Customer Preference Key When Planning E-Mail Campaigns

We're big believers in letting the consumer or business dictate which channel and how often they prefer to receive communications. By paying attention to these factors, direct marketers can make the most out of each DM campaign. This is becoming increasingly important when it comes to e-marketing.

According to DM News today, Habeus, Inc., has just conducted some research that concurs with our thoughts. The study looked at how e-mail and online interaction with businesses overall is being adopted by consumers. A few key points that came out of the study were that, overall, more consumers prefer to receive e-mail messages from direct marketers -- in fact, it is the channel of choice most of the time.

Here's a snippet from the article: “'E-mail is still vital, and it will continue to be,' said Des Cahill, CEO of Habeas Inc., of the fact that 67% of respondents prefer e-mail as a communications channel compared with other online vehicles and 65% believe this will continue in the next five years." Sixty-seven percent is nothing to sneeze at!

Folks are busier than ever these days, and if they can go to their computer to do their shopping and purchasing because companies are sending out targeted, relevant e-mails, it's no wonder that this percentage is so high.

The other two findings were (1) that consumers, in particular, are still very wary of spam -- both to their computers and wireless devices. So, while they prefer e-mail, they don't want to be spammed; and (2) they'd like to have more control over both the frequency and the content of the e-mails that they receive. “Consumers want more control, so we are recommending our customers set up preference centers,” Cahill said. Just imagine . . . as part of our direct marketing efforts, teams are being created to determine customer preferences. This is the ultimate in letting the customer dictate the marketing that they receive, and demonstrates that pull versus push marketing is becoming more of the norm.

We really like this trend -- and we'll be tracking it for you as it continues to evolve.

Engaging the Customer in Product Design

Question: How many direct marketers does it take to target the right consumer?

Answer: Just a couple of really smart ones that understand how to take advantage of reaching the most appropriate groups in the best way during tough economic times.

Case in point: credit card marketers. American Banker magazine has reported that Citi Cards definitely sees the need to maintain one steady source of income: the "mass affluent" customer who is willing to pay for a credit card rewards program.

The magazine reports that "Terry O'Neill, executive vice president at Citi Cards, said that 80% of affluent and near-affluent consumers (which he said Citi defines as households making $100,000 or more) use social-networking and peer-review sites, such as My Space, Linked In and Flickr, to review products and to get advice on purchasing and financial decisions. He recommends issuers use such sites to invite consumers in various target groups to help test new card products for several months before issuing the cards to the general public." This is a wonderful way to use social marketing to target those who you are most interested in acquiring as customers, and getting their feedback on how you can make your product more appealing to them so that they buy it. Brilliant!

This also brings home the point we made earlier this month in our post regarding Push versus Pull marketing strategies. According to the American Banker article, "Executives also suggested that in order for marketers to break through the clutter and reach this market, they need to become more relevant and move from pushing marketing messages at the customer through traditional advertising methods to listening to customers through online communications." Citi Cards has gotten the point, and as a matter of fact "listens to its mass affluent customers by closely reading social networking communities and blogs about topics related to its rewards programs, as well as by offering online feedback opportunities and convening more traditional focus groups. "

It's great to see how traditional direct marketers are embracing social marketing and making it a part of their customer acquisition programs. By doing so, they are bringing the potential customer into the product development process and allowing them to design the product that is right for them. Citi Cards has shown that it really does make sense to hang out where your prospects like to hang out -- not to sell to them but to enlist their help in creating a more successful product. Not only are they creating more profitable customer relationships, they are building relationships with those who they hope to keep for both the short- and the long-term.

The shift from Push to Pull Marketing

As direct marketers who have quite a bit of experience in developing and executing new customer acquisition campaigns, we've become pretty proficient in the art of "push" advertising. We know how to get those prospects to react to our campaigns. Yes, we can get them to open the envelope (or the e-mail) and respond.

But, that's not enough anymore.

I firmly believe that the only way that we'll be effective marketers in the future (the very near future) is if we become really good at getting our prospects to come to us. We need to become so interesting; our products need to be so great, our story so compelling that prospective buyers will seek us out as they shop for our products/services.

And, apparently, this piece of research from the DMA agrees with me. From a very interesting U Talk Marketing article:

"Published today, the DMA Participation Media Report, sponsored by Experian, explores the consumer’s actual experience of direct marketing using an innovative diary approach.

The report shows that consumers are actively getting involved in the marketing process in an attempt to filter out the information that they need marking a shift from “push” to “pull” marketing.

This increased consumer empowerment is clear when gathering information before making a purchase – the research shows that the majority of consumers prefer to be in control of how and when they gather information, rating talking to the retailer and word of mouth as being the preferred method."

It's pretty clear that consumers will trust their own research (research that they've initiated) much more than they'll trust something sent to them, regardless of how timely the offering may be.

Does this mean that "push" marketing is dead? I don't think so. However, it may be time to strategize about how you can make your prospects come to you.

Perhaps it's time to:

• Revamp your website. Have you thought about incorporating interaction on your site? Is shopping fun? Can prospects easily find what they're looking for?
• Consider social marketing ventures. Hang out where your prospects hang out. Participate. Don't sell. Just by being there, trust me, word about you and your products will get out.
• Think about sponsoring a charitable or sporting event. Only do this, however, if it makes sense for your business. Does your target market participate in a particular event? If so, this type of exposure may make a lot of sense.

We'd love to hear more ideas about ways to get your prospects to seek you out.