Marketing Today

Acxiom Outperforms the Competion

2010-06-18T09:59:00.000-07:00

Marketing success is all about high performance. When you’re selecting mailing and email lists for your campaigns and your clients, you want to be sure you are using the highest performing lists.

In a recent study, the Acxiom InfoBase-X® Consumer List produced a higher percentage of marketable records, eliminated more duplicate data, and more deceased records than Experian, KnowledgeBase Marketing (KBM), Equifax, and infoUSA.

I get great pricing from Acxiom and I do pass on my savings to my clients. Call or email me today for a count and quote and see if the Acxiom file will work in your next marketing campaign. I also work with many other lists vendors so I am sure I can find a list for you!

Marketing List Brokers – Helping you find your target market

2010-05-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

While traditional advertising like magazine ads or billboards can be helpful in introducing your company's offerings to a wide audience, tracking actual results can be difficult. Direct marketing is often an effective way to connect with potential new customers in a measurable manner. Mailing list brokers serve as your guide to this world, providing relevant lists of prospects for your marketing efforts.

Mailing list brokers provide contact information for businesses and people at home and at work. For example, they can help you get a list of businesses or consumers who have purchased products or services similar to yours or who are in your service area.

Targeting your audience
A better way to reach potential customers is to target your search to include the exact traits you want. Many mailing list brokers specialize in what is known as "targeted lists"—they allow you to select from dozens or even hundreds of fields of information to create detailed demographic and lifestyle filters that match the characteristics of your client base.

Since a typical compiled list database features tens of millions of consumers and businesses collected from various public sources such as telephone directories, credit bureaus, and annual reports, these "selects" will let you narrow your search to a more specific audience.

Business-to-business lists can be categorized by type of business (small business, home business, industry), annual revenue and employee size. A consumer list may include selects for buying history, household income, location, and credit rating.

The more category filters you select, the more targeted your list will be. The significant benefit is that filtered mailing lists typically provide the best return on investment (ROI). However, such specific targeting comes at a premium: a targeted list will cost considerably more per name.

Example of targeted list using selectsSay you want to rent a mailing list to offer a product to lawyers. You can work with a broker who's offering a list focused on attorneys, then narrow down the list to include selects such as:

Standard Industrial Classification (SIC code)
Practice areas
Office location
Who the partners/executives are
Number of paralegals

Employee demographics
By targeting a specific subset of business mailing lists, you can use focused marketing strategies based on an advanced understanding of who your potential customers are. While the list might not be as lengthy as one with fewer specifications, it will feature the businesses that match up exactly with the type of customer you want to reach.

How to use your mailing listOnce you determine the selects for your targeted list, how you use it to introduce your company to new customers will depend on your overall budget, the content of your message and the type of marketing collateral you wish to send.

Direct mailing lists
If you want to develop eye-catching collateral to promote your business – 3-dimensional mailings, 4-color brochures, promotional materials – a direct mailing list campaign would be your best option. It is the most commonly recognized for business-to-business and business-to-consumer correspondence. But it is also the most expensive. Make sure you budget for all costs associated with direct mailing – the list itself, the mail piece, postage, fulfillment, and follow-up – before committing to a direct mail list venture. By researching the services that experienced mailing list companies offer, you can learn the best ways to use lists for your next marketing campaign.

E-mail
An e-mail campaign is more affordable and allows a customer to reply to your offer by simply clicking a few links in your e-mail. Unlike direct mail lists, you don't actually receive the names featured on the list. Instead, an e-mail list broker sends out your message to those listed on your behalf and tracks the results. Your costs will depend on whether you will create the e-mail message in-house, or hire a full-service e-mail marketing company. By researching the services that experienced mailing list companies offer, you can learn the best ways to use lists for your next marketing campaign.

5 Ways to Attract Hotter Prospects by Alan Sharpe

2010-04-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

Looking to attract even hotter prospects? Direct marketing and copywriting guru Alan Sharpe talks about ways you can attract hotter targets in direct mail B2B sales lead generation.

