Anderson Marketing Blog

Since we were kids, we’ve been asking the question “Why?” Why can’t I do this? Why do I have to do that? And sometimes the reason we were given was simply “Because I said so.”

Churn: the annual rate in which customers leave a brand.

Have you ever been in a meeting discussing the success of your marketing efforts and had someone say… “Great work! Now go out and get more customers that look like that.” You might scratch your head and think to yourself, if only it were that easy.

In the second installment of our five-part Customer Intelligence Series, we will continue to discuss the components of Customer Intelligence. If you missed part 1, you can find it here. 

We all want to be smarter at what we do. We want to have the inside scoop. Be one step ahead of our competitors. But where’s the secret sauce? It’s in understanding who your customers are and what drives their interest, consideration and, ultimately, their buying behavior. In other words, it’s the strength of your Customer Intelligence.

A great story has a beginning, middle and an end, and it includes characters that you can relate to, care about and ultimately believe in. Advertising is a great storyteller and great brands know how to tell their story with clarity and consistency, and by delivering a continuum of positive experiences: each marketing touch, each customer interaction. But sometimes brands lose their way by not defining what they stand for, or by making decisions that are not in line with their core values. This can cause customer confusion and directly affect the return on investment (ROI) you get with your marketing dollars.

There is so much to learn. And if we’re listening and open-minded, we’ll learn something new every day. From new emerging technologies, to new media, to relationship-building skills, our teams are hungry to improve their skill sets. Quite frankly, that makes us very happy. But it also begs a question. “How does a business educate their employees and get the best ROI on their training budget?”

We’re all familiar with the formula—the success of a direct mail package is 40% list, 40% offer, and 20% creative. So why do we spend 90% of our time on creative—edits, revisions, etc? Oh wait, that’s another blog topic. Today, let’s talk about direct mail offers—when they work, and when they don’t.

I don’t know about you, but I trust my gut on most things. But what I don’t take chances with is my clients’ or my company’s money. Gut decisions can drive great insights into what to test, when to test and where to test, but these need to be calculated decisions. Decisions made with consideration to the overall risk to your business.