotions that may be of particular interest to
groups or categories of your recipients.
Responsiveness and Follow-up
We’ve all experienced
receiving offers and promotions we want to take advantage of.
Inevitably, we miss our opportunity to cash in on great offers
due to our modern day hectic lifestyles especially during the
holiday season. Count on this to be the case with many would be
customers. Schedule an e-mail soon after your printed campaigns
last in-home date or shortly before your offers expiration date
to encourage people to follow through on their good intentions.
Use the strength of online ordering or purchasing, and enable
the same offer on your e-commerce Web site. If you don’t have
one, get one! And always include links in your e-mail that gives
a time sensitive call to action and the resulting conversion to
a sale.
Expanding Reach
Maximizing your (ROI) by balancing
the number and demographics of recipients with cost per piece is
a well-established practice in traditional direct marketing.
Integrating e-mail adds another dimension to the mix.
Broaden a campaign to a larger number of recipients using
e-mail’s cost-effectiveness and precision. Increase focus on key
segments by combining print only, e-mail only, and print plus
e-mail to further improve campaign effectiveness.
Crossover
When running multiphase campaigns, enable
crossover between media. Make use of user preferences. For
instance, ask people which medium they prefer. Apply business
rules based on behavior and implied preferences. If an e-mail
address starts bouncing, switch that person to print. If she
doesn’t respond to print, send her e-mail.
Testing and Gradual Improvement
Use e-mail to rapidly
and cost-effectively test different offers and promotions. Use
split testing or A-B testing to zero in on a message that gives
the best results. Pay Per Click campaigns are another venue for
rapid split testing to achieve the desired ROI. Over time, using
these testing methods will increase your marketing
effectiveness. Although short term improvements may be small,
over time these small improvements result in significant
improvements in your marketing campaigns. Once you have a
winning e-mail campaign, use it for your print campaigns as
well. However, remember that switching to another medium
introduces a new variable, which can throw off test results. To
minimize this outcome, use this technique for factors that are
less affected by presentation. You can also use sample groups to
pretest and identify variances in the response rates between
print and e-mail campaigns.
Tracking Results
Evaluating success requires campaign
result to be tracked and analyzed. An e-mail supporting a
catalog may not meet your standard response requirements on its
own, but its effect on catalog sales may be significant.
Similarly, a postcard to a person whose e-mail is bouncing may
not produce the direct marketing return on investment normally
required.
Start Planning Now!
If your holiday campaigns aren’t
well under way yet, get started now! And as you plan your
holiday campaigns, look for new ways to integrate your media.
Play to the strengths of each, and respond to recipients’
preferences (both explicit and implied) to improve the customer
experience and maximize your overall success.
Best Regards,
Oliver
SEM/SEO Campaign Specialist
Targa Media Inc.
www. targamedia. co
