Know your customer: Three ways to improve your direct marketing

December 22, 2011  |  by Sarah Miller

First there was Cyber Monday. With the Internet’s sequel to Black Friday we all saw our inboxes fill with offers for online savings. Then there was Green Monday: Order now in time for shipping before December 24! Again, inboxes were at maximum capacity. If you’re like me, a handful of those emails were read while the majority never saw the light of day, let alone received a click-thru.

The holiday season is a time to reflect on many things, but as a direct marketing enthusiast, it prompts me to reflect on the critical importance of targeting. Having the right message for the right target in a way that breaks through the clutter is more important than ever. Just do a Google search and you’ll find lots of tried and true recommendations for improving your results. But here are three additional ideas that can elevate your direct marketing above the rest:

How good is your email marketing list?

Usually at this time of year people are talking about a ‘naughty’ or ‘nice’ list. But if you want to have a jolly holiday, you've got to really stay on top of your list of prospects and existing customers. Always remember that when it comes to creating relevant messages for your audience, you’re only as good as your list, and right now is the perfect time to analyze the integrity and quality of it.

What’s your list look like? How is it getting scrubbed? What amount of turnover do you see? How accurate are your leads? What proportion of your base can you touch? Do you know which are the ones you want to do business with? Are you actively transitioning customers from ‘prospect’ to ‘existing customer’ status?

Need a simple idea to get started? Look at how you are treating your most important customers – the 20% who are delivering 80% of your results. Are you treating them like VIPs? Do you even know who your VIPs are? If the answer is no, you need to invest in some good old-fashioned data mining to identify these invaluable customers before you do anything else. Then understand what will make them feel unique and special, and be resolute about meeting their needs.

Use predictive modeling to lead prospects to what they want

Once you’ve got your list in order, a great way to take your direct campaign to the next level is by layering in predictive or propensity modeling. Amazon is an excellent case study of predictive modeling done well. Want to walk before you run? Try implementing propensity modeling by looking at your existing customers and determining what products and services they’re buying together. Get your data mining team involved and find out what the customers look like who have the greatest lifetime value (usually your VIPs). Then start cross-selling your heart out to prospects and customers who look like those key players.

Make sure the messaging is about the message, and not just the segment

Now that you know whom you’re talking to and what they’re likely to do, develop messaging that speaks to them as unique individuals. A common trapping of segmentation is thinking that you have to have your piece look exactly like the person you’re talking to. (e.g., I want to sell a Honda to a 20-something Latina woman, so I’m going to find an image that looks just like that woman.) Maybe. Maybe not. The key here is really communicating with this woman in a way that matters to her. What’s important to her about a Honda? Is it safety? Is it affordability? Drive your message home in a meaningful way by focusing on benefits that resonate with those key customers. Use language and imagery that convey meaning congruent with their unique system of values and beliefs. 

As you move into 2012, take these three simple but effective ideas into your email and direct marketing planning conversations. This will help ensure that when your messages are getting deployed in the 2012 holiday season, you’ll be garnering the open rates and click-thru rates you’re hoping for, rather than the ‘deletes’ or ‘unsubscribes’ that so many marketing messages fall victim to.