Boost response rates by 10 times-three keys to successful one-to-one marketing

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Boost response rates by 10 times
Three keys to successful one-to-one marketing

by Mary Gospe

The problems of one-to-one marketing are being solved by personalized marketing. It used to be that these programs were plagued with logistical issues and high costs. Companies struggled with internal database challenges (capturing and accessing their prospect and customer information), coordinating efforts among cross functional groups and paying for high printing costs. Recent advances in digital printing technology, combined with more efficient database marketing systems and the Internet now make the delivery of personalized, relevant and targeted communication easier and more cost-effective than ever.

Treating individuals as individuals, not a mass market, helps companies build an ongoing, meaningful dialog with their prospects and customers that result in higher revenue and loyalty. Thanks to new technologies and techniques, the three keys to successful one-to-one marketing can be found in digital printing, database marketing and the Internet.

1. Digital Printing

Digital printing technology is advancing at a rapid rate. Digital printers can now print with exceptional image quality and color accuracy on a variety of media, such as card stock and glossy paper. These printers are dropping in cost, making them more common in commercial print shops across the country. There are approximately 10,000 digital-ready print shops across the country today, such as Pacific Printing & Fulfillment in the Bay Area. This is nearly double the number from just a few years ago. Costs are moving inversely with this growth, with full four-color digital prices dropping by more than 50% in the last three years.

Digital printing has many advantages over traditional offset printers. You can print just what you need, when you need it (on demand), thus reducing costs, storage issues and obsolete material. In addition, digital printers can be combined with software to customize each printed piece.

Variable printing on demand (VPOD) is the process of using software and digital printers to customize each printed item to a specific individual. Traditionally, the salutation was customized with the recipient’s name. Now, with VPOD, the printed item can be customized with copy, offers and graphical elements intended for that specific person. By inserting the recipient’s name in the headline and providing a personalized landing page URL, response rates have been shown to increase by up to ten times over non-customized direct mail.

For a list of digital printing companies by State, visit www.printaccess.com.

2. Database Marketing

With the increase in usage of on-demand sales force automation (SFA) systems such as Salesforce.com, companies are doing a better job at capturing and accessing prospect and customer information. Companies such as Before The Call (www.beforethecall.com) provide tools to automatically enhance leads by adding industry, revenue, employees, and additional executive-level contacts. Integration vendors can create new views in SFA systems that pull data from financial systems or customer support systems. This access allows marketers to segment their prospects and customers in a variety of ways. Prospect-nurturing campaigns can be created to deliver appropriate content and offers to prospects as they move through their buying cycle of awareness, interest, and consideration. Customer purchase history and budget cycle can be used to trigger cross-sell and up-sell programs.

3. The Internet

The Internet is the ultimate personalization vehicle. Companies can easily send personalized emails or e-newsletters to prospects and customers and invite them to click on their own individual landing page to receive a relevant offer. Downloadable offers such as white papers, podcasts or videos give the recipient instant gratification and speed up the sales cycle.

The Internet also makes capturing and disseminating leads quick and easy. Prospects qualify themselves by filling out short surveys on landing pages prior to receiving their offer. Leads automatically flow into SFA systems and the survey data helps inside sales reps prioritize follow-up activity.

Web-based dashboards provide real-time data for analyzing response rates, open rates, number of leads and in some cases, online purchases. With this immediate information, marketers can test other offers, copy and media to continue to optimize results.

Pulling it all together

One company at the forefront of the personalized marketing movement is Naehas (www.naehas.com), based in Menlo Park, CA. Naehas has developed an intelligent marketing software platform, coupled with services and best practices to help companies make marketing relevant and measurable. They have helped companies such as Canon, Unisource and Charles Schwab plan and execute personalized lead generation, prospect nurture and customer retention programs.

In one lead generation campaign Naehas executed for Canon USA, prospects received a personalized direct mail post card with content and offers that varied based on their job title and firm size. Each recipient was invited to their own individualized landing page to download an offer. The program resulted in a 10 times increase in response rate and a sales pipeline 35 times greater than in previous campaigns.

Summary

The combination of variable digital printing technology, database marketing and the Internet, make the delivery of personalized, targeted communication easier and more cost-effective than ever. Now’s the time to make personalized marketing work for you. Your competitors may be doing this already, and your prospects and customers will come to expect smart, relevant communications. And with experts like Naehas, you don’t have to go it alone.

About the Author
Mary Gospe, principal and co-founder of KickStart Alliance, helps companies build their sales pipeline, shorten their sales cycle, and accelerate revenue creation through integrated direct marketing and inside sales programs. For more information on personalized marketing or Naehas, please contact Mary Gospe at 650.464.7663 maryg@kickstartall.com.