Sharpen Your Focus

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In This Issue:

How marketers are using observational tests to learn more about customers than metrics alone.

How to use creativity and storytelling to make any product seem interesting.

The what, where, and how of using data for segmentation.

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Plus:

52% of marketers implement regular data cleansing.

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A Clean Start

Source: Experian Data Quality (September 2014 poll)

Source: Bizo (June 2014)

Growing Leads

35% of marketers say that having a lead nurturing program is so important they couldn’t live without it.

non-personalized envelopes, does the personalization increase the amount of time the person spends looking at the envelope?

How about the contents of the mailer or package? How much time do participants spend reading the personalized materials versus the non-personalized materials?

If the mailer includes multiple pieces, which pieces do participants look at first? In one observational study, the marketer discovered that 20% of its sample looked at the product brochure before looking at anything else. In another, it discovered that 30% of its sample opened the package upside-down, so they were viewing the contents in reverse order from what the marketer intended.

You can also test the power of different offers. For example, even if two offers save them the same amount of money, people will often react differently to those offers based on how they are presented. Are participants most likely to react to 30% off? Or does “Buy Two, Get One Free” garner the best response? Do they take time to think about it? Or do they grab the offer and “respond” right away? Likewise, if you are promoting a discount, does it make a difference if you present the offer in terms of a one-time savings? Monthly savings? Or yearly savings? An observational test will allow you to watch how people interact with each one.

Another way to gain insight is to use focus groups. In a focus group, you bring multiple participants around a table, show them different marketing pieces, and ask them questions together. It gives you a chance to ask questions in a more interactive environment and understand their motivations and perceptions more deeply.

Interested in setting up an observational test or focus group? Let us help!

Improve customer engagement through careful observation.

 en we want to understand whether our direct mail efforts are working, we tend to look at metrics like response rates, conversion

rates, and ROI. But how often do we look at the why? Why are respondents acting as they do? Why did this month’s offer work better than last month’s?

To understand why customers and prospects act as they do, an increasing number of marketers are doing observational tests. They are bringing people into their offices and watching them interact with their direct mail pieces and seeing how they behave.

For example, if you are testing personalized versus

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Define how it creates value

Ask how your product creates value. Does it improve the customer’s quality of life? Solve a problem? Save money? Pinpoint the value that the product provides.

Tell a story

Craft a story around the product’s value. There is a reason Lowe’s uses the phrase, “Let’s build something together.” Its print and television ads don’t show lumber and nails. They show the process of building and the joy the homeowner experiences from doing the project themselves. In other words, Lowe’s isn’t selling paint and plumbing supplies. It is selling homeowner pride. That’s the Lowe’s story. What’s yours?

Be creative

To tell a story, some products need a little help. That’s why Beldent, a South American snack company, took a very unusual approach to selling sticks of gum. Beldent set up an experiment with the help of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Buenos Aires. It created exhibits of identical twins who were almost identical except that one was chewing gum. Then it asked visitors a series of questions such as which twin they thought was more fun, had more friends, or was more likely to give employees a raise. Overwhelmingly, museum

visitors chose the twin chewing gum, and a marketing campaign was born.

Help customers visualize

People remember images better than they remember text. Images also communicate complex concepts quickly. That’s why we have the soft, cuddly Snuggle bear and the fat, green Mucinex blob with suspenders. These characters communicate concepts of softness and sticky goop in your lungs with speed and clarity that text alone cannot. Plus they produce almost instant recall. Just one glimpse on a package, a print ad, on a point-of-purchase display, and the entire campaign comes roaring back.

Personalize it

When used alongside storytelling, powerful imagery, and creativity, personalization packs a powerful punch. Target your value message based on demographic or market segment, then personalize using relevant variables. If you need to append your database to increase your targeting and personalization, let us help. That’s what we’re here for.

When it comes to print and multichannel marketing, there is no excuse to be boring. Tell a story. Without lug nuts, tires fall off of cars. Without plungers, toilets overflow. There’s nothing boring about that!

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  et’s face it. Not all products are interesting to talk about, let alone look at. Fast cars and fancy evening wear are sexy, but tire wrenches and lug nuts are not. Neither are bars of soap, toilet plungers, or

light bulbs, but competition for these products is every bit as fierce as for cars and little black dresses.

Whether it’s in direct mail, a newsletter, an email, or a television commercial, how do you sell a product that doesn’t sell itself?

Strut Your StuffMake any product fascinating by displaying your best features.

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Build a strategic database by collecting data and monitoring for segmentation.

A Piece by Piece Profile

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W e know how important branding and competitive differentiation is. We know how  critical tracking and measurement has become. According to new research, however,  data collection and monitoring for segmentation tops them both.  

According to Experian, 61% of marketers say collecting and managing structured and  unstructured data is a business challenge. Compare this to tracking and measurement (44%)  and branding (39%). Both of these measure high, but segmentation is higher. 

Where and how can marketers improve their segmentation? It starts with a simple  where, what, and how. 

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Where do you get the data for segmentation? You can always purchase new lists and append existing ones, but make sure you are tapping into all of the available resources to collect data you already have first.

Where are top marketers getting the data they use for cross-channel communications?

• Physical store 42%

• Face-to-face 60%

• Website 73%

• Mobile website 36%

• Mobile app 35%

• Catalog 24%

• Call center 54%

• Other 14%

Are you taking advantage of all of these sources? Even if you don’t have a physical store, we all have face-to-face interactions. We all have websites. We’ve all got transaction histories. The next step is integrating this data into a centralized database so it can be used for marketing. (Need help? Ask us how!)

Next is to make sure you are collecting the right data. Every target audience will require different variables to make your communications relevant to them. What data are marketers currently tracking? According to Experian, nearly all are collecting ZIP codes and first and last names. Fewer are collecting country, phone number, and date of birth. Even fewer (but still more than half) collect gender and mobile phone numbers. If you are tracking these data, you’re in a better competitive position than many.

There are three levels of segmentation: simple, mid-level, and sophisticated. If you’re not a data guru, start simple. For example, 76% of brands collect birthdays, but only 35% have

birthday programs in place. Here is simple, implementable segmentation that will increase customer engagement and boost customer loyalty by using the data you already have.

Likewise, location. Nearly all marketers have the physical address of their customers. That can be used in direct mail, email, and other communications to grab attention. “Pets in Houston, TX, love our treats!”

Other options include targeting messaging by market vertical or job title. You’ll communicate with a director of facilities differently than you will the director of finance.

Segmentation doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does have to be strategic. Let us help you come up with a plan!

Source: Ifbyphone State of Marketing Measurement Survey (May 2014)

Keeping Track

53% of marketers are tracking new lead acquisition

in 2014, up from 43% in 2013.

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