In B2B direct mail lead generation, as your volume of leads goes up, your quality goes down, and vice versa. The people in marketing prefer volume. They want the most leads for their dollar. The people in sales – the folks who must follow up on the leads that marketing supplies – want quality. They have no time to waste this quarter chasing down tire kickers and brochure collectors.

One way to keep sales and marketing happy is to write lead generation packages that improve the quality of leads generated. Packages that attract the hottest prospects. Here are some ways to do that with your next campaign.

1. Discuss price. The best prospects are the ones who don’t faint when you talk price. They have the budget to buy what you’re selling. So attract them, and scare away the time-wasters, by mentioning your price.

2. Say “A salesman will call.” This should chop your response rate in half by my reckoning. But the prospects you’ll attract will be the hottest prospects, the ones who don’t mind talking to a salesperson, and actually want to (these people do actually exist!).

3. Ask their age. Just kidding. Maybe. Asking qualifying questions on your reply device or website landing page helps you weed out the people who are not ready to do business with you right now. This can involve asking them their age (if you’re selling life insurance, for example), but it normally involves soliciting the kind of information that tells you how serious a prospect you have.

Think BANT: Budget, Authority, Need and Timeframe. Asking qualifying questions in your lead generation piece helps you attract prospects who can afford your offering, have the authority to buy, need what you are selling and are ready to act within your timeframe.

4. Charge for information. Putting a price, even a token amount, on an information booklet, white paper or demo will soon separate the cream from the milk.

5. Ask for a stamp. Don’t use a postage-paid business reply card or envelope. Make the prospect buy and affix the stamp. The replies you get will be qualified inquiries.

Is Anybody Seeing Your Ads?

2010-03-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

I came across this great article by Janet Attard regarding advertisements. This has some great tips on ad placement and design.

Are you getting the response you hoped for from your advertising? If not, one factor affecting results could be where the ad is located on the page. Furthermore, the same ad in the approximate same page location in print and on a web page will not be equally visible. Here's why.

In printed publications, ads on a right-hand page usually get more visibility (because of the way people turn pages) than ads on left-hand pages. Ads in the center or outer edges of the right-hand page are more visible than those on the inner edge.

Ads near the front pages of a publication and in the back pages get seen more often than ads in the middle. Ads targeted at particular groups of people (computer users, for instance) are more likely to be noticed by potential customers if they appear on the same or opposite page as articles of interest to that group of people (a computer industry column, for instance) or in a publication dedicated to that particular audience.

In electronic media things work differently because people read online media differently. First, there is no left and right hand page. So the page-turning effect (ie, ads on the right catching attention as someone flips through pages) is missing. In fact, studies have shown that what most people look at first is the top left side of a web page. Then they scan across the top couple of lines from left to right.

Usually ads in the center of the page (i.e., in the center of the text people are reading) get more visibility than ads on the right side of the page.

In print, and online, though, the quality of the ad makes a huge difference in visibility and response. Color, text, and type size all come into play. So, a good ad on the right side of the page can out pull a badly designed ad in the center of the page.

Great Article from Melissa Data's Newsletter

2010-01-29T08:16:00.000-08:00

Don’t Call It a Comeback
By Rod DeVar, manager of direct mail, USPS®

Marketers are cost-conscious by nature. But last year’s economic meltdown forced them to look even harder for efficiencies, and it’s a mindset they’ll keep as the market recovers. But through it all, direct mail has been — and will continue to be — a viable, effective marketing tool. Here’s why:

1. It’s a strong acquisition tool. Marketers like paying lower prices to search for new customers online, but they’re often disappointed when these folks don’t stick around. That’s because targeting new acquisitions online is much less precise than sending a mail piece to prospects you know will likely be repeat purchasers.

2. Technology continues to improve. Variable data printing is letting marketers acknowledge customers as individuals. Not only will more marketers take advantage of it, those already using it will get smarter about their applications by using customer data to better track relationships and tailor content as wants and needs change. That’s important, because increased personalization makes direct mail more relevant to the end user.

3. Newspapers are suffering. As newspaper circulation dwindles, it will spur a significant migration to the mail by those marketers (particularly retailers) that need to reach a high number of people in a very targeted, geographic location.

