Use Tech and Data Trends to Spur Fundraising

Innovations in data analytics and technology offer some potential boosts for 2019 nonprofit fundraising. Consider trends highlighted in this spring's Nonprofit Technology Conference in Oregon. For example, nonprofit tech pros reported success using Digital Wallets, such as Apple Pay, Paypal and Google Pay, to make donating easier for donors and to increase conversions. AI and chatbots are another boon cited by tech experts, not just because they free up staff from time-consuming interfaces but because they can be used to segment audiences and tailor communications to boost donor acquisition, value and retention. Meanwhile mobile text messaging and mobile giving not only continue to grow in use, but nonprofits are learning to leverage SMS to trigger response, scale donor relationships, and engage and motivate communities more fully. Online giving continues its growth path, but there are now more online giving services and their offerings are expanding. For example, Give Lively has free online fundraising tools for text-to-give, peer-to-peer, events, and integration with social media platforms such as Facebook. Finally, virtual-assistant voice services have entered the fundraising arena; for example, Amazon's Alexa now can help donors verbally contribute up to $10,000. But for tech innovations to be effective, quality data and data analytics for targeting are essential. Data can combine with real-time marketing automation, triggered e-mail series and variable data printing of personalized direct mail for improved donor acquisition and retention. And nonprofits don't need to vacuum up every bit of big data for better results. The key is to collect and track the information in the donor database, or to select the key response factors to target in prospect lists, most likely to lead to success. Beyond the basics of name, address/contact, gender, age and date and amount of last donation, data targeting can be enhanced with parameters indicating donor capacity (the ability to give) and donor affinity (the willingness to give), as a recent Philantopic blog post advises. Indicators of donor capacity include personal income/wealth measures, real estate ownership, business title, stock ownership, etc., while donor affinity parameters include the RFM (recency, frequency, monetary) of the donor or prospect giving history, past relationship/interest in a specific cause or affiliated appeal, and political affiliation and giving. Of course, a good database policy also includes regular hygiene and updating, and an ongoing check for knowledge/data gaps. For questions to ask to avoid costly data knowledge complacency, see our website blog post at https://www.acculist.com/tech-data-trends-spur-2019-fundraising-opportunities/

Latest Data Proves Direct Mail Is Alive & Well

Some marketers theorize that "direct mail is dead" about as often as "Game of Thrones" fans theorize about the fate of favorite characters. So for all current and future direct mail marketers, here is the latest proof that direct mail is alive and well, and still a key direct marketing tool. For example, the U.S. Postal Service reports that revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2019 (October-December 2018) was up 2.9% to a $19.7 billion total over the same prior-year quarter. A decline in First Class Mail dollars and volume was more than offset by Marketing Mail’s 4.9% increase in revenue, up by $218 billion, and 4.8% bump in volume, up by 1 billion pieces, combined with Shipping and Packaging revenue growth of 8.7%, up by $516 million, and a 5.4% volume bump, up by 93 million pieces. Why is direct mail still thriving in a digital age? We’ve reported it before, but it bears repeating: The 2018 DMA/ANA Response Rate Report shows an average direct mail response rate of 9% for house lists and 5% for prospect lists, stellar rates compared with response rates of 1% or less for e-mail, social media, paid search and display ads. In fact, lower mailbox volumes actually have helped turbocharge mail response in an era of digital promotional bombardment. Consider that, each day, an average of 107 e-mails per person are received globally and an average 63 ads per person are viewed, but only an average of two pieces of mail are received per person. It’s clear which channel gets the audience attention and why 75% of households read or scan their direct mail ad materials daily, per a USPS 2016 study. Not only was direct mail the top purchase influencer among Baby Boomers, per a 2015 MarketingCharts study, but even younger, digitally addicted generations are fans of direct mail. According to USPS studies, 77% of Millennials pay attention to direct mail advertising, 90% think direct mail advertising is reliable, 57% have made purchases based on direct mail offers, and 87% of Millennials say they like receiving direct mail. Direct mail works for an even younger group of consumers as well: 69% of 18- to 24-year-olds prefer reading print and paper communications over reading from a digital screen, per paper-producer Sappi. Direct mail work so well across generations of consumers because it has some key advantages. In an age when trust in advertising is at a minimum, 76% of consumers say they trust direct mail when they want to make a purchase decision, and trust it more than digital channels, per a 2016 Marketing Sherpa study. Direct mail is also more engaging, memorable and persuasive, per neuroscience studies. In fact, a 2015 Canada Post neuroscience study of direct mail found that direct mail’s motivation response, its persuasive power, is 20% higher than digital media’s motivation response. Finally, direct mail can harness multi-channel databases to machine learning/AI, variable data printing and behavior-based triggers to produce timely, highly personalized messaging. For more, see our onsite blog post at https://www.acculist.com/latest-data-shows-direct-mail-is-still-alive-well-and-effective/

