Cross-channel marketing may enhance direct mail campaigns
By: Mark HaslanMay 27th, 2010
The sheer number of different marketing channels ensures that not all consumers get their information from the same source. To counter that, business owners need to send their marketing messages across every possible platform. By launching cross-channel advertising campaigns, business owners can maximize the effectiveness of their campaigns. A recent article from DMNews delves into some of the benefits and challenges to launching a calibrated, cross-channel marketing campaign.
According to DMNews, integrated marketing campaigns perform better than traditional campaigns and offer other benefits as well. Consumers that receive both email and direct mail pieces tend to be affected more by marketing. By using the same creative design across multiple platforms, business owners can also cut down on costs. Consistent messages can lead to an improved customer experience as well.
There are some challenges to creating an integrated marketing campaign, though. For one thing, many small business owners lack the required strategy to be able to reach customers and measure performance across multiple platforms. Similarly, many businesses may not have the appropriate technology needed to integrate some marketing avenues. At a managerial level, some business owners may also think that some marketing platforms won’t appeal to their intended audience.
"Creation of an effective cross-channel marketing campaign starts with a solid foundation that includes comprehensive strategy, organizational alignment, data integration and well-planned technology and analytics processes. The organization must clearly identify its targeted customer and also set quantifiable and clearly defined goals for its marketing programs," Bo Chipman, senior director of account management at Merkle, told DMNews.
The site recommends that business owners create a road map for integrating their marketing campaigns. This will allow business owners to plan for any potential challenges while maximizing the cost-benefit ratio. It also suggests that business owners start small, successfully integrating two marketing campaigns first before moving on.
Behavioral data can help business owners fine-tune their cross-channel marketing campaigns, suggests an article from BtoB Online. By studying potential customers’ actions, small business owners can make adjustments to their messages as needed. For example, if a promotion isn’t encouraging customer action, then business owners may want to create a new offer. Conversely, if it is generating sales, business owners may want to consider offering similar promotions on other items.
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