Why Is It So Hard to Get a Good Marketing ROI?

Buyer Personas

Michael stood in front of the screen – palms sweaty and dreading the result – only to stare in shock at the number in the email.  Just two measly sales… after all the cash he’d poured into this one marketing effort.

“How could I be so wrong? Will anyone trust me again?”  If you’ve ever felt the anxiety bleeding through your team after a campaign like this, you’re not alone.

And fortunately, this nationwide homebuilder learned the big reason why they (and so many others) flounder so miserably with their marketing.

Knowing your audience is the key.

It seems this simple idea is pounded into us from every angle.

Companies “think” they understand.

They listen to the experts and read the articles.  Yet when they send out offers to people, it’s obvious they really don’t know their audience.  We hear about lookalike audiences, buyer personas and modeled propensities.  It’s a great idea: reach your best prospects – the ones most like your best existing customers.  And if it’s done right…

Michael decided on a short consultation and to try our data. He was a little cautious though, probably even a bit skeptical.  “Let’s aim for 4 sales.”

When he got 12 sales and made $13.64 on every dollar he spent, Michael became a believer.

Knowing your audience is just this powerful.

And without a doubt, it’s the first step to make your marketing efforts effective in 2018.

How does it work?  You start by sending a spreadsheet or list of your current customers. Maybe all you have is just their names and addresses.  Likely there’s quite a bit of information on your customers. (In the sample below, we found data on 85% of our client’s customers.)

Sure, quite a few data companies could tell you the marital status, number of kids and simple demographics on your customers.  But what about their political preference? Their hobbies? The way they connect to the internet? Their health, income, vehicles, even how they use their credit cards?  (Obviously, due to privacy we can’t learn some of these things directly.)

If you analyze dozens of factors like these – with your best customers – you’ll start to see amazing trends.  You can even see why they buy, and when.  More than this, what if you could search through 250 million people, using these same factors?

You could find a CROWD of people with the SAME motives and timing.

Imagine what this can do for your sales and profits.

In the sample report below, notice these prospects are labeled “Best performers.” And there are 1.3 million of them.

 

Buyer Personas Report

Focus your best marketing efforts on these people.

And of course, this number could be narrowed down even further – even more targeted.  For example, by using pre-defined propensity models, you can learn even more about people and how likely they are to behave like your existing customers.

Want to reach more people? No problem. There are 9.4 million “Undecided prospects.”  People where some of the factors match, but they are less likely to buy than the “Best” ones.  You could target them with a different kind of offer.

This is what an augmented lookalike report can do for you.

How do you feel about this? How do you get to know your audience?  Want to get to know your audience like this?

Pick up the phone and call us.

We’re going to help some select companies exceed their marketing goals in 2018. Are you in?

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Direct Mail is Still an Essential Part of any Marketing Strategy

It would be easy to disregard the power of printed materials in a world on the verge of complete digitization. In terms of acting like consumers, there has been an obvious shift to the speed, efficiency and ultimate accessibility to our favorite products, brands and services via the Internet.

In fact, any modern marketing strategy is almost obligated to allocate a significant amount of resources to digital efforts: designing a sleek, user-friendly website, devising email campaigns and pushing social media to increase overall presence.

The immense proliferation of technology in the last few years would suggest that any need for a printed, direct mail strategy has been negated. However, in the pursuit of high-performance marketing, this is still a hugely valuable asset that when combined with powerful big-data insights, can bolster your overall strategy and ultimately boost sales.

Print’s dead, though, right?

Not only is direct mail still a viable marketing tactic, it could actually provide your company with an opportunity to stand out amidst all of the competition we now find online. While it shouldn’t be your company’s sole tool, it can act in a complementary role in terms of accessing your customers at the right time with a relevant message. While digitization has forced the newspaper and magazine industries to downsize and adapt, companies are still finding benefits from mailing their customers directly.

Why? For several reasons. First of all, it can be your company’s personal touch.

Mobile data is giving marketers better insights into what consumers are searching for, what they’re trying to purchase and when. This is critical in terms of designing targeted approaches to ensure consumers are actually benefiting from your marketing. However, it’s easy to lose any kind of personalization when everything is automated. With more complete and accurate mailing lists–informed by big-data–direct mail is still the standard for reaching out to customers with a personal touch.

We still want very real things in our hands, which is something totally lost in email inboxes.

The flexibility of direct mail allows you to create something that can reach into consumer psyches more deeply than well-crafted emails. Something that is attention grabbing, boosted by rich visuals (as opposed to lengthy text on a screen), with a simple progression that directs the customer to follow your desired call to action, can propel consumers to either act or at least take notice.

Keys for an effective direct mailing strategy, in terms of the actual materials being sent (according to the Data & Marketing Association):

Be bold.
We have short attention spans. Marketing that cuts through the clutter with attention-getting graphics and copy more apt to gain and hold that attention.

Visuals rule.
In fact, the brain processes visuals exponentially faster than the time it takes the brain to decode text. Well used imagery can quickly get your piece noticed, and your message across.

Keep it simple.
Direct mail that creates a simple decision path with limited copy and explanation always tests better.

