Have You Forgotten About the Value of Direct Mail?

The Challenge: All businesses want to engage in sophisticated multichannel marketing, but many are forgetting about the power of direct mail as a vital element of their media mix.

Multichannel Integration: Online And Off
As we reported earlier this year, a recent Direct Marketing Association study found that 93% of marketers using multiple channels indicated they have attempted to integrate their messaging, but only 27.4% of these said their efforts are ‘effective’...”

Experienced marketers know that relevance means sending the right message to the right person at the right time. But they neglect a key aspect: that message must be delivered per that individual's media preferences.

According to a recent Epsilon study, "Consumers use and trust certain communications channels more than others”. While the general point may not be surprising, at least one detail will be a surprise to a number of marketers: 50% of U.S. consumers prefer direct mail to email.

Out With The Old?
Data-driven marketers shouldn’t ignore the evidence: consumers want direct mail to be part of their multichannel mix. Many common objections to this channel among “digital-only” marketers are at odds with the evidence:

Consumers Prefer Mail
Epsilon's study found that, "despite direct mail's reputation for being 'old school' or expensive, it is the top choice of U.S. and Canadian consumers for the receipt of brand communications in almost every category, ranging from 'health to household products, to household services, insurance and financial services.'"

Young Consumers Prefer Mail
Nor is this true only for technophobes: Epsilon found that "the preference for direct mail also extends to the 18-24 year old demographic."

KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR MARKETERS

→ Deliver Content Per Consumers' Media Preferences
Search and social media allow us to send the right message to the right person at the right time, but the right channel isn't always online.

→ Email is not Always the Most Cost-Effective Channel
Extensive testing for clients by our company determined that while the Cost per Piece is clearly much higher for Direct Mail than Email, the yield from direct mail efforts are often far greater, i.e., sales per 1000 names. Therefore, total sales from direct mail are often significantly higher than email.

→ Seriously Consider Direct Mail As Part of Your Multichannel Mix
Forward-thinking marketers should evaluate the potential value of direct mail as a component of their multichannel mix. It may not be effective for all businesses, but it just might be right for yours.

Instagram: 4 Lessons on Optimizing for Engagement

The Challenge: Instagram's billion-dollar exit was not an anomaly. It was a lesson about the value of “engagement” that every marketer must heed.

Since the advent of social media advertising on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms, "engagement" has become a mantra for marketers. But despite the media buzz, many businesses remain hesitant to embrace the new reality.

Search marketing is clear: optimize ad spend for conversions (i.e., revenue). But what is the value of "engagements" and "likes"?

Then, Facebook put a value on engagement: $1 billion. That was the price they paid for photo-sharing site Instagram: a company with no revenue―and very impressive engagement metrics.

Google and Facebook introduced AdWords and "Sponsored Stories" years after launching their sites. They began by building customer loyalty and engagement, and found their revenue streams later. With 30 million users in only two years, Instagram is on the same path.

Speaking with Bloomberg, Instagram VC Chris Sacca identified two keys to the site's success:

1) High Percentage of Engagement
According to Sacca, a high percentage of photos shared on Instagram lead to user engagement, most often in the form of "likes." That promise of feedback brings users back to the site, repeatedly.

2) The "Dopamine Effect"
"That engagement creates the dopamine effect that leaves users feeling fantastic and coming back for more," Sacca told Bloomberg. Photo sharing without engagement won't lead to the dopamine effect―though it might lead to a narcoleptic one.

4 Imperatives for Engagement-Optimized Marketing

1. Build Mechanisms for Engagement
Give your users a way to share, tweet, like, or "+1" your content. You can't optimize for engagement if you don't facilitate it.

2. Create Engaging Content
If you want customers to engage your brand, you need to produce a significant volume of high-quality content. Creating that content is a business-critical function; staff and budget for it accordingly.

3. Reward Customer Evangelists
The journey to a million user engagements begins with one "like." Early evangelists are among your most important customers. Target them with custom messaging and special offers―and keep them engaged.

4. Don't Stifle Engagement by Chasing Short-Term Revenue
When customers start engaging your content, build on that momentum. Don't cut it off with premature "asks." The easiest way to kill engagement is by selling.

Social Media: 3 Disaster Planning Tips

The Challenge:  Domino's Pizza. GoDaddy. Chrysler. Mattel. The Gap. Nestle. And the list goes on. Some of the biggest brands have suddenly found themselves entangled in social media crises that no one could have predicted ... but that we all must now plan for.

Social Media Crises on the Rise
These crises were sparked by thoughtless, tactless, and/or malicious social media postings. Whether the postings were true or false, whether they originated from within or outside the company, they eventually became big mainstream news in both traditional and interactive media.

The risk of instant, devastating damage to any brand, large or small, is now higher than ever ... and the trend is only accelerating.

In this environment, the question arises: Should your enterprise simply wait for a disaster to happen?

The obvious, imperative, and increasingly impossible-to-ignore answer is "No."

4 Takeaways for Marketers:

Here are four best practices you can implement right now, before the storm hits, that will reduce the chances of your enterprise being "blindsided" by a social media disaster:

Best Practice #1: Identify the Communication Channels That Matter Most. 
You must know ahead of time where and how your current customers, prospects, and advocates now communicate about you and your brand. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are likely environments, but certainly not the only ones to consider. Decide who within your organization will be responsible for handling messaging in each of those channels during a crisis. Do this now.

Best Practice #2: Monitor Social Media References to Your Brand. 
Two essential tools for keeping tabs on what people are saying about your company, its brands, and its promotions are Google Alerts and Twitter's search tool. Other tools will be found in specific on-line environments. If you're not now monitoring for daily, or even hourly, intelligence on what is happening in interactive media and how it affects your enterprise, start.

Best Practice #3: Create a Virtual Customer Council.
When a crisis hits, you will have minutes or hours -- not days or weeks -- to hone your message and respond. When you do, be sure to take advantage of existing online relationships with your best customers. Identify your "top ten" (or twenty, or however many) online advocates who are satisfied customers. When the storm descends, take their counsel and get their feedback before you make any major decisions about how to respond to the crisis. Ask for their help in addressing false or malicious communications about your brand.

Best Practice #4: Of course, once the storm does hit, you must BE ACCOUNTABLE for problems that actually exist, and fix them.