4. Content marketing is on the rise. Transpromotion and custom publishing are delivering marketing messages in more personal and relevant ways, with information woven right in the content — a plus for both marketers and recipients. Custom publishing continues strong growth because consumers like the quality, and with transpromotion the senders of statements and bills can include marketing messages that connect with how the customer is using their services.

5. Clean lists are eco-friendly. As marketers continue to address list hygiene, they’ll be mailing more efficiently. Not only will that deliver a better return, it also is good for the planet, because the number of wasteful pieces will decline.

6. Mail will be even easier to track. More marketers will begin using the Intelligent Mail® barcode, a new Postal Service™ barcode used to sort and track letters and flats. With it, they’ll be receiving more detailed information than ever on how and when their direct mail is being delivered, as well as how customers are responding.

Before you kick off your 2010 efforts, know this: The recession has created new norms for the marketing realm. Many tried-and-true formulas for evaluating media effectiveness and accountability won’t measure up to your heightened need to accomplish stronger results for less investment. But direct mail will continue to perform.

---Source: Deliver Magazine Dec. 2009 issue (www.delivermagazine.com).
Rod DeVar is manager of direct mail at the USPS.

Why New Move Mailing Lists Work: Part 1

2009-11-17T13:52:00.000-08:00

One of the major mailing list categories is Change-of-Address (CHADS) or "New Move" lists. There are currently over 900 New Move lists on the marketplace - and each one has a number of mailers using the list. In the United States, close to 25% of the households move every year.

Approximately 43 million people move every year.

When we examine "why" New Move lists work - several things are obvious:

A New Location Requires New Stuff.

When I move, I am faced with new needs. My curtains and rugs no longer fit. I may need a new bank loan or even a new pool service. I need a wide variety of goods and services for my new location.

I may have left my parents' home - and moved into the first place of my own. If that's the case, I need just about everything (there's even a good chance Mom and Dad have kept my bedroom furniture and converted my old bedroom into a guest room).

With 50% of Americans getting divorced, there are a plethora of people starting over. One partner usually gets to keep most of the "stuff" - the other has to start from scratch. Often the newly divided couple have to scale down economically - so the king size bed doesn't work for either person.

If I've received a job promotion and I'm moving "up" - I may no longer want my chain-store living room, dining room or bedroom furniture. While I'm trading in my Honda for a Lexus, I'm also trading in my stainless steel cutlery for silver plate.

If I moved because of a marriage or new child I will certainly want all kinds of "stuff" for my new household or for the child's nursery. And, with my new responsibilities I will probably also feel a need for insurance, and will probably want, and need, additional credit cards to handle my new expenses.

Long Distance Moves Translate To A New Persona.

When you relocate over a long distance you truly leave your old "life" behind. You leave your old friends and neighbors, your old hangouts, you leave your old lifestyle. Now that you're in a new house, or apartment, in a different part of the country - you want to surround yourself with new "stuff" that reflects your new self-image. You're no longer your parent's child, your spouse's partner, or the person who used to live on Main Street. You're a new person and you not only want new stuff - you want different stuff.

If, all of your life you've lived in New York surrounded by earth tones, now that you've relocated to Colorado you're throwing away your browns and ochre, and replacing them with greens and blues. If you just moved near the water you're a prospect for swimwear and beach totes. Move to Texas, and before you know it, you're strutting around in boots. If you move to a golfing area, your entire wardrobe changes.

You're a new you - and you want to surround yourself with things that remind you of that and reflect your new persona. This is a time of reevaluation of your personal preferences, and the exploration of new lifestyle options. The oak table is gone - glass and chrome are in. The wall-to-wall carpet is gone -polished hard wood with area rugs is in. The suits and ties are gone - khakis are in.Long distance moves force you to look at yourself - and your "stuff.” You look at that oak table and ask, "do I really want to move this table 1,300 miles.” There's a good chance the answer is "no" - you're moving on to a new life.

The long distance move also translates to a new barber, grocery store, hairdresser, dentist, optician, bank - you name it. If it's a product or service you use - you need a new supplier.

Most People Who Profitably Mail New Move Lists Are NOT Selling New Stuff Or Selling Products Or Services That Help Reflect Your New Self-Image.