Data & Content Key to Publishers' Audience Building

In the age of big data and exploding digital content, targeted data quality and database management are more essential than ever to profitable circulation marketing and audience development for publishers and media owners. A recent Marketo blog post backs up that assertion with their advice. Demographics and firmographics are a key starting point, but now media owners also can mine transactional data, behavioral data, and psychographics/interests across channels, the post notes. Smart use of first-, second- and third-party data allows for tailored content, offers and channel targeting. As the Marketo article explains, "For example, you may know that a reader is a part of a cohort that is female, between 18-35 years old, with a household income between $64-96K....But what could you do–in terms of engagement–if you learn through her content consumption patterns that she’s interested in football, responds to sponsored content from travel brands, and mostly responds to content that’s shared on Facebook?" Yet more data from multiple sources–web, print, mail, e-mail, social media–also presents challenges, and Marketo cites Folio's recent survey of publishing leaders, which found 71% citing data management as a top priority for creating and monetizing media products. The solution is a single hub for audience data and automated cross-channel processing in real-time, the post advises, in order to deliver the right message at the right time to the right target. Finally, in publication/media marketing even more than other brand marketing, content counts. Faced with ever-growing digital content noise, media owners must work even harder to deliver content that interests and engages the target audience. For more, including advice on content marketing wins and misses, see to our complete onsite post at http://www.acculistusa.com/data-content-are-keys-to-profitable-audience-building/

2017 Trends Offer Good News for Fundraisers

While 2017 is starting as a year of uncertainty, especially in politics, a recent CauseVox post by staff writer Tina Jepson spotlights 10 fundraising trends that offer good news and opportunities for nonprofit marketers in 2017. Donation forecasts are upbeat for individual, corporate and recurring giving, Jepson shares. Philanthropy Outlook 2016 & 2017 predicts that an increase in individual and household income will help to boost fundraising efforts for nonprofits, charities, and NGOs by as much as 3.8% in 2017. Plus, with Gross Domestic Product and business savings on the rise, total corporate giving is predicted to rise by 4.7% in 2017. And monthly giving, which accounts for 17% of online revenue, also will continue increasing per the 2016 M+R Benchmarks report. At the same time, donor retention rates are at the highest rate since 2008 at 45.9%, and nonprofits and charities clearly should make retention a marketing priority to capitalize on this powerful fundraising engine, Jepson notes. Another positive for fundraisers is the growth in donor data as digital interactions—websites, e-mail, social media and now the Internet of Things (IoT)—combine with traditional channels such as direct mail to generate a wealth of information about existing and potential donors. So a key goal for 2017 is to gather, analyze and use actionable data effectively. Meanwhile, on social and mobile marketing fronts, nonprofits face challenges as well as opportunities. Social media platforms, including Facebook, now are promoting organic content prioritizing audience friends and family over nonprofit messages so that effective social media marketing will need to rely more on purchased ads and targeting of key demographics. And any nonprofit that hasn't invested in mobile optimization of websites and e-mails is missing a key donation source: Mobile giving makes up 17% of all online giving now and is projected to rise further in 2017. For suggestions on maximizing the fundraising impact of each trend, see our complete post at http://www.acculistusa.com/positive-2017-fundraising-trends-create-opportunities/

