Newsletter

February 2009

MindFireInc Spotlight is a monthly newsletter prepared and edited by Ted Raymond of Allegra.

Fast Fact

According to the international market research firm Gartner, even in a tough economy, companies that invest in new online marketing processes will increase revenues by at least 10% within six months.

Getting to Yes

Gaining commitment from a client for a cross-media campaign does not have to be a high-pressure sell. We have all seen the Hollywood depiction of the sales professional that is told to “Always Be Closing.” This stereotypical sales approach is reserved for those who do not understand customer needs. By investing time in clearly understanding your clients’ business objectives you can avoid both the effort of closing, and the negative connotation associated with this “hard-sell” approach. In the cross-media sales process it is much easier to build a well thought out solution and just “Assume the Close.”

Much like a recipe, the sales process is a formula for success. Last month we discussed how it is imperative to clearly define the client’s current situation as well as their desired results. After you have accurately outlined these two opposing situations, it is easy to define a solution that bridges the gap. If you have followed their sales process and clearly addressed their key business issues, closing will be easy. You have taken the time to understand the challenges your client faces. You also have clear insight as to what they are trying to achieve. Finally, you have been able to demonstrate how a cross-media solution can address the challenges they have defined. Why wouldn’t they move ahead with your recommendation? There is no need for high pressure or underhanded tactics. You have demonstrated how to provide them a true solution.

Once you have gained agreement that the solution will address the issues they defined, have your proposal ready. It is not uncommon to have an agreement signed during the same meeting that you have presented your solution recommendation. Your recommendation may be to start with a smaller sampling to test your concept. By recommending a short testing period, the buyer gains confidence and is more likely to move to accepting your proposal. By using the MindFireInc® LookWho’sClicking® system, you have the ability to carefully measure results and refine the campaign before a full launch. This scalable approach minimizes the perceived risk on the part of the buyer and ultimately this will deliver a greater return on investment for your client. Greater ROI for your client will often translate directly into improved margins for you as a service provider.

When developing a cost structure for cross-media, keep in mind that these multi-channel campaigns have much more value than typical direct mail or email. Your proposal should reflect this increased value. Make sure you do not undercharge for this powerful business intelligence solution. It is not uncommon for MindFireInc® partners to bundle costs for consulting, strategy, creative design, web development, record hosting, campaign management and dashboard access.

Tech Tip

Use your email signature to promote cross-media. It is easy for many organizations to miss the simplest and most inexpensive marketing channels. In a marketplace where companies are all vying for market share, it is important to leverage every avenue for lead generation. Have you considered using your own internal email signature as a source of leads for cross-media?

Let’s think about this. If you are in a company with 20 employees that each send an average of 25 emails per day, you have the opportunity to promote cross-media marketing more than 130,000 times per year.

How can you leverage the MindFireInc® technology to help convert all of these impressions? Consider creating an email signature that has a link to an Attract Express campaign. If a respondent sees the information about cross-media at the bottom of one of your emails and clicks the link, they can be redirected to a campaign created in the LookWho’sClicking® system. Once they land there, you could collect their contact information and provide them with some basic information about cross-media marketing. Because you have captured their information, the lead can then be routed to your sales team for immediate follow up.

Think about using the MindFireInc technology in ways other than just for Personalized URL’s. While personalized landing pages are the cornerstone of the technology, it is easy to deploy campaigns that gather information with other methods. By using this powerful tool for your own lead generation, you are demonstrating to both clients and prospects the power of truly “integrated” campaigns.

Data Driven Creative

The goal of cross-media marketing is to drive improved response and greater return on investment. The best way to accomplish this is by delivering a highly relevant experience to the recipient. One of the key elements in delivering a targeted experience is to develop visually captivating creative.

One way to design creative that resonates with the recipient is to have creative that is driven by information in your database. This data-driven approach to communication will deliver significantly better results than a static piece.

Let’s assume that as a marketing service provider you were asked to design a cross-media campaign for an automobile dealer. The campaign would include both variable direct mail and a Personalized URL. Assume the targeted list you purchased included records that had name, address, gender, and age. With this limited amount of information you could develop a much more focused approach to the creative elements of your campaign.

Imagine for a moment that the products in an automotive line included a small fuel efficient convertible that had been hailed by the national media as being “the cutest thing on wheels.” By using the information in the database we could have both the direct mail, and personalized URL include imagery of young women having fun with friends while driving in this convertible. However, this imagery would only be displayed for those people in the database who are female between the ages of 18 and 24.

In that same effort, a second set of creative could be developed for the high-end luxury sedan that is part of the product line. This creative might show a middle-age couple pulling up to a valet at an upscale restaurant. This imagery would only be displayed for those recipients who are male and older than 49 years of age.

The MindFireInc® LookWhosClicking® system has the ability to create a highly targeted experience by leveraging information contained in the database. This can be done very easily by deploying multiple landing pages and using the “who will see this page” functionality within the control panel.

As a Marketing Service Provider, if you are not leveraging this variable technology, you are most likely achieving lower results than you could with a well executed campaign. The MindFireInc® resource center has important information about landing page configuration and deployment.

Case Study:Tully-Wihr

Tully-Wihr, a highly successful MindFireInc partner, recently completed a cross-media campaign for an account in the financial services industry. The goal of the project was to develop a customer loyalty campaign for consumer-based financial products.

This campaign was built for a new client of Tully-Wihr. They had identified that this prospect was using direct mail to communicate with their customer base, but had limited ability to clearly understand the results of their efforts. Tully-Wihr’s Director of Marketing Operations, Barry Öberg said, “It is challenging to get in to see marketing executives; this tool (LookWho’sClicking®) allows you to get in to talk to these people.”

The campaign consisted of direct mail, email, and a Personalized URL as the response mechanism. The direct mail component of the campaign consisted of 18,800 pieces that targeted existing customers. The concept was to establish a loyalty club and capture client email addresses. By versioning landing pages, a highly relevant experience was provided. The experience would change based on how respondents answered survey questions. By doing this, Tully-Wihr provided high value for their client and created an opportunity for ongoing annuity-based revenue.

Öberg said, “One of the most exciting things about the campaign was knowing that the client was watching the results tally in real time.” The campaign returned an impressive 2.7%. This was significantly important because it represented an estimated 5x increase over traditional results for this client. Because of the success of this campaign, culture changed within the organization. After the campaign, so many qualified opportunities were identified that it changed the way sales and marketing worked together. The power of cross-media marketing has impacted more than just client loyalty.