Most new moves are made within the same ZIP Code™. The people that are moving keep the same job at the same company, they continue to shop at the same stores, their kids attend the same schools, they belong to the same clubs, and they keep their same friends (although they do change neighbors).

So, why are these people responsive to direct mail offers? What makes these local New Move names "work?” In order to understand why, you must take one step backwards. It's NOT the fact that the person has just moved - it's the REASON BEHIND WHY THEY MOVED.

The best way to look at this is to examine who is profitably mailing New Move lists. The most significant user categories are magazines, music clubs and credit card or financial solicitations.

Between these three categories a BILLION New Move names are mailed annually. That's a lot of mail. That translates to over $400,000,000 in annual direct mail expense for lists, computerization, printing, mailing and postage. That's over a million dollars a day.

Why do New Move names respond?

The answer lies in the understanding of the reasons that precipitated the new-move in the subconscious psychological factors at work. The consumer, who receives and responds to the direct mail, is generally unaware of these factors.

The factors that create a new move are also the variables of life stress. These are the epochs of life. They include leaving home, graduation, co-habitation, marriage, divorce, having a child, empty nest, new job or promotion, loss of job, divorce, sickness or widowhood, newfound wealth or personal economic downturn, etc. These are the most stressful events of our lives.

Many of these changes symbolize increased autonomy and experimentation. Perhaps for the first time the individual can decide on his own, without the approval or influence of others. This is expressed in making decisions to subscribe to magazines of your liking, or signing up for a music club that offers your personal kind of music, or accepting a credit card solicitation for your own card. All of these actions are an expression of your freedom and independence, a confirmation of your right to make decisions for yourself, a fulfillment of your personal yearnings and desires.

These life changes often compel an individual to gain a semblance of control by deciding what to receive and what to reject.

Stay tuned for Part II—and the final four reasons why New Movers lists work

Source: Marketing Advisor, by David Bancroft Avrick, president of Avrick Direct, Inc.

Postcards Save you Money!

2009-09-21T10:53:00.000-07:00

On May 11th our postage rates rose again. That means more costs for your mailing, more expenses that will cut into your ROI and more money out of your already shrinking budgets. What does that mean for marketers like you? Yep, once again you will need to turn to your trusty Marketing Medical Bag for your postcard mailings. Postage is going up two cents for postcards as well as for First-Class™ mailings. Now is the time to begin looking at your lead generation lists, your past offers, renew your copy and then of course, run your names through CASS and NCOALink® processing to ensure that they get the new Intelligent Mail® barcode for better delivery and tracking services.

Why should you dust off the trusty postcard? Because they work, that's why.Postcards take your business or services and products to a new level. You can do a postcard from your creative brief to the mailbox in just days. Since you can do a relatively simple postcard with some bells and some loud whistles about you and your company, this is the way to go in these trying economic times. Attention-grabbing postcards offer you tremendous marketing chances and opportunities to small and large business marketers, Just like you!

Last time I checked, there were approximately 25,000 direct mail response lists and approximately 50,000 compiled lists currently on the market. Among all of these lists, you’ll find hundreds that work for your product or service.Actually, you likely won’t find them. Locating the best names for your mailing is complicated and best left to an experienced list broker. A list broker is a specialist who researches and recommends lists for you, and manages all the paperwork and other details of acquiring the list.

Marketing List Brokers

2009-08-31T12:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a great article about list brokers. You do need one :)
http://mailinglists-info.com/direct-mail-list-brokers/

Finding The Right Mailing List For Your Business

2009-08-17T15:41:00.000-07:00

I read this article today and found it very informative. Enjoy!

http://www.melissadata.com/enews/listadvisor/articles/0730/3.htm

Attention Ad Agencies/List Resellers

2009-08-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

I am running a special offer for September ONLY. If you purchase $1,000 in lists within the month of September, I will send you a FREE Dell Mini. If you purchase $500 in lists within the month of September, I will send you a $100 Amazon gift card.

Great Testimonial from one of my clients

2009-07-21T22:22:00.000-07:00

"The list Sharon helped me find in early 2009 for my refinance mail campaign was right on! To give you an idea - my net revenue from only three mailings to about 300 people each was excellent at $18,591.51 with a total marketing cost of only $1710.18. That's what I call a targeted list!"