2016 Customer-Centric Trends You Shouldn't Ignore

We've read many marketing trend predictions for 2016, but a recent Entrepreneur magazine article best emphasizes the new "customer-centric" focus of many shared predictions. Jay Arnold, vice president of marketing at FullContact, cites 10 marketing trends that he believes will make 2016 the "year of the customer." Here are just his first five forecasts. He foresees a proliferation of "marketing apps" this year, not just mobile apps but web apps, desktop apps and even TV apps, as marketers take advantage of the many free or low-cost apps that can now aid with tasks such as e-mail, social media, online ads, contact management, analytics and more. He also sees a shift to "insight-driven marketing," using analysis of the heaps of available data for more relevant targeting and messaging. Of course, this assumes a centralized database of multichannel customer info, so that is a priority task if not already under way. Content marketing got a lot of buzz last year, but Arnold now sees a greater shift from static content (such as social posts and white papers) to "interactive content," such as interactive assessments, calculators, training and games to keep people clicking and sharing useful information for sales. Everyone agrees that "personalization" will continue and grow as a proven response driver, but Arnold warns that 2016 will demand greater adaptation by channel and customer expectations. Consumers now expect relevant content tailored to them, but they will also be less tolerant of online and mobile advertising that is overly personal to the point of intrusive and creepy. Finally, Arnold predicts that 2016 will see a leap in "advocate marketing," as marketers realize that using customers to advocate for brands and generate referrals can be more effective than incentives and affiliate programs for referral generation--especially now that identifying influencers and advocates is easier than ever before via social and digital interactions. For five more of his customer-centric marketing predictions, go to http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/254620

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

Marketers Led Astray by Myopic Data Segmentation

Data segmentation is essential to today's personalized marketing, but it can also lead marketers astray if myopically focused. A recent Target Marketing magazine article by Matt Diehl, digital content writer for the Persio multichannel retailing platform, points out how segmentation based narrowly on recent purchase can go wrong, delivering misguided online ads and e-mails that erode customer response. As examples, Diehl cites promotions based on online purchases selected as gifts (that golf club bought for Uncle Bob doesn't mean non-golfer Susie wants to be bombarded by golf gear ads), promotions based on online purchases later returned in-store (if you didn't keep the gaming system, you don't need the accessories), and promotions remarketing one-time, big-ticket purchases (people rarely buy multiple HD TVs or dishwashers in a short time span). The solution is to develop a segmentation strategy based on multiple factors, adding demographics, location, interests, loyalty, and response behavior to purchase history. Data gathering for segmentation also needs to include both online and offline behavior. Finally, data targeting needs to incorporate sensible marketing triggers; rather than remarketing a big-ticket purchase, focus on complementary items, for example. For the complete article, read http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/when-data-segmentation-goes-wrong/

B2B Media Firms Emerge As Targeted Data Sources

With most marketers (74%) planning to boost data marketing budgets, per a new Global DMA/Winterberry Group study, the hunt is on for targeted data sources. Luckily for business-to-business campaigns, a new data source is emerging in the form of B2B media companies, according to a recent CMO.com post by Scott Vaughan, CMO of Integrate. With print and website profits squeezed, media companies that already generate traffic for B2B marketing clients are reinventing themselves as data source experts and offering access to highly specific customer and prospect performance data, Vaughan asserts. To his point, we note that Bombora, which collects intent data from client companies such as CBS Interactive, UBM and Forbes to build a data bank of 180 million U.S. B2B users, has just made its data available to Adobe's newly launched Audience Marketplace and its Marketing Cloud. Bombora is not alone in the burgeoning B2B media data mart. It's time for B2B marketers to adjust data strategies. B2B media firms can provide two types of valuable data, Vaughan notes. First, they can mine online activities and content interest to harvest behavioral prospect data that signals intent to buy. That data can be used for targeting of ads or e-mail offers, lead scoring and prospect nurturing. Second, B2B marketing and sales can tap into company-content consumption data for account-based marketing. Media companies can use digital tactices, demand generation and data solutions to identify purchasing intent for a specific list of target companies, using company IP address and domain intelligence, for example, so that when target companies engage with content, they can be immediately retargeted. Vaughan acknowledges that the media company shift from traffic and lead gen provider to data source is still in an early stage, but he advises marketers to start planning on how to board the emerging data intelligence train. To see his suggested tactics, read http://www.cmo.com/articles/2015/11/6/b2b-media-company-transformation-means-more-data-for-marketers.html

'Dirty' Data Continues to Sap B2B Lead Success

We do a lot of data work for clients--list hygiene, appending, de-duping, etc.--so we are dismayed to learn that "dirty" data is still the rule rather than the exception in the business-to-business lead process. An article in eMarketer recently noted that, based on a March 2015 poll of U.S. B2B marketing execs by Spear Marketing Group, executives estimate that over 25% of their marketing databases were filled with old, inaccurate and unusable duplicate leads. The majority rated their data accuracy as fair to plain bad. Worse, although the executives acknowledged that third-party solutions can boost data quality, 46% said they did not employ such data solutions, compared with the 40% who did. The waste caused by bad data is especially frustrating considering how it undermines the benefit of other improved marketing technologies. For example, over half of worldwide B2B marketing executives recently surveyed by Regalix reported that marketing analytics had increased their sales revenues between 10% and 25%, according to the eMarketer report. Imagine how much better sales would be if more lead data input was enriched and updated! For more on B2B data trends, see http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Help-Lead-Process-B2Bs-Must-Deal-with-Dirty-Data/1012396

