Smart Marketers Cater to Millennial Direct Mail Fans

Remember when marketing gurus were calling direct mail "dead," drowned by a wave of digital, mobile, and social technologies? Well, research keeps resurrecting mail from its low-tech tomb. In fact, recent studies find that Millennials--the 22- to 36-year-old, tech-savvy generation supposedly addicted to mobile devices and digital networking--are bigger fans of direct mail than older generations in some ways! For example, a recent study by InfoTrends and Prinova found that response rates for direct mail remain high for all demographics, including Millennials, who open direct mail received at the same high rate of 66% as recipients overall. More significantly, Milennials as a group respond faster to mail--within 2.4 months--which is less than the average response time for all respondents. Plus, the InfoTrends research found that a big 63% of Millennials who responded to a direct mail piece within that three-month period actually made a purchase! Along similar lines, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) conducted a survey on direct mail's political impact on Millennials and found that at least 42% of Millennials prefer direct mail political ads over online ads, and that Millennials are more likely to be prompted to action by mail, with 66% likely to research the candidate and 54% visiting the candidate’s website after receiving mail. However, research also shows that all mail pieces are not created equal. Mailings that resonate best with Millennials are targeted and personalized, per research. Luckily, sophisticated targeting and personalization are possible with today's variable printing, programmatic and automation programs, and database segmentation and analytics. Millennials demand printing quality as well, with one quarter of surveyed 25- to 34-year-olds saying they opened direct mail because of the print and image quality. Plus, engaging copy counts, with 25% of that same surveyed group saying they consider reading direct mail a leisure activity. That doesn't mean that printed mail can be divorced from Millennials' digital lifestyle. Data in eMarketer's survey report “US Millennial Shoppers 2017” shows that Millennials prefer digital shopping and are comfortable with mobile shopping, which means that integrating print and digital--via QR, AR, or PURL--can significantly boost response. For more detail, go to http://www.acculistusa.com/marketers-win-by-catering-to-millennial-direct-mail-fans/

2016 E-mail Winners: Mobile, Interactive, Automated

Digital marketers betting on e-mail ROI need to make sure they are playing a hand with winning strategy cards in 2016. A recent MarketingProfs post by Cynthia Price, marketing director at Emma e-mail marketing services, cited five high-scoring trends to include. With mobile exceeding desktop traffic for the first time last year, a dedicated mobile strategy of responsive design for small screens is a must--because 71% of e-mail recipients will delete immediately if an e-mail doesn't display properly. Next, invest in interactive content, Price urges. It's hard to argue against interactivity when adding video to an email can boost click rates by 300% and including dynamic content can increase click-to-open rates by 73%. And then be sure to make that content personalized, relevant and appealing; time to go beyond a first name greeting and generic pitch as consumers' e-mail screening options rise. One way to boost appeal is to leverage user-generated content, such as testimonials and product photos. Remember Nielsen found 84% of consumers trust recommendations from their peers, and just 15% trust brands' recommendations, Price points out. And finally, get automated. You can't argue with the 70.5% higher open rates and 152% higher click rates delivered by automation, Price asserts. Just look at her cited stats for basic automated e-mails: Welcome e-mails have 50% better open rates; birthday e-mails lift conversion rates by 60%; and thank-you e-mails, with an offer, drive 13 times more revenue. Read the whole post: http://www.marketingprofs.com/opinions/2016/29443/five-superhot-email-marketing-trends

What B2B Marketers Can Do Better With Better Data

AccuList USA is dedicated to providing clean, up-to-date, targeted data for business-to-business direct marketing, and we urge any B2B marketer who still hesitates to invest in higher quality data and segmentation to read the recent CMO.com post by Ed King, founder and CEO of the Openprise data automation firm. King lists five ways high-quality data will make the B2B marketer's job easier and more effective. First, better data allows the addition of demographic scoring to the usual activity-based scoring for better targeting; for example, marketers won't prioritize a lead from online activity when demographic factors on the company or individual show it does not really meet buyer targeting. Second, with more accurate data about prospects and customers in terms of individual and company profiles, marketers can personalize communications and engagement for better conversion and reduced attrition throughout the sales funnel. Third, B2B marketers can better use account-based targeting as opposed to individual lead targeting, including improved use of automation platforms. Fourth, since all leads are not created equal, better data allows for optimized, speedier lead qualification and conversion--providing different treatment of net new leads versus leads from existing accounts, for example. Fifth, marketers can simplify their marketing technology investments, such as predictive, web or social bolt-ons with data cleansing mechanisms because of poor quality data from CRM or automation platforms. By improving source data, existing technology is more efficient and new technology investments can focus on other key needs, such as analytics or workflow. For detailed explanations and examples, read the full article at http://www.cmo.com/articles/2015/12/18/how-would-perfect-data-change-your-job.html

