 |
 |
Strategy
To increase response and profitability of clients' direct marketing programs (direct mail and email) by evaluating current database marketing programs, making recommendations, and assisting with the implementation of resulting strategies.
Tactics
Database Modeling Dialog and Recommendations
Determine if/how database modeling is appropriate for a client by scheduling a "Q&A" session with the client. We'll ask questions about the client's house database and past direct marketing efforts, including acquisition, conversion, retention, and rejuvenation programs. Specific recommendations regarding profiling, modeling and segmentation techniques can be made once we know the answers to these specific questions. We will always steer towards using transactional data, which is by far the most powerful data to use when building a model.
Direct Mail and Email Tactics
While specific recommendations are difficult to make without an understanding of past database marketing efforts, there are some tactics that are logical outgrowths of any database modeling/segmentation scheme.
House File: Grow from those you know
Develop and test direct mail and email strategies geared to segments, and move towards true one-to-one communication with these segments (particularly the highest value segments).
Develop strategies to gather additional data on customers (through surveys, completion of registration forms on websites, etc.) and utilize the data to increase effectiveness of direct marketing campaigns.
Prospecting: Effective ways to strike gold
Determine the most appropriate prospecting method for the client. Test a number of creatives and list types, determine the feasibility of multi-step programs, and plan for seasonality. Some examples:
Target specific interest groups and create ongoing communications tailored to each group via email and/or direct mail as appropriate. Develop referral programs for each group.
Explore the possibility of using a co-op database.
Increase contact with specific demographic groups by identifying and utilizing appropriate opt-in lists (email), direct mail lists, and partnering opportunities, and sending value-laden messages appropriate to these demographic groups.
Buyer's lists, subscriber files, compiled lists: depending on the type of business, any one or a number of these may be used.
Develop partnering opportunities with the purpose of accessing outside databases. For example, a non-competing organization with a house database of approximately the same size as the partner's may be willing to send the partner's message to their database in exchange for the same.
Measurement systems: Making sense of it all
Develop consistent customer metrics, response-tracking mechanisms, and commit to using them so that successes can be reacted to quickly and communicated to others easily. Move towards lifetime value: it is the most useful customer metric and will quickly weed out poorly performing programs, allowing dollars to be put towards the "winners."
|
|
Home