Rev Direct Mail's Offline-Online Conversion Power

In the age of paperless digital communications, why bother with old-fashioned direct mail marketing? Well, even digital giant Google uses direct mail in some ad campaigns! The tech leader's strategy acknowledges direct mail's advantages even in a digital world: Direct mail can drive traffic to a website as well as a brick-and-mortar location; direct mail still leads other channels in response rate and cost per lead; and, as other marketers go all-digital, direct mail actually stands out in mailboxes and makes a guaranteed connection that cluttered, filtered e-mail inboxes and online ad spaces cannot claim. Still, direct mail ROI is no slam dunk. For ways to optimize online and offline conversion for direct mail, take a look at a recent DirectMarketingIQ article by Katherine Halek, print strategy adviser with the Texas-based printer Signazon. Here are a few key points: First, and foremost to our mind, use a highly targeted mailing list to reach the customers most likely to respond. Next, have your creative stand out in the mailbox with an eye-catching accessible format (such as a postcard), a larger-size piece, or an unusual design (such as dimensional or shaped mail). Always include a QR code so smartphone users (over 64% of Americans) can scan and go direct to a landing page. But also print a simple, memorable URL for those who don't use QR codes. If possible, time mailings to coincide with real events, such as a sale or show, for extra response impact; the mailer can include a discount coupon or gift offer, for example. A single mailing won't create brand awareness, so make cumulative efforts by mailing more than once and combining mail with followups via other channels. Finally, use mail's unique in-home physicality to make a personal connection, turning database information into personalized salutations, content and offers. For more tips, go to http://www.directmarketingiq.com/article/tips-higher-conversion-direct-mailing/1

Mail to Lead 2015 Direct Marketing Budgets

Direct mail will still lead marketing budgets this year despite all the chatter about e-mail and digital content, predicts the Winterberry Group. At a forecast $45.7 billion spend for 2015, direct mail is showing only a 1% growth, but that still puts mail well ahead of an expected e-mail spend of just $2.3 billion, as well search dollars of $26.9 (including desktop and mobile). Although targeted digital display, including desktop and mobile promotions, has the strongest predicted growth (21.1%), it still comes in well behind mail at $28.3 billion in projected spending. The key factors driving this year's direct mail budgets will be the lack of a postal rate increase in early 2015, rising mail volumes, strong acquisition mail investment to offset declining retention mailings, and a rise in digital-to-offline retargeting, according to the Winterberry study. Direct mail may also benefit from a proven ability in data-driven targeting. Across channels, Winterberry predicts that 2015 marketers will invest in data-driven promotion, with the top reason (from 52.7% surveyed) cited as the demand for more relevant, customer-centric communication. For an infographic summarizing results, check out the Direct Marketing News magazine article at http://www.dmnews.com/marketing-spending-in-2015-infographic/article/400487/

Digital Marketers: Poor Data Stymies Personalization

Personalized marketing is such a basic today, it's shocking to learn that the majority of digital marketers still struggle with personalizing large-scale efforts. And the problem is rooted in something even more fundamental: customer data. More than half of digital marketers (53%) say they always or often struggle with personalizing their marketing efforts at a large scale, according to a recent report from Neustar, which was recently reported by MarketingProfs. Only 4% say they never struggle with personalization, per the survey of 100 U.S.-based digital media and marketing executives.The marketers surveyed say they struggle with scaled personalization for a mix of reasons, but weak data leads the list: 33% cite poor or incomplete customer data as the biggest obstacle, 26% say they have difficulty turning their data into action, and 15% struggle to identify customers across different devices. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (63%) say they need both better data and better marketing platforms to make personalization easier. To read the MarketingProfs report, go to http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2014/25590/marketers-top-obstacles-to-effective-personalization

Is Your Marketing Hobbled by These Data Missteps?