For 2016, Leverage B2B E-mail's Full Potential

E-mail marketing tops other channels in terms of ROI, per the DMA's 2015 Response Rate Report, and the majority of business-to-business marketers rank e-mail as their top digital lead-gen tool. So if you're a B2B marketer, make exploiting e-mail's potential a 2016 resolution and check out this recent smartinsights.com post for nine great ways to accomplish that goal. Tactic No. 1 is to offer valuable curated e-mail content to gain contact details, targeting by industry and area of expertise. Second, use e-mail to re-activate existing contacts, such as automated e-mail sends after a period of inactivity, with incentives for log-in. The No. 3 e-mail tactic--and one of the most cost-effective ways to boost traffic and engagement--is e-mailed announcements about new products, site updates or business milestones such as awards. The fourth idea on the list is to showcase value or gain contact data by creating a white paper and e-mailing a free download link. E-mail tactic No. 5 is a no-brainer in today's multichannel world: Include e-mail in a campaign to help drive traffic, engagement/relationship-building or action (from inquiries to purchases). E-mail is an ideal tool for event traffic-building, too, including trade shows, seminars, webinars and social chat. So suggestion No. 6 is to invite event participation with a catchy subject line and enticing information. Since e-mail and webinars are a natural combination, idea No. 7 is to e-mail a webinar invite with a simple registration form and a clear, time-sensitive call to action. Sharing success stories is another proven way to inspire action from existing and potential clients, so Idea No. 8 is to promote links to a relevant case study, based on industry and job title/responsibility targeting. Last but not least, an e-mai offer of a free trial or demo is a great way to gain leads. To pump response, try an automated e-mail follow-up to non-responders with a limited-time offer. For real-life examples of each type of e-mail, go to http://www.smartinsights.com/b2b-digital-marketing/b2b-email-marketing/9-b2b-email-marketing-examples/

Costly Bad-Address Returns Still Plague Mailers

With advances in data technology and systems offered by the U.S. Postal Service, such as National Change of Address, direct mailers should have seen a decline in "return to sender" address glitches in recent years. Not so, points out Direct Marketing News magazine Senior Editor Al Urbanski in a recent article. In fact, according to USPS figures, 3.7% of first-class mail was returned to senders in 2014, up from the 3.4% in 2004. That small percentage adds up to big costs for direct mailers. Urbanski cites estimates by Novitex, a mail management company, that each piece of returned mail costs marketers between $3 and $50 a piece, with the higher hit on transactional mailers receiving payments for insurance premiums, merchandise purchases, credit card payments, and loan payments. But all mailers are burdened by wasted printing, prep, postage and data processing spends, as well as customer churn and lost opportunities. What to do? The fundamental problem is bad mailing-list data, despite all the systems available to keep lists clean and updated. So Novitex urges using automated services for address updating, including NCOA; centralized returned mail operations to improve reaction and cut risk of postal service audits and lost discounts; and implementation of data technology to track mail behavior to the root causes of returns. For the complete article: http://www.dmnews.com/direct-line-blog/return-to-sender-is-still-high-on-mailers-playlists/article/421022/