Bill Zimmerman

Branch Manager, Mortgage Consultant

Summit Mortgage Corporation

http://www.foridahorealtors.com/

http://www.zimmermanloans.com/

208-939-0002

NCOA - Beware

2009-07-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

I recently had a client who wanted to clean up her mailing list of approximately 500 clients. This was my first NCOA order. We both learned a lot from it.

#1) Just because the address that you have comes back through the National Change of Address file that the postal service updates, does not mean that your client is still at that address.

#2) Some of your clients may move without filling out a forwarding address card. If this happens, the postal service will not know and not catch it.

My client put her file of approximately 500 clients through the National Change of Address file to avoid costly postage and printing costs on returned mail. The file had 32 address updates which did save some money but the cost of processing is $75.00. She ended up having approximately 45 returns even though these addresses came back as valid through the National Change of Address file.

This was definitely not cost effective for my client since the printing and postage of the 45 returns cost her approximately $80.00 in addition to the $75.00 processing fee and since the process only caught 35 records and changed them, it really only saved her about $65.00.

I would say in conclusion that it would not be worth the money unless you have a client file of around 2,000 or more since the bigger the file, the more returns you will get and the more records that may be matched and changed.

If you have any questions about the National Change of Address file or just want to learn more, contact me.

The New Arrival

2009-07-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

On 7/7/09 our new grandson arrived. He is 8 pounds, 9 ounces and 21 inches long. He has a full head of hair and is oh so cute. I am really looking forward to receiving offers from local companies now. Hopefully I see some soon.

Grandparents are a great target market. They are willing and able to spend more than the parents in most cases. Photographers would make a killing marketing to them since I know personally that I want lots and lots of pictures. I can't wait to spoil little Christopher!

Get creative in your marketing by thinking of different niches out there that can use your goods and services.

The 10 Natural Marketing Advantages of Small Business

2009-06-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

Large organizations are beginning to wrestle with the reality that their markets want something more personal, more honest and real, from the companies they buy products and services from. It's obvious that small businesses possess natural advantages in this arena, so the rush is on to think small.

Having a brain freeze? Don’t stress. John Jantsch has a top ten list to guide you. Acting like a small business, it seems, is the latest killer innovation. When it comes to marketing, small businesses possess natural advantages over their much larger competitors.

So, the question is, are you leveraging your natural advantages?Here's a look at the list.

1. Focus - In order to survive, most small businesses must adopt a narrow market focus. In doing so, they can develop a premium reputation for serving that narrow market.

2. Reach - Small business owners are so close to their markets they can experience what their market experiences. They can deliver CEO level experience to any size client who can connect with a client better than a 25 year veteran and author of two books on the industry or two twenty something whiz kids from McKenzie?

3. Nurture - Small businesses can grow with customer needs. Often, they can create products and services that address highly personalized requests at a moments notice.

4. Surprise - The best small businesses understand the value of surprising their clients from time to time. A simple interrupt in the system can become a system for a small business.

5. Transform - Small businesses can obtain new data from a market, or even a client or two, and dramatically change their business model to align with a new opportunity.

6. Partner - Smart small businesses create networks of strategic partners and address the needs of their clients with the best and brightest every time.

7. Automate - The proper use of technology allows small businesses to put up big shop follow-up, service and prospecting without the overhead. Plus, they can outsource the boring work.

8. Educate - Lacking big ad budget, small businesses must educate their prospects before they can make any ground selling them. This trust building process makes selling unnecessary and delivers the ideal client relationships.

9. Meaning - Small business is personal. Markets are hungry for businesses that allow them to connect to something beyond the products and services. Small businesses can deliver a story that has meaning.

10. Play - Why does someone start a business anyway - To get more life, to develop a passion, to get free? It doesn't really matter that freedom comes with an 80-hour work week. Passion and purpose are sexy and contagious.Remember: Think Big, Act Small!