Make sure your "data-driven" marketing isn't undermined by data mishandling. A recent Adweek article outlined five of the most common blunders. At the top of the list is failing to take advantage of the deeper demographics being culled in this big-data era. Going beyond age and gender can reap big returns. An example from the article: The Neustar Global Media Intelligence Report for 2013 found retail marketers that targeted campaigns according to attributes like home value and brand of car earned a 500% performance lift over non-targeted campaigns. Second, marketers can focus on the wrong metrics, choosing "vanity metrics," such as Facebook fans, instead of behavioral data linked to conversions, such as navigational paths and brand preferences. A third data misstep is focusing on shiny new digital data without integrating offline inputs (such as retail stores), creating a false picture of marketing's multichannel ROI. Fourth, marketers can get stuck looking at past data to the neglect of predictive modeling and forward planning. A forward-thinking success story from the article: American Express used predictive analysis and behavioral data to identify at-risk customers, for a 740% increase in attrition-combating efficacy. Finally, organizations can fail to invest in crucial data management and analysis skills, and surveys of executives find a majority admitting as much. Do you recognize areas for improvement in your own organization? For the complete article, with links to relevant studies, see http://www.adweek.com/brandshare/5-ways-marketers-are-mishandling-data-156449

How to Feed 'Good' Data to Your Marketing Database

A challenge in the Big Data era of myriad potential data feeds is to select inputs that are usable, useful and cost-effective for marketing ROI. Not all data is created equal! To that end, we'd like to pass along a recent MarketingProfs six-point questionnaire to help you score data candidates for integration into your central customer and prospect database. Half of the questions deal with the crucial need for a unique identifier on imported data (such as an e-mail address or phone number) so that new data can be matched to the existing marketing database. If the identifier doesn't exist, can it be created (appended, for example)? Next, consider the overlap between a data feed and the customers and prospects already in the database: If the goal is inexpensive integration of targetable info (behavioral, purchase and demographic attributes, or additional contact points, for example), high overlap is good. (For database growth, not so good, we would add.) Finally -- and this is the key issue to our mind -- you need to determine the potential financial benefit from new data in terms of increased revenue. That, of course, assumes a basic understanding of customers from existing data. For the full MarketingProfs data-scoring article, see http://www.marketingprofs.com/opinions/2014/25212/is-your-data-any-good-six-questions-to-help-score-your-data-resources

B2B Closeout E-mail Has Big ROI

Smart marketing can leverage b-to-b product cycles to generate profits and move excess inventory, per a recent case study from MarketingSherpa. Creative Co-Op, which markets trendy gift and home décor products to a core audience of independent retailers, needed to sell closeout inventory as product cycles got ready to shift. Their successful solution was an automated e-mail campaign tailored to past purchasers of products on closeout. Creative Co-Op's agency set up relational tables that scanned through customer data, matching past purchase history to closeout products to create a target audience of active customers who had ordered at least one of the closeout items within the past 90 to 365 days. The personalized, behavior-based e-mail campaign contained images of the closeout products purchased by recipients, the original product pricing, and closeout sale prices marketed as "Value Buys" at a fraction of the original. A second variation of the e-mail was sent 10 days after the first if the customer had not yet taken action. The closeout e-mail campaign yielded an 808% ROI in its first month, along with a 42% increase in order conversion rate and a 255% increase in closeout items sold online! After the campaign, the team also tallied that 84% of the items sold were actually non-closeout products. For more detail, see the MarketingSherpa case study at https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/b2b-email-behavior-based-campaign

Increase Triggered E-mails to Upgrade ROI

Looking to improve e-mail marketing performance? Behaviorally triggered e-mail should be on the agenda. Research shows behaviorally targeted, triggered e-mail campaigns achieve 30% higher open and click-through rates and three times the conversion rates of broadcast e-mail, as a recent MarketingProfs article "Three E-mail Marketing Improvement Challenges for 2014" pointed out. Of course, the article included triggered e-mail as a top recommended improvement! The first step is to select programmed "triggers," meaning the customer action/inaction, time or event to trigger e-mail delivery. To boost response, e-mails can then be tailored for delivery timing, subject line and content, and target recipient or recipient group data. More sophisticated programs (such as lead nurturing) can involve sequenced messaging (a track), along with the timing, number and content of messages in each sequence/track. Perhaps you already use basic welcome e-mails and bounce-back purchase thank-yous, but what about adding triggered up-sell or cross-sell suggestions, a lead nurturing series, an educational series, renewal and re-order offers, birthday greetings or customer anniversary e-mails, and reactivation efforts? For more, read http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2014/24909/three-email-marketing-improvement-challenges-for-2014?adref=nlt041514

