One of my clients is focused heavily on e-mailing his customers.  However, it is only part of the equation.  Consumers are increasingly online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Yes, they are still checking e-mails but they are also on Facebook, Twitter and blogs. 

It used to be that the question was direct mail or e-mail?  Now the question is not what channel to use but rather which channels to leverage.  The direct marketing strategy needs to consider traditional direct channels, such as e-mail and direct mail, as well as social networking sites.  The need for integration of branding and messaging has become even more important as consumers have a multitude of ways to learn about your company and its products and services. 

The other challenge with the plethora of channels that have evolved is that consumers are bombarded with information.  Some are abandoning their e-mail accounts because they are overwhelmed by their inboxes.  Others ignore their inboxes in favor of communication channels they control.  I don’t bother sending my sister e-mails anymore because they disappear into the black hole that is her inbox.  However, she will respond instantaneously to a text message and will e-mail me on occasion, when it is the best channel for her to communicate with me.   

As marketers, we need to go where our customers are and offer them relevant and honest information.

Thursday’s Wall Street Journal had a quote from Carol Bartz, the CEO of Yahoo, “Are we leading up to “I’m both too old and too stupid to know what the Internet is’?”  Her remark was in response to a question about her experience but it made me think about a potential generational gap in Internet usage. 

At a book club meeting almost a year ago, several members asked for a description of Twitter, as if it was a foreign country or new-fangled religion they had heard about.  One member provided an excellent summary based on his usage of the site but several were left trying to get their heads around why anyone in their right mind would use Twitter.   Once again Twitter came up during a recent book club meeting.  No one new had tried out the service in the 10 months since our last discussion.  It made me wonder if the technological gap is not just rich versus poor but also young versus old.  As the remark by Carol Bartz indicates, there is a general perception that the Internet is a young person’s game.  High profile anecdotes have reinforced that assumption.  According to a July 2008 Frank Rich Op Ed piece in the New York Times, John McCain doesn’t know how to use a computer.

For marketers, this represents a challenge and an opportunity.  To me, it is further proof that we need to develop integrated campaigns with both online and offline channels for outbound communication and inbound response.  You cannot assume that everyone will be on the Internet 24/7.  Broadcast media, print ads, direct mail, etc. can play an important role in reaching an older audience that may not be on the Internet as frequently and they reinforce your message to those who are active on the Internet.  A recent report found that displaying a URL within a  Yellow Pages print ad drove an increase in online leads.  Of course, you should measure the interaction of online and offline behavior to see what drives the most responses and to optimize future campaigns.

A client asked me how her campaigns compared to industry standards. It is a common question and there are many resources available. The DMA compiles statistics and reports on response rates. Most recently they published the DMA 2007 Response Rate Trends Report. MarketingSherpa produces reports such as the 2009 E-Mail Marketing Benchmark Guide. Then, of course, there are websites offering benchmark rates for e-mails such as www.bronto.com.

Just because there are resources available does not necessarily mean that you should use them. Finding the right benchmark rate requires finding comparable campaigns. That means looking for rates based on campaigns having the same:
1. target (i.e., business or consumer)
2. channel (e.g., direct mail, print ad, web banner, e-mail)
3. industry (e.g., retail, financial services)
4. message/offer (e.g., sales)

Even if you find rates for campaigns that meet all of those conditions, how can you be sure that the campaigns are truly comparable? As noted in a recent Molecular blog post, you do not always know the context of the numbers.

The question of industry standards can also obscure another great resource, your own past campaigns. Again, you need to consider the factors above, but these will also provide a benchmark against which you can measure the success of current campaigns.

Limeduck sent me this excellent comic strip about direct mail and targeted marketing.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

This is a blog about marketing analytics.  I am a direct marketing professional who loves marketing, strategy and analysis and I welcome your thoughts and feedback on these topics as well.

First, let me tell you a little more about me.  At a dinner several years ago, a client announced to my colleagues that he knew how to make me smile.  He simply had to say that he had data.  It is very true; data makes me happy.  I love analyzing data because it can answer business questions and provide insight into marketing challenges.  At the end of the day, your recommendations are grounded by data. 

That is one of the reasons that I work in direct marketing.  There are lots of data elements that can be analyzed and almost endless possibilities.  For example, you can create models for targeting, conduct A/B testing, analyze response rates and calculate ROI (return on investment) by customer segments. 

This blog will discuss current trends in marketing analytics, various techniques and the field more generally.