Customer Service

2009-06-23T08:12:00.001-07:00

I unfortunately ordered a free trial of a business product to see if it would help me. What a nightmare. I cancelled during the free trial but I was still charged. The company refused to give me a refund because it is their policy not to refund. I told them I cancelled on time and they asked me for a cancellation number. I told them that I was not given one. Let me mention that I had to call three days in a row because they could not find my account in their system and there were some speaking/understanding challenges. I was told that without the cancellation number, I was not going to get a refund. Right away I thought SCAM! No reputable business has a no refunds, no exceptions policy. Do right by your customers and send them special offers and you will have them for life!

Anyone else experience these types of challenges?

Six Ways to Increase Customer Loyalty

2009-06-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

The saying, “nothing is free” isn’t necessarily true. Especially when you’re talking about added value services you can offer your client. These services help increase customer loyalty, and your most important client is your current client. Keeping them happy reduces your recruitment and marketing costs and increases the stability of your business.

Try these six tips and keep your customers coming back for more.

1. Offer alternative forms of payment. Add value for your customers by providing them several different options when paying. Not everyone has a credit card or a PayPal account. Think about your business processes from your customer’s perspective and you’ll quickly realize the added value they receive.

2. Offer a gift card, loyalty card, or prepaid card program. A more convenient alternative to gift certificates for your customers, gift card programs also help you build brand awareness. Loyalty card programs reward customers for purchases to keep them coming back.

3. Send your clients quarterly progress reports, and outline what you’ve accomplished together as a team. Then show them how you can help them get where they want to go next.

4. Give away free samples of your products or products of local retailers. For example a B&B with a great jam can give away free samples.

5. Client appreciation night. Give your client a movie night on you. Send movies and popcorn with a note letting them know how much you appreciate their business.

6. Celebrate some of the more unusual holidays during the year and give small inexpensive gifts – e.g. National Popcorn Day – give out popcorn (can you tell I like popcorn!).

Offer annual meetings to your clients to discuss business at no charge - review progress and goals together for the next year.

Are You Missing Out on Great Marketing Opportunities?

2009-06-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

My daughter Crystal just graduated in May. What a blast we had! Being in marketing, I notice what mail comes to my home and usually read all offers. What I noticed this year was the lack of mail I received. I did receive some photographer mailings in the beginning of Crystal’s Senior year but no multi-mailings and no offers, just informational based. I didn’t receive any offers from other photographers after September.
Let’s take her Senior Prom. I didn’t get one florist offer! I was frantically trying to find a florist so that we could buy a boutonniere for her date. About 1 week prior to the prom, Crystal came home with a postcard that was left on her vehicle from a young girl who started her own floral arrangement business out of her home. She was offering 10% off of any corsage or boutonniere. I could not wait to order from her so that I could meet her. What a great idea! She looked up the prom dates at the local high schools and went to the parking lots and put her postcard on every vehicle. Her response rate was HUGE! Her postcard was simple but well done. She had a phone and email contact on there with beautiful pictures of the corsages and boutonnieres. Since I had not heard from any other florists, I called her. I didn’t shop around to see if her price was the lowest, I just ordered because of convenience. The only error she did make was not collecting the name and addresses of her clients. Without this she will most likely not get repeat business. I had to give her the postcard to receive my discount so I don't even have her contact information any longer.
How about graduation? I was surprised that I didn’t receive any mailings from photographers or florists around this time. I was looking for a bouquet to give to Crystal on her graduation night and really had no option but to run to WalMart and get something because honestly with the craziness of planning her graduation party, I forgot about the flowers until the last minute. Another thing I forgot about was pictures. We were running around the house getting ready and Crystal had to leave early which left no time for pictures. It would have been great if the photographer who took Crystal’s senior pictures had contacted me to see if I wanted some graduation pictures done! He did such a great job on her Senior pictures! She had her cap and gown about 2 weeks prior to the graduation so we could have done them ahead of time. So this now leads me to what about the party planners? What an awesome investment that would have been to have someone plan her graduation party, get decorations, arrange a photographer etc. I would have had more enjoyment out of this process.
I have one more daughter in high school and she will be graduating in 2012. Things will be different next time around and hopefully I see some great offers! This is a lesson to us all to try to think out of the box and keep in touch with your customers regularly!