Spring-Clean Your Event Marketing for Higher ROI

Part of your marketing department's spring cleaning should be a thorough review of event marketing plans to remove dusty, worn-out strategies and tune up for higher ROI. A recent MarketingProfs post helpfully lays out six drivers of event marketing ROI, and we suggest you check to make sure all are in place and running smoothly. First, make sure that all stakeholders are using the same playbook, with common goals and metrics for success. Executives may want increased lead quality, but an on-site team focused on maximizing contact forms regardless of quality isn't going to deliver. Next, plan how each event will engage its audience in a way that compels action and achieves goals, whether the aim is audience data collection, sales or brand message sharing. Just being there isn't enough. Third, make sure event strategy includes lead-capture best practices; namely, throw out those paper forms and embrace digital apps and auto-uploads for more accurate and timely data collection and database entry. Timely post-show data analysis, data distribution and follow-up with new and potential customers should be a top priority; marketing automation tools for e-mailing coupons, incentives and follow-up messages are one way to boost responsiveness. Also, benchmark results against competitor events and your own past events in terms of leads, sales, social profile, engagement, site traffic, brand awareness, etc., and adjust future strategies. Finally, debrief with stakeholders who were at the event to identify issues behind the data--such as booth location, technology glitches, audience feedback and even inclement weather--and fine-tune plans moving forward. For the complete article, go to http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2015/27463/six-drivers-of-roi-in-event-marketing

Staying on Top of E-mail Trends That Deliver ROI

Marketers are expected to spend $2.3 billion on e-mail marketing this year, and emerging e-mail trends can mean the difference between stellar marketing ROI and wasted dollars for many moving forward. Our thanks to Liga Bizune's article for MarketingProfs, which highlights six e-mail trends likely to define success in the next few years. Her list includes 1) planning for the triage effect and creative challenge of wearable technology like smartwatches; 2) adapting e-mail to the continued charge of mobile marketing, with its triage, creative and content impacts; 3) proximity and geolocation opportunities for hyper-targeting and smart automation; 4) the arrival of video as a standard e-mail engagement and sharing technique; 5) embrace of transactional e-mail, which delivers four times more revenue than promotional e-mail, via detailed list segmentation and optimized, timely delivery; and 6) greater use of predictive analytics for behavioral marketing, allowing for automated, triggered, targeted and re-targeted messaging throughout the sales funnel. For details on each trend, go to http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2015/27328/top-six-email-marketing-trends-you-need-to-keep-pace-with

Add Digital Power to Direct Mail to Rev Results

If your direct mail is plodding along its traditional response path, it may be time to give it a digital technology boost. A recent Direct Marketing News magazine article cited five tech trends for energizing mail strategy: triggered digital content, delivery-triggered campaigns, retargeting, enhanced personalization, and marketing automation/CRM. Trigger digital content with a scan, swipe or tap of a mobile device by enhancing physical mail with QR codes or other mobile bar codes, augmented reality (AR) video, and even near-field communication chips (NFC). Delivery triggering uses delivery tracking based on conventional or USPS Intelligent Mail Barcode data to automatically launch relevant multi-channel contacts, via mobile text, e-mail or app inbox, and can make use of location, time-of-day and other context-sensitive delivery data for extra impact. Retargeting will boost long-term mail results by going beyond immediate response and conversion to track pURL, QR, site visits, searches and other unique digital actions of non-buyers so that they can be modeled and retargeted for sales. Enhanced personalization means more than printed data fills today; pURLs or unique bar codes in the mail piece can lead to customized, personalized online content. A custom AR app can even be promoted digitally after the mail is sent. Finally, marketing automation and CRM systems can be leveraged to individualize messaging and sync channels around a direct mail campaign, including insight from social media analytics. For more detail, read http://www.dmnews.com/direct-mail-goes-digital/article/400201/

Automation Revs E-mail Response, Data Demands

Automation technology can turbocharge e-mail response, provided your marketing organization is prepared to take advantage. Just take a look at Silverpop's impressive evidence of e-mail automation's impact on opens and clicks. According to Silverpop's annual e-mail marketing metrics benchmark study, automated messages achieved an open rate nearly 15% higher and a click-through rate nearly 79% higher than their manual counterparts last year. The study examined messages sent by more than 3,000 brands across industries and geographies in 2013. Response metrics like those recently inspired Ellen Valentine at ClickZ to urge expanded use of automation -- as long as the groundwork for success has been laid with marketing vision, skills and data. "If you don't have great data on your customers and prospects, you become much more limited in how you'll be able to deploy automation technology," warns Valentine. "Consider every way your customers interact with you -- whether it's on the Web, on a social channel, on a mobile app, or within an e-mail -- and how you can capture and integrate these behaviors into your marketing efforts." If the data tasks seem overwhelming to internal teams, she suggests calling in a third party to help augment databases and speed integration -- and that could include the data professionals at AccuList USA, of course. For the complete article, see.http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2355480/survey-says-automated-emails-outperform-manual-counterparts