At the recent Seattle Direct Marketing Association education and networking event author Ron Jacobs presented about rethinking integrated marketing communications. Jacobs is an author and educator with more than 30 years working in multi-channel direct, database and digital marketing.
The presentation could have filled an entire semester’s worth of studies for a direct marketing student, as the topic is so large and dynamic in today’s changing media landscape. For those willing to spend a few more minutes, hours, or days studying the topics, free downloads are available at Jacobs’ web site: http://www.jacobsclevenger.com/resources/speeches.php.
What does Jacobs say multi-channel direct marketers need to look out for, and how can we address the challenges?
The Pitfalls:
Think of the old marketing funnel as a new marketing spiral.
We should no longer dump in direct marketing prospects by the pound at the top of the funnel, waiting to see what falls out the bottom. Instead, we must select our prospects carefully and then circle them with messages, experiences, and conversations, getting closer and more familiar with each swipe.
The suggested spiral process is 1) Seek affinity, 2) Have dialogue, 3) Involvement, 4) Engagement, 5) Interaction- ie. you are now my customer.
Now, the trick will be, learning the best way to get all this integrating in line, and the payoff done fast.
The presentation could have filled an entire semester’s worth of studies for a direct marketing student, as the topic is so large and dynamic in today’s changing media landscape. For those willing to spend a few more minutes, hours, or days studying the topics, free downloads are available at Jacobs’ web site: http://www.jacobsclevenger.com/resources/speeches.php.
What does Jacobs say multi-channel direct marketers need to look out for, and how can we address the challenges?
The Pitfalls:
- Media is getting more diffuse. (I think this was happening back when I was in communications school, it’s a wonder it can diffuse any more. But it does, as the once vast sea of the marketing audience continues to evaporate into unique droplets that we try and catch with a fingertip message.)
- 1,000 x’s the data about our direct marketing targets is available. Be careful what you wish for?
- It now takes 20 media messages to reach the same size audience as 3 TV networks used to reach.
- For heaven’s sake, don’t try to actually sell anything! The new customer wants to want it, and you have to wait for him to take it from you.
- Communications firms must work together across their specialities on a single client’s work. Disjointed communications efforts stand out like a monster truck in the Columbia Tower parking garage.
- Evaluate and recreate your entire direct marketing process-- includes optimizing your mix, budgeting, integrating media, managing communications partners, managing growing number of channels.
- Think of your branding as transactional by managing the response and brand simultaneously. So, don’t direct market in a way that doesn’t fit the emotional connection you’re trying to make with the brand. Duh.
- Put your prospects at the center of decisions. Think about how will they feel about what your direct marketing message says to them.
- Keep your KPMs and KPIs. Hooray. Old fashioned measurement is still useful. BUT, don’t think of ROI as purely a financial measure. Evaluating ROI should be seen as an opportunity for the organization to continually ask about its objectives, audience, metrics and other indicators that tell us if we’re on the right track. (It will take a while to explain this to customers if you are an outside agency sending big invoices.)
- Make sure all of your direct marketing channels are pushing AND receiving messages.
Think of the old marketing funnel as a new marketing spiral.
We should no longer dump in direct marketing prospects by the pound at the top of the funnel, waiting to see what falls out the bottom. Instead, we must select our prospects carefully and then circle them with messages, experiences, and conversations, getting closer and more familiar with each swipe.
The suggested spiral process is 1) Seek affinity, 2) Have dialogue, 3) Involvement, 4) Engagement, 5) Interaction- ie. you are now my customer.
Now, the trick will be, learning the best way to get all this integrating in line, and the payoff done fast.
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