Anderson Marketing Blog

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.

Last week we spoke about customer segmentation and how vital it can be when determining where to allocate your marketing budget to yield the most rewards. In case you missed it, you can read about it here. 

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. 

Last week we spoke about how Customer Intelligence can change the game in terms of your marketing and sales growth. If you missed it, you can read about 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.

Immerse yourself in the marketing world long enough, and you’ll likely hear some pretty interesting terms and phrases.  For example, have you ever considered what the term “full-service marketing” means?

When was the last time you launched a direct marketing effort with the goal of generating a 0% response? (Nope, that’s not a typo. There is no digit missing in front of the zero. We’re talking zip. Zilch. Nada.)

As direct marketers, we’re on a constant quest for reliable intel to help make each new campaign more effective than the last.  Response rates.  Offer.   Mailer format.  Contact frequency.   These are just a few of the many reporting elements we slice, dice and obsess over to try and move the proverbial needle.

As we all know, lists, targeting, segmentation, modeling, etc. are one of the most important components of a direct marketing program.  Through years (OK, decades) of testing, I’ve come to realize that in nearly every client program there is a significant opportunity to improve results through the use of multiple data sources.  The roots of this strategy trace back to the nonprofit industry, where organizations regularly rent multiple third-party lists for donation appeals in addition to their house file of past donors.  These third-party lists are closely analyzed based on number of donations, average donation amount and total amount of donations.  Underperforming lists are quickly eliminated from the campaign and new lists are constantly tested against the best performing list.

When looking for the right direct mail partner, it’s important to find a firm that is committed to quality. Following are some direct mail quality best practices that will ensure your campaign is executed without a hitch.