Lists and Data Strategies

November, 2004

The tone at the Direct Marketing Association’s annual conference (late October in New Orleans) was optimistic. All indications are that budgets are growing and that acquisition programs are expanding. Let’s meet 2005 and beyond with some Big Ideas on an old topic—Lists. Read on for ways to supercharge your acquisition efforts.

If your broker or your internal list expert is not constantly bringing you new ideas and if you’re relying on the same sources of information to fuel your campaigns, it’s time to rethink your list and data strategies. Consider the following:

• More data is not always better. Are you deluged with so much customer and external data that you are unable to identify the relevant intelligence that just might make a difference in your next campaign? Maybe it’s time to reevaluate your data management, analytical and data purchase strategies so that you can truly maximize your database and data expenses.
• It’s easy to assume that all of the compiled data is the same (and, let’s face it, it’s all pretty similar). But, are you taking the time to understand the various strengths and weaknesses of each company? Maybe it’s time to consider several sources? Are you maximizing their extensive analytical staff to ensure that your data investment is on target?
• Are you constantly on the look-out for hot lists, hot data that may be new to the marketplace and not yet known by your competitors? This is a vital exercise. Talk to the list managers who specialize in your industry. Heck, talk to those that don’t—you may just be surprised to find that there are new lists that reach your target market head on. It takes some time and research, but it’s worth it!

RRW Consulting has put together a short but mighty check-list designed to identify gaps in your current data strategies. We believe that if you take yourself through the check-list, you’ll identify areas of opportunity to fine-tune your data strategies. Let us know if you’d like a no-charge copy of the “RRW Data Strategies Check-List”.

Or, if you’d prefer, let’s chat about your data strategies — just call us at (503) 206-5255, or visit our website: www.rrwconsulting.com for more info.

Multi-Channel Integrated Marketing

September, 2004

What a great time to be a marketer! We have so many options in terms of reaching and communicating with our customers and prospects. We can take advantage of the immediacy and cost-effectiveness of e-mail marketing. We can WOW the marketplace with our brilliant TV ad, and even target that message through strategic placement on the variety of networks now available to us. Or, we can use direct mail, print, event marketing—our choices are infinite!

The challenge, of course, is to figure out how to make the right choices—the choices that will result in increased sales and profit — and happy customers. Unfortunately, when a multi-channel marketing program isn’t well integrated, it’s very easy to do just the opposite — upset good customers. Have you ever purchased a product or service through a retail channel, only to find that you could have purchased the same item from the same provider cheaper online? Or, have you seen prospects receive a better offer than loyal customers? What a great way to annoy your good customers.

It’s key to integrate all of your marketing efforts in order to maximize the marketing investment. If done correctly, a multi-channel marketing approach should reap more profits than the sum of the programs deployed alone. It’s critical to understand the correct communications ‘path’. For example, should you send a direct mail piece, followed up with a phone call? Should you also e-mail? And, how do you control for the other offers out there in print or on TV?

Finally, it’s imperative to understand channel preferences. Do you know which customer prefers to receive a catalog, which likes e-mail, and which simply wants to be left alone—they’ll contact you when they’re ready to buy?

You’re right — it’s not easy! However, there are some tactical methodologies that can truly maximize your overall marketing investment. RRW Consulting can help you develop successful multi-channel marketing strategies. We use an analytical, test and learn approach that allows us to identify the communications mix that generates the most profit. We also offer tools to help get a handle on channel preferences.

Let us know if you’d like a no-charge copy of our White Paper, titled Multi-Channel Integrated Marketing which features market leading channel integration practices. We’d be happy to send it your way.

Email Marketing

August, 2004

We all hate SPAM—opening up our e-mail box to tons of junk—e-mail that’s misleading, sometimes illegal and, at a minimum, in very poor taste. On the other hand, what if your favorite restaurant had e-mailed you a coupon for one free dinner on the very day that you were planning a special dinner out? That would be one e-mail that you’d print out and happily hand to the Maitre d’!

If only all e-mail would be so timely and pertinent… Believe me, e-mail marketing actually can be that effective. There are solid methods and tools that result in e-mail marketing success. As a business-person, if you are not currently using e-mail marketing as a way to grow your business, you really should consider it.

E-mail marketing is probably the best method of building customer loyalty. If you are seeking repeat business from current or former customers, e-mail is an excellent, and super inexpensive way to reach them. You can remind them of how much you value their business. Or, you can give them a special offer to encourage repeat purchases.

