i-News: July 2006 Edition
“After a decade of denial, big media and marketers have finally accepted that the way consumers absorb information and entertainment has changed. Their responses to how consumers perceive, retain and respond to brands are reshaping media.
“Companies that once relied on regulation or engineering smarts for their edge are learning the ways of integrated marketing across many platforms. From iPod to BlackBerry, consumer review websites to blogs, Quicktime and MP3 – all are part of a complex new media landscape that marketers must traverse as easily as do the consumers they are trying to catch.”
- The Age (Melbourne, Australia), June 20, 2006
Hints for Selecting a Campaign Management System
Consultant Steve Schultz has outlined a handful of key considerations in selecting and implementing a campaign management tool. These considerations include:
Audience Targeting: Are the segmentation capabilities sufficient? Can all data sources be accessed easily? What sampling functionality is available to facilitate testing and learning? Is the performance satisfactory to meet timing requirements?
Output: Can the data be personalized? What output formats are available? Can campaigns be scheduled?
Analytical Capabilities: How does the system accommodate response attribution? Can reports be easily generated that display campaign results? Can reports be added or customized? Does the system support model development and scoring?
Schultz notes that features and functionality are only part of the equation in selecting a campaign system. Other considerations include:
Vendor Risk: How viable is the vendor? What is its experience in this space? How many companies have purchased this product? Are they available as references?
Client Support: What training is available? How complete is the documentation? What types of user group meetings, conferences, etc. are available?
Strategic Fit: How compatible are the tool requirements with current and future standards?
How will the system scale to accommodate growth? What are the development plans for the product?
Finally, Schultz notes that investment in campaign management tools are not inexpensive or risk-free. His advice: “Maintain a disciplined selection process, and create an implementation plan that addresses both technical setup and management challenges.”
Related link:
http://www.astech-intermedia.com/resources/articles/Selecting_a_Marketing_Solutions_Provider.pdf
Improved Technology Helps Marketers Reach Customers & Prospects
In a recent article in Direct Magazine (www.directmag.com), Josh Herman, data product innovation leader at Acxiom Corporation, offered perspective on the evolution of marketing technology in the effectiveness of consumer targeting.
“The good news is you’ve got lots of customer data! How can the promise of true integrated marketing be possible in that sea of disparate details? And how can you quickly tease meaningful information from it that will make a tangible impact on your company’s bottom line?
“One of the most effective ways to demonstrate the value of your database investment is to ensure it can answer core marketing questions, such as:
• Who buys from me?
• What are they going to buy from me?
• Where can I find them geographically?
• How can I best communicate with them?
“Answering these questions is possible only if you have a consistent framework to define and describe each customer or prospect. A segmentation system allows you to identify opportunities and take marketing action. And advances in database technology are allowing us to go beyond ‘who, what, where and how’ and add two new questions: ‘when’ and ‘on which screen’.”
Josh Herman has been selected one of American Demographics magazine’s “25 influential people on the demographic landscape in the past 25 years.” In addition to being a guest lecturer at Georgetown University and the Congressional Economic Leadership Institute, he has also been an adjunct professor of database marketing at American University in Washington, DC, where he designed and taught an MBA class on applied geodemography and consumer segmentation. In addition, Josh was the associate director for the American Press Institute where he researched, designed and conducted seminars on best business practices in the electronic and traditional media industry.
Most importantly, Josh will be sharing his thoughts on the impact of technological innovation on the newspaper industry at The Roundtable on Strategic Marketing, in Vail, CO this coming August. See the highlights here.
Lure Customers to Your Loyalty Program
Stephen Webster, the chief strategic officer/founder of iPost, offers suggestions to help improve the relevance and value of your customer loyalty initiatives.
Make it easy for the customer. Structure your program in such a way that joining is fast and easy.
Make it easy for you. Select vendors that are reputable and know your business.
Add meaningful value. Carefully consider the rewards and benefits of your program. Focus on what is valuable – with an eye toward the lifetime value of the customer.
Personalize. It costs almost nothing to call your customers by name. Create the impression that your message is expressly intended for the reader.
Be relevant. Turn the data you receive about your customers’ interests and preferences into meaningful, relevant benefits. If they feel that they are being listened to and respected, they are much more likely to act.
Get it in front of them. Promote your loyalty program at every customer touch point.
Featured at The Roundtable on Strategic Marketing will be a half-day session devoted to the readership and revenue impact of customer loyalty programs in the newspaper industry. Representatives from The Boston Globe, The Globe and Mail, The New Zealand Herald and the Chicago Tribune (invited) will be joined by Sandra Gudat, CEO of Customer Communications Group, one of the foremost experts on loyalty activities. For more information on this event, click here or contact Tom Ratkovich at ter@astech-intermedia.com.
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