In our opinion, one of the easiest ways for organizations to address these new complexities is to create a replicated marketing database driven from your enterprise customer data management tools.  Rather than trying to make your enterprise tools something that they are typically not meant to be, creating a replicated marketing database provides the security and fully functioning marketing features for integrated electronic and traditional communications to your customer base. 

While you may be concerned about costs, we find that this approach provides significant advantages:

• Typically costs much less than trying to customize your own enterprise system
• Can be launched much quicker and with less hassle than changes to your own system. 
• Immediately offers more features (i.e. Landing pages for customer email and general updates, customer preference centers, activity reporting, demographically enhanced customer data) that would require even more costs and development time if done internally

Given the growing demands for integrated marketing communications, you are likely looking at this area if you haven’t already set a strategy for your organization.  We recommend that you consider this approach when you do.

Feel free to give us a call to discuss options in this area, or listen to our recent webinar How Changing Communications Trends Drive Integrated Marketing ROI for more concrete Direct Marketing Association facts in this area.  You will also find an overview of ICS’s Integrated Communications Platform (ICP) which may be consideration for your business as well.

I am sure you can relate this to your every day shopping experiences.  You are shopping at a store or online for something you are looking for.   Through your shopping experience you are exposed to the product or service, but you are just not ready to pull the trigger at this time.  Possibly you want to shop around a bit, or receive additional details on the items you are looking at.  While we tend to think retail, it could be any thing from a new car, to a charitable cause, to a service you need for your business. 

If you haven’t developed a Handraiser channel for your business, you really need to make it a priority.  It is typically not expensive, and it will provide you access to a very productive prospect segment.  We typically see a handraiser Channel converting to customers a 5 to 15 times the best targeted competitive prospects.  Often, they will even outperform your current customers when soliciting new business.

Where do you get started?  Typically business owners will provide an opportunity within their website or retail location for prospects/shoppers to receive more information or to stay in touch with the company.  This can be as simple as a sign up for a newsletter or an opportunity to receive “special value offers” from the company. 

To fully maximize the potential of the Handraiser channel, every prospect / shopper touchpoint should provide an invitation to easily engage in this communication.   Examples of these might include:

• A link on your website that offers prospects an avenue to stay in touch
• Point of Sale within your storefront that invites shoppers to sign up for special offers
• Reference in your marketing efforts (newletter, mass media, targeted media) to go to a landing page to sign up for ongoing special values

Handraiser Data Capture Example

The Email channel is an excellent avenue to communicate with this audience … taking advantage of the low cost and delivery speed of the medium.  

Have you developed a Handraiser channel for your Business?  While many businesses have integrated these systems as a part of the Lead Management process, still the majority of businesses have not.  If you are one of these organizations, you are missing out on a powerful and inexpensive way to develop new customers.

While I am sure the economic climate is an element here (isn’t it the blame for everything these days?), I think the “trends toward the use of electronic mail” are an even greater longer-term issue for the USPS.  And as they are forced to raise prices, it will not make matters any better.

Clearly, companies are having to look at every dollar these days.  Utilizing the most customer-effective and cost-effective communications is certainly an area that nearly all companies are reviewing.   And as most things go, technology continues to bring new solutions to the table that enable the small- to mid-sized companies to do what only the larger companies could do in years past.

What do you look for if you are one of those companies evaluating your customer communications?  

• Likely you will want a partner to help navigate the increasing complex data management issues that come with multi-channel marketing integration
• The organization should also have deep expertise across traditional and digital channels (both technical and strategic)

We see the continuation of these trends (lower mail volumes, stronger use of electronic communcations) for the forseeable future.  And yes, a continuation of the increases from USPS.

They were leveraging enticing promotional sweepstakes as a way to drive email activation from customers who had not previously provided email addresses.  Clearly, they understand the communications savings of the email channel and current customer marketing trends in this area.   Take a look below, according to a recent industry channel preference white paper, over 70% of consumers would prefer the email channel for communications from companies they have granted permission to send ongoing communications:

Customer preferences are continuing to evolve … becoming more understanding when email communications is the most effective for their lives.  Clearly, marketers understand the cost efficiencies and speed of the communications.

For marketers, the use of a well designed sweepstakes can be a great way to increase your customer email coverage … ultimately allowing you to lower your customer communications costs and speed to market.