E-mail works in a prospecting environment as well. If you do your homework, target your prospect list perfectly and develop a message and an offer that resonates with your prospects, e-mail marketing can generate new leads, and ultimately result in new sales.

The challenge, of course, is to figure out how to implement an effective e-mail marketing program. RRW Consulting can help. We are a group of seasoned direct marketers with big ideas and lots of experience.

As an example of our experience, we encourage you to read our E-Mail Marketing White Paper that provides best practices in e-mail marketing, combined with important information you need to ensure compliance with recent e-mail regulations (CAN-SPAM Act). We’ll send you the White Paper immediately.

Or, if you’d prefer to chat about e-mail marketing, just call us at (503) 206-5255, or visit our website: www.rrwconsulting.com for more info.

Understanding Customer Relationships

August, 2004

We’ve all heard it a thousand times: It’s much more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to retain an existing customer. And, we’ve heard that 80% of revenue comes from 20% of your client base—those with whom you enjoy long-term and profitable relationships. I think it’s safe to call these marketing ’truths’.

Well, if that’s the case, we wonder why so often we see companies, large and small, who don’t have a handle on their customer relationships. And, if you don’t understand the extent of a client relationship, there’s absolutely no way that you can maximize that relationship. For example, we’ve seen financial institutions (even those with sophisticated and costly marketing databases) who cannot tell you that Customer X who holds one of their credit cards also just refinanced their home. And, by the way, X has had a checking account with the bank since they graduated. Now, if that bank had known the full extent of the relationship, it could have used this knowledge to creatively bundle services and present a better offer. If the bank had only done this proactively, Customer X may not have decided to transfer their credit card balance to a competitor. Unfortunately, Customer X just become a lot less profitable.

RRW Consulting offers expertise and knowledge of the available resources that help link customers (and prospects) together, thus finding those sometimes elusive customer relationships. We have real-world experience in helping our clients implement ongoing data management processes that allow them to identify formerly unknown relationships within their customer data. Whether it’s consumer or business data, or even a combination of both, we can help you through our knowledge of data cleansing and integration tools. Then, we can take the next step and help you develop strategies to maximize the customer knowledge and create customer loyalty. This inevitably results in increased profits and overall increased customer satisfaction.

Let us know if you’d like a no-charge copy of our Data Management White Paper featuring market leading data integration practices as well as lessons we learned and pitfalls to avoid. We’ll send you the White Paper immediately.

Focus on the Future of Marketing

December, 2004

We’re all so busy taking care of today’s marketing emergencies and pressing challenges that sometimes it’s difficult to find the time to plan for the future. But, we all know that the best way to stay one step ahead of our competitors is to build a solid, long-term strategic plan.

In November, RRW was invited to present at the University of Southern California’s Executive Leadership Program for Telecommunications. The purpose of the program was for high-level executives to take 4 days out of their busy schedules and use that time to brainstorm about how to be successful in the future—2010 and beyond.

We presented an overview of Marketing Tools that we believe will be vitally important as we move into the future. Topics ranged from CRM technology to the importance of a Permission-Based Marketing approach.

The workshop opened up with a discussion of the different values and buying habits of different generations (presented by Morley Winograd of USC). Specifically, Morley explored the Millenials generation. These are today’s 10- to 20-year olds who will be tomorrow’s customers — and decision makers.

Marketers are starting to pay more attention to the importance of Generational attributes, both in the workplace as employees, as well as in the marketplace as customers. One thing’s for certain — there are trends within the Generational cycles that, when understood, can help us more effectively reach our customers with the most compelling story.

To better understand the different attributes of each generation, we’ve prepared a description of each of the 5 Generations alive today – and some examples of what may be important to them when shopping for products and services. If you’d like a copy of RRW’s Generations Overview, we’d be happy to send it your way. And, if you’d like more information on some tools that you may need to consider in managing your customer relationships now and in the future, please visit our website. Here, you’ll find white papers on the importance of Data Management and Integration, Multi-Channel Marketing, Data Acquisition Considerations and Best Practices in e-Marketing. We think that these are some of the areas that smart marketers need to keep in mind as you plan for the future.

Or, if you’d prefer to chat with us directly about your marketing strategies, just call us at (503) 206-5255, or visit our website: www.rrwconsulting.com for more info.