The limitless possibilities of targeting your database may be overwhelming, but if you execute direct marketing using one source it is much more manageable and easy to report on.
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Whether you use a Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) or a different resource to manage your database, the first step to successful targeting of your customers and prospects is to segment them in an intuitive way. Consider how you might group by interest or sales stage, and then how to move your contacts, nurturing them through the system over time. For example, a prospect starts out in one bucket and receives certain messaging via email offers but what happens to them if they interact with that carefully planted call to action (CTA) and become a sold customer? How will their experience and interactions with you evolve? What will you continue to offer them to stay engaged?
Though direct marketing is centered on being able to target contacts, well, directly – one of the key benefits is that you can gather metrics about those segments and individuals across various channels. Here are four key channels that can be managed from one source and examples of corresponding success metrics.
1. Display Advertising: Designing a box or banner ad to promote the latest offer? Publishing via targeted websites or Google Display Network are ways that you can reach a specific audience subset that is most relevant to you. Look at not only the impressions and clicks (high level), but also the conversions and the cost per action that these creative assets are driving.
2. Search Engine Marketing: Similar to Display Advertising, the ability to link conversions to a search campaign means that you can get insight into how certain ads or keywords convert into desired actions. Look at not only your impressions and clicks, but also some of the keywords and costs per keyword to see what makes sense to the searcher.
3. Email Marketing: This is still one of the most cost-effective ways to communicate offers and opportunities to prospects and customers. Most email platforms offer a wealth of trackable campaign metrics and testing capabilities that still allow you to tailor messaging and content to your target audience. Look at not only your open and click rates, but also keep an eye on unsubscribes to get a feel for relevance. Mapping the clicks within emails also offers a look at what content users find compelling.
4. Mobile: SMS, app push notifications, and location-based marketing are all ways you can reach out to your audience directly using a mobile device. The key thing to keep in mind is the relevance of what you are trying to promote, and what the customer’s experience will be like to receive it via mobile. Will they appreciate the timeliness or relevance? What benefit do they get out of acting? Look at not only your contact list size, but also the engagement of the recipients as they click or scan.
Regardless of the type of channel you use for direct marketing efforts, aligning the strategy and offers behind them is what will bring success.
Source: How To Best Target Direct Marketing – Using One Source
“Though direct marketing is centered on being able to target contacts, well, directly – one of the key benefits is that you can gather metrics about those segments and individuals across various channels.”
There are ways to integrate tracking metrics in traditional direct marketing campaigns. For example you can mail out postcards with a specific web address that can track who visits the site from the postcard. You can also do the same with call tracking by sending out collateral with a toll-free number to track who is calling in as a result of a direct campaign.