Furthermore, in an industry that finds immense value in data, direct mail can be directly measurable.

The United States Postal Service is an integral part of our country’s overall mailing industry. In fact, because it can deliver mail to every address (Every Door Direct Mail), companies like UPS and FedEx often piggyback off of its services. This is important because the USPS is able to constantly measure how much mail is coming and going, what kind of mail is being sent, and even whether or not people are reading their mail.

The United States Postal Service almost does the work for marketing researchers.

A large part of this is accomplished by the Household Diary Study (HDS), a survey that’s been conducted by the USPS since 1987. The metrics from this survey can provide insight to companies trying to make the most of their direct mail efforts. These metrics include total mail sent and received by households based on different demographics ranging from the age and size of households, education and income levels, and access to the Internet. According to this survey, in 2016 advertising mail represented 62 percent of all mail sent and received by households (about 79 billion pieces of mail). The culmination of this data, paired with the insights of mobile and big-data , make it possible for your company to appropriately and accurately determine how best to approach consumers.

Advertising Mail Received by Income and Education (Pieces per Household per Week)

Advertising Mail Received by Income and Age (Pieces per Household per Week)

“73 percent of households either read or scan advertising mail received”

Ok, but what about the cost?

In terms of how cost-effective direct mail can be, it depends on how you decide to approach it. It can be expensive, especially if you’re sending out large catalogs chalk full of visuals and designs that require professional work such as copywriters, photographers, designers and printers. Opting for First Class mail (which means reaching your customers faster) can also bump the price up, but because of how flexible direct mail can be in general, it’s a cost-effective strategy that can be tailor made to fit any budget.

Contact us to learn more about how Direct Mail marketing can boost your prospecting.

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The Shocking Truth About Your Marketing Channel

Many people still believe you only need one marketing channel – and they couldn’t be more wrong. For example, malls are lined with countless businesses. And most of these shops rely solely on one thing: a crowded mall area to bring people inside to buy.

Analyst Jan Kniffen says one-third of all the big malls in America will close their doors over the next few years. Nearly two-thirds of the remaining malls will struggle.

Industry veteran John Hazen asked his peers at a recent conference: “Is anyone not seeing large traffic declines?”

Why Single Channel Marketing Is Killing You

Consider this scenario: Brandon McDonald, of Nashville, Tennessee, walks into a local store. Brandon is excited about the Nikon digital camera he’s planning to buy and have in his hands today. Yet when he gets into the store, he decides to scan and check the price with an app on his phone. An online company is selling the same camera for less than what the store is now offering. Brandon decides to buy online and wait for his camera to arrive.

Why Selling Online Doesn’t Fix This Problem Either

Remember, Brandon first wanted to buy from the local store. Like so many customers, he loves to hold the camera in his hands–instant gratification. If only the store knew what Brandon wanted. It would have been win-win for Brandon and the store.

This problem doesn’t just plague retail stores and physical products.

The Secret To One Bank’s Success

One regional bank depended almost entirely on people walking into the bank and asking for a loan.

Yes, they have a website. But only about 1% of web visitors were submitting a loan request. The bank decided to look at data for their mobile and online visitors–surprise! They could recover the business of a significant number of people who abandoned the bank’s online loan form. Sales of current-account and personal loan products shot up 25%.

This is just one way that mobile insights are changing the face of marketing. And moving the whole world toward multi- and omnichannel marketing.

Your Customers Expect Multi & Omnichannel Marketing

As you can see, marketing to people through multiple channels or methods increases your ability to sell and profit. Omnichannel marketing means tying these methods or channels (apps, digital tools or shopping venues) together in an easy-to-use, consistent way for even more profit. More and more, customers are expecting this kind of buying experience. They want to hop on their phone or device and see exactly what inventory you have available. Or they want to shop online and pick products up at your local store.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Rice University studied 46,000 shoppers for a 14-month period.

Only 7% shopped online exclusively. And 20% visited stores without using any other apps or venues. A whopping 73% used multiple channels in their shopping journey. These multi/omnichannel shoppers absolutely love touchpoints – in all sorts of combinations and locations. Touchpoints like offers to compare prices and download coupons.

In fact, they are avid users of all sorts of mobile tools such as interactive catalogs and price checkers. They bought online and picked up at the store. They bought at the store and got their products shipped.

Multi-channel and Omnichannel Shoppers Are More Valuable

And those who used multiple channels spent 4% more in the store and 10% more online than the single-channel folks. In fact, those who used 4 or more channels spent 9% more in-store than the one-channel shoppers. And those who used apps to research online first? They spent 13% more in-store. Six months after these shoppers had their first omnichannel experience, they were shopping 23% more. And they were far more likely to recommend their chosen brand to friends and family.

The “Killer App”

No wonder many are calling omnichannel marketing the “killer app” – because it’s saving the future of so many businesses. Despite the bleak future of single-channel businesses, you now know the secret that empowers you to reach your customers at the right time, with the right message. It’s why the most successful marketing campaigns today are omnichannel campaigns. It’s how you give your customers what they really want.

How will you use omnichannel marketing?

Contact us to learn more about how multi-channel & omnichannel marketing can improve your prospect marketing.

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