I read a great article posted on DMNews today that reinforced what many direct marketers have been saying for quite a while. Despite emerging marketing channels and trends – such as social networking sites, mobile marketing and online advertising venues – personalized direct mail containing relevant content is extremely effective in driving traffic online, generating higher conversion rates and increasing shopping cart totals.
In the article, Joslin Warren, director of commerce and development for Shop.NHL.com, noted a direct correlation between the amount and sophistication of personalization on direct mail catalogs and purchase behavior:
[When they] get a catalog and see their team on the cover, it makes them more likely to buy… We find the more that we customize the catalog, the more they are going to purchase.
Also highlighted in the article is the importance of integrating personalized direct mail with other media such as email and web. Using personalized direct mail as part of a companion marketing campaign gives marketers a better chance at reaching target audiences and motivating action on the part of the consumer.
The key point that I gleaned from this article is that the standards for all marketing communication have changed. Now more then ever, personalization of content is critical – whatever medium is used to reach the consumer.
For more statistics, tips and advice on direct mail and how to best use personalization in your direct mail campaigns, visit QuantumDigital’s whitepaper download page. (The whitepapers are free!)
Posté par admin le February 10, 2009 – 9:41 am
The Direct Marketing Voice: The Value of ‘Free’ in Direct Marketing
As I think we all know, in marketing ‘free’ is a word with double meaning. It’s also a valuable marketing tactic that businesses embrace to attract new leads, retain existing customers and boost full-price sales.
BtoB: Database face-to-face
Our expert panel discusses dramatically changing business models, care and feeding of list-owner customers and the shifting needs of marketers
BusinessStrata: Growing businesses urged to ‘take a fresh look’ at email marketing
Companies that use email marketing to reach consumers should ensure they regularly “take a fresh look” at their campaigns.
BtoB: Failing to deliver? Postal service cutbacks have marketers, publishers worried
The U.S. Postal Service’s attempts to stay financially viable in the face of dramatically declining mail volume and revenue have magazine publishers and direct marketers worried about their own future.
Posté par admin le February 9, 2009 – 9:03 am
The Direct Marketing Voice: Use Technology to Improve Email Marketing
The email marketing community has to do a better job of educating our colleagues. Some email marketers understand the full potential of using technology to improve the effectiveness of email marketing, but many email marketers do not understand, or are not interested.
AdAge: Postal Service Asks to Cut Service
No one knows what day the Postal Service will drop if it goes to a five-day week, but this much is certain: Someone is going to get hurt. Whether that someone is magazine companies, direct marketers or coupon mailers will depend on the day.
USA Today: E-mail professionals help get the word out
Janine Popick wants to make sure you get even more daily e-mails in your inbox. Don’t hate her. It’s her business.
DIRECT: Credit Card Mail Volume Dropped in 2008: Report
Credit card mailers sent 5.4 billion offers by direct mail last year, 26% lower than they did in 2007 and the lowest number since 2000, according to a report from Mintel Comperemedia.
Posté par admin le February 5, 2009 – 9:49 am
The Direct Marketing Voice: Tracking Your Direct Mail Campaigns
One of the most difficult parts of creating a direct mail campaign is proving ROI and tracking results… There are many ways you can track a direct mail piece, from using a unique website URL or even personalized url’s to using unique email addresses…
BusinessStrata: Companies ’should always test their direct mail campaigns’
Growing businesses in the UK need to use more than personalisation to reach consumers through email marketing, an expert has claimed.
Ted Grigg’s Direct Marketing Blog: Traditional Direct Marketers Are Obsolete
When reading trade publications, the news and attending marketing functions, the message is clear. Traditional direct marketers are obsolete.
RISMedia: Is Your Cell Phone Building Relationships for You?
Building relationships is what Realtors do best, so make sure you are leveraging cell phones to build them sooner. Consumers today demand more, and the smart Realtor will deliver exactly what those consumers want-immediate gratification.
Posté par admin le January 29, 2009 – 10:11 am
The Direct Marketing Voice: HBO’s Compelling Campaign & Missing Community
What HBO did not do well was to use this incredible marketing effort to continue a community. When you visit the www.poweroftheletter.com website today, it goes nowhere. This is really astounding considering that the campaign began less than a year ago.
Forbes: QuantumDigital Hosts Educational Sessions on Direct Marketing Throughout 2009
Educational services offered by QuantumDigital are essential to marketing decision makers as industry experts answer questions about everything from direct mail ROI and effective creative design strategies to how to effectively drive traffic to your Web site using direct mail, email and print materials. Topics will be directed to all marketers that have a need for direct marketing, on-demand printing and eMarketing who wish to optimize budget without sacrificing results.
BtoB: Direct marketers face more layoffs, hiring freezes
Among the 264 companies responding to the online survey, only 21% said they will be adding to direct marketing staff during the current quarter, down from 31% in the last quarter of 2008.
MSNBC: Datran Media Announces Third Annual Marketing Survey Result
The results summarized below and available in detail on Datran Media’s Web site reveal marketers’ plans to shift available budgets to what they consider to be the strongest performing channels of online advertising. Marketers are also increasingly interested in emerging advertising channels, particularly social media, according to the survey results.
