Newsletter

May 2010

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

Fast Fact

According to an IPA/BDO survey, marketing budgets were revised up in Q1 for the first time in ten quarters, with around 21% of companies reporting a rise.

Sales Tip

Don’t sell personalized URLs!  This may sound absurd in a newsletter provided by MindFireInc since the market recognizes them as the leading provider of personalized URL technology.  As a service provider, think about selling the results of an integrated solution.

To truly leverage the power of multi channel communication, you have to understand that personalized URL’s are only one component of a broader strategy.  If you only focus on selling a direct mail piece with a unique URL then you have fallen prey to the old way of thinking.  You are probably not providing your client with the best possible solution for their campaign. 

When working with a client to develop a cross media campaign think about who their target audience is first.  Ask them to define in very specific terms who they are trying to target.  Ask them to define several subsets.  Once this is done you can begin to get an idea of who to market to.  Once you understand your target think about where they consume information.  Is it only on the web?  Probably not.  Think about using multiple channels to drive home your message.

By leveraging multiple channels you are far more likely to engage your prospect.  In fact, you should consider even reaching them several times with each channel.  By evolving your thinking to include a strategic view of the communication channels, you will have the opportunity to have a discussion about delivering results.  When discussing results you can formulate the conversation around the clients ROI rather than a cost per piece.

Tech Tip

Did you know that there is now a function to archive old campaigns?  At MindFireInc, we are constantly gathering feedback from the field.  One request was to develop a system to archive old campaigns.  Our new functionality provides a simple way to gather both the results and assets of a campaign.

First, you should archive your data.  This can be done by any control panel user accessing the reports sections of the user interface.  Simply click the “Archive Campaign” button and enter your email address.  This will then compile all of the following reports in one simple step:

•  Active ADO files with all leads
•  Total and Unique visits by list
•  Activity report spreadsheets for all pages and links (both Total and Unique)
•  Read, Unread, and Returned emails for all email blasts
•  Summary and Survey Statistics

This single process will allow you to pull all of the relevant data related to a campaign.  Some service providers will use this as a value added service and provide a disc to their client with all of the data.  This is a great addition to a typical campaign debrief. 

In addition to being able to pull down all of the data you can also pull down all of the campaign assets.  This is a great way to save the work that has been done in an offline format.  To download all of the components used to build a campaign, simply go to the global properties section of the control panel.  There you will find a button labeled “Export Campaign”.  This will download all of the html and images that were used to configure the campaign. 

The export campaign function is a great way to archive campaigns today.  However, it will become even more important in the future.  With the future release of MarketFire, the export feature will allow you to move existing campaigns onto the new system without having to rebuild the entire campaign.

Data Management

Have you ever wondered how a QR code works?  We have drilled down some information to provide for you regarding what all those little squares actually mean.  Quick Response Codes or QR codes have been used internationally for years.  However, they are just now gaining in popularity in the United States.  Most new smart phones now have the ability to read QR codes built right into their internal software.  Perhaps the iPhone and Google Droid phone are the most capable of reading QR codes.  But how do they decipher the data?

QR codes can be used for any number of applications.  Most common today is using QR codes to direct someone automatically to a website.  Another common application is to have a QR code that contains contact information for an individual.  With the simple “snapshot” from a smart phone, all of a user’s contact information can be uploaded to address book.

Data embedded in a QR code is held in a very specific format.  Much of the outer part of the QR code is used to include information about the version of QR code that is being used.  The large squares on the outer edge provide specific information about the position of the code. The small square in the lower right hand corner provide information about alignment.  The rest of the image includes that actual data. 

The amount of data that can be contained will vary based on the type of information.  If you are embedding numeric characters a QR code can hold up to 7,089 characters.  For alpha-numeric a QR code can hold 4,296 characters. The attached graphic is a map of a QR code.

Case Study

Marketing service providers can use the MindFireInc technology to help drive web to print applications.  Recently a MindFireInc service provider had a need to close a large web to print opportunity.  They were able to use cross media as a tool to gather critical information that helped in developing the solution.  They now plan to use cross media to help with the implementation.

As with any solution based sales process, it is critical to gather information that helps to provide information on what to build the actual solution.  This is the case in selling a web to print solution to clients.  Recently a service provider needed to gather information on how field based employees used documents.  The service provider was given several hundred emails of the field based employees.  Then, they generated an outbound email campaign asking users to log on and take a survey about how they use documents.  They would be directed to a URL that leveraged the MindFireInc survey engine. 

Once they hit the survey they were asked to rate aspects of the current solution.  This included how they would rate the quality, turn around, and service of the incumbent provider.  They then were asked to provide information about what they would change.  The new service provider now had data that clearly would show that the incumbent was not executing well.  This data became the foundation of the solution recommendation.

The service provider landed the account.  It forecasted to represent more than $80,000 in incremental digital print revenue.  In addition, the client had the opportunity to experience cross media first hand.  There is also an opportunity for an additional $25,000 in cross media business. 

The service provider is still implementing the solution.  However, they will also use the MindFireInc platform to help educate field users with the new web to print service.  Field users will receive a package with information on how to log onto their personalized orientation site.  The pURL will then educate them on how to access the web to print catalog by providing a short video.  This becomes a powerful management tool.  By using the reporting that is built into LookWhosClicking each individual who has not logged in for training can be identified.  This will then give the client the opportunity to circle around with those individuals and ensure that system adoption is in fact taking place.