Survey Finds Marketers Bullish on Big Data

Marketers are pretty united in their positive attitude about the opportunities of "Big Data." According to a 2013 survey of marketers from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), data-driven marketers are generating increasingly profitable returns and are bullish on marketing programs based on Big Data. The DMA's “Quarterly Business Review” for the third quarter of last year, developed in partnership with Winterberry Group, surveyed 220 marketers and found that 75.4% expressed confidence about data-driven marketing, with 49.5% “strongly agreeing” that marketing informed by data is positioned to expand in the months ahead. See the report summary at http://adage.com/article/btob/marketers-report-strong-data-oriented-results/290866/?btob=1

Use E-mail Segmentation to Multiply Your Results

If targeted segmentation of e-mail can deliver up to nine times higher results, as reported recently by Jupiter Research, e-mail marketers should be feverishly slicing and dicing their databases. For those who aren't sure where to begin, Target Marketing magazine has provided a quick primer on key ways to segment your e-mail campaigns. Start with e-mail recipients' stated preferences, which hopefully have been gathered from permission and sign-up forms. The article provides some obvious examples: IKEA asking new email sign-ups what rooms they are most interested in receiving information about; e-tailers letting subscribers decide whether they want to get messages about sales offers or new product offerings; and e-newsletter publishers asking for content preferences. Next, consider the best way to segment based on demographics, geography and behavioral/lifestyle data. If your consumer e-mail sign-ups didn't provide information about age, gender, home ownership, etc., you can use a data company to overlay that information. You can even append personal information such as lifestyle interests and buying behavior. The same applies to business-to-business marketers, but their segmentation could use data such as industry, company size and job function. Your e-mail customers' past shopping behavior is another good indication of how to divide and target. Look at who regularly opens and clicks on your e-mails and what product categories or promotions they select. For example, Barnes & Noble regularly promotes a range of bestselling books, but if some recipients consistently click on mysteries, Barnes & Noble creates a mystery buff segment for targeting. Past purchase history with the tried-and-true RFM measure (recency, frequency, money) is another segmentation tool. If someone has already purchased from you, they are much more likely to purchase again, so promote other products in the same category or complementary products to them. Website browse time and patterns are also indications of targetable interest. Target Marketing provides the example of SmartPak, a retailer of vitamins and supplements for horses. The company integrated e-mail tracking with website tracking to send complementary-product promotions when an e-mail recipient clicked and browsed a particular on-site category. A company spokesperson reported that resulting opens were 37.6% and clicks 7.35%. Want some more segmentation ideas? Go to http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/5-ways-segment-email-marketing-success/1#

You Can Use Data to Win Hearts As Well As Minds

You can use cool data to create warmer feelings, and hotter sales, for your brand. In a recent Forbes.com On Marketing post, marketing expert Sandra Zoratti argues for developing a higher "EQ," or emotional intelligence, score to increase marketing effectiveness. She points out that emotional connections can be a more potent force in marketing than intellectual persuasion. In fact, experiments by a Nobel Prize-winning psychologist found people will purchase a product they know is inferior or overpriced if they like and trust the seller. So how do you tap into customer emotions to get them to like and trust you? By using that hard data and analytics to win hearts as well as minds, answers Zoratti. She cites the example of Royal Canin Canada, a pet food company. Via a "PetFirst" e-mail program, the company gathered info about the names, birth dates, breeds and weights of customers' cats and dogs. Royal Canin then combined that info with veterinary data to create personalized pet-care plans. The company used the data to not only win over customer minds with pet-specific nutrition knowledge but to win hearts with programs like pet birthday greetings. For more, see http://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2013/07/09/marketers-heres-how-to-use-data-to-win-hearts-and-minds/

Data-Driven Mailings Create Arts Marketing Success

If you need an example of direct mail power in arts and entertainment marketing, look at the Everyman Theater Company, a nonprofit Baltimore-based theater group. Last year, it incorporated data-driven strategies to optimize its direct mail marketing with impressive results. The total ROI for one campaign was an astounding 552%, with an 80% increase in ticket sales and revenue, for example. Prior to its data-driven mailings, Everyman's traditional marketing had relied mostly broadcast messages: postcards, radio spots, and e-blasts. Everyman's prior direct mail efforts usually equated to mailing to its entire list. Enter Marketing Director Jonathan Waller. He hired a database services firm to clean up the database (mainly removing duplicate names), to identify segments most likely to purchase tickets, and to build predictive models. After direct-mail testing of segments and messaging, both response rates and cost efficiency improved. For more detail, see the Direct Marketing News story at http://www.dmnews.com/data-driven-marketing-gets-dramatics-results/article/290791/