Marketing ROI Requires 2019 Data Hygiene Plan

As marketers prepare to launch their 2019 campaigns, they should make sure that a complementary data hygiene plan is in place. Marketers don't want to join the 88% of U.S. companies whose bottom lines are hurt by dirty data, based on Experian research. The top areas impacted by poor data practices are marketing (66% of companies) and lead generation (80% of companies), according to DemandGen. To avoid that fate, marketers need a plan to regularly fix any customer and prospect data that is incorrect, inaccurate, incomplete, incorrectly formatted, duplicated, or irrelevant, plus to enrich the database via appending of relevant missing customer targeting parameters. Pete Thompson, founder of DataIsBeauty.com, has put together a useful primer for developing a data hygiene plan. Start with the basics: Decide what data is important for business decisions and estimate the ROI of data quality improvement. Then review existing data processes: types of data captured, where it comes from and how is it captured, the standards for data quality, how errors and issues are detected and resolved, etc. Other questions include the main sources of errors, methods for validating and standardizing data, methods for appending or combining multiple sources, automation used if any, etc. Without going into detail, the basic steps of the data plan will start with creating uniform data standards, preferably applied at the point of data capture. Then develop a data validation process, applied either when data is captured or, if that is not possible, at regular intervals for data already entered. After data has been standardized and validated, you can append missing fields by cross referencing with multiple data sources. Streamline the process through automation tools and scripts, saving time and money and reducing human errors. However, while it may be tempting to start with automation, Thompson cautions against putting the cart before the horse; success requires having data standards and a proven validation process in place before automating. And then set up a monitoring system of the hygiene process, whether automated or not, via random test samples and back testing, and implement periodic checks. For more detail, see our web blog post at http://www.acculistusa.com/make-sure-you-have-a-2019-data-hygiene-plan/

Use These Tactics to Weaponize 2019 B2B Data

Targeted, clean data is key to success for business-to-business campaigns. And as they ready to launch their 2019 plans, we urge B2B marketers to take the basic data steps suggested in a recent Martech Today post by Scott Vaughn. Good response and conversion depend on identifying and engaging the right audiences, meaning the right companies and the right decision-makers, Vaughn reminds. To target that right audience requires processes for capturing critical data about prospects, customers and their purchase journey with precision, he asserts, and recommends a strategy of starting with a smaller universe of accounts and roles to more precisely define best targets--and then testing and using advanced strategies, such as predictive marketing and intent-data modeling, to expand to more accounts and buyers. But that kind of data targeting only works if marketers are looking at quality data, so data hygiene is another necessity. When a recent DemandGen survey finds that more than 35% of the data in existing databases is unmarketable on average, avoiding wasted dollars means instituting a "get clean, stay clean" data-hygiene effort for 2019, Vaughn urges. The hygiene regimen should include regularly auditing of data-capture processes and sources, using filters before data can enter the database, and maintaining a cleansing process to eliminate records that are invalid, non-standardized, duplicate or non-compliant. Because today's buyers are leery of brands that don’t treat their information with care and because stringent data-privacy laws are being deployed around the globe, B2B marketers must have a proactive permission-based plan for data as well, warns Vaughn That includes asking for opt-in everywhere and having very visible, clear explanations of how behavioral data, such as website cookies, is used. Meanwhile, prospects and customers have not only come to expect data privacy, they have become used to the rapid, real-time response of the digital market. Yet for many B2B campaigns, it takes two or three days to follow up on a lead or inquiry, or even seven or eight days just to get leads loaded into marketing automation or CRM software! Vaughn proposes a concerted effort to speed data handling by identifying areas where data can be routed faster and reaction time reduced and then initiating sales and marketing training on speedier handling at each stage of the customer journey. Finally, the best data processes won't automatically result in ROI if marketers focus on the wrong metrics. Vaughn reports that high-performing marketing teams use insights with these ingredients: agreed-upon key performance indicators (KPIs); tools that can measure performance; and easy-to-use dashboards that can help all stakeholders (marketing, sales, execs, etc.). For the full post, see http://www.acculistusa.com/weaponize-b2b-data-for-2019-with-these-tactics/

GDPR Data Regs Hit U.S. Marketers in Europe

Starting this May, any U.S. marketer targeting customers in the European Union (EU) countries must navigate a changed data landscape thanks to the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It doesn't matter if the brand, marketer or data processor is based in the U.S.; strict compliance is mandatory. And shrugging off new data rules is a very costly mistake. Noncompliance can mean a fine equal to 4% of global annual revenue! The regulation's intended purpose is protection of non-anonymized personal data, and compliance is required of any company (or organization) that stores or processes that personal information about individuals ("data subjects"), who are defined as European citizens residing in an EU state. The protected personal data includes: Name, address, and phone number; IP address and cookies; racial identity; religion and religious affiliation; health and genetic data; biometric data; and sexual orientation and gender preference. GDPR's regulated "data controllers," who determine data processing, or "data processors," who handle data on behalf of data controllers, must respect key rights with regard to personal information. For example, there is an individual's right to access, to knowing what personal data has been collected and how that data has been processed. There is a right to accuracy, and restriction of data processing in the case of inaccuracy. There is a right to "freely given" and "explicit" consent for processing and storage of personal data. Plus, consent may not be regarded as "freely given" where performance of a contract is made conditional on consent, or is unnecessary to performance of a contract. The data subject also has the right to data portability, meaning the ability to request and receive personal data in a format easily transferred to another data controller. Finally, there is erasure or "a right to be forgotten," which allows individuals to withdraw their consent for data use or storage and demand that personal data be erased and no longer processed. Not sure it applies to you, direct marketer? Consider this GDPR wording: "Where personal data are processed for the purposes of direct marketing, the data subject should have the right to object to such processing, including profiling to the extent that it is related to such direct marketing, whether with regard to initial or further processing, at any time and free of charge." In terms of strategic response, 64% of executives at U.S. corporations reported that their top strategy for reducing GDPR exposure is centralization of data centers in Europe, according to a report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Just over half (54%) told PwC they plan to anonymize European personal data to reduce exposure. A significant minority are cutting European efforts, with 32% of respondents planning to reduce their presence in Europe, and 26% intending to completely exit the EU market. For more, see our website blog post: http://www.acculistusa.com/u-s-marketers-in-europe-wrestle-gdpr-data-compliance/

Direct Mail With Social Sharing Revs Response

Taking social media and direct mail from parallel tracks to integrated teamwork delivers added response power to multi-channel marketing campaigns. For those who are scratching their heads over mail-social integration, we recommend a Target Marketing magazine article by Summer Gould, including two case studies as templates. Gould boils a successful mail-social marriage down to a simple formula: Use the power of social sharing to expand mail response. Basically, start with an existing direct mail campaign that is working well. Create landing pages for the target audience to visit and direct recipients to those pages in the mail piece. Ask the audience to provide the information that you want on the landing pages. Finally, to get your offer, ask people to share with others. Marketers don't have to reinvent the wheel to get this done, but they do need to remember to include vital spokes! Gould starts with the basics: Define objectives and the target market. Then adjust direct mail design to include landing pages and social media sharing. Make sure that the offer is the same for both direct mail and social media, and be sure to effectively incentivize sharing. Focus carefully on the data capture required in return for the offer, including social media accounts so you can reward those who share! Finally, make sure you have the social media monitoring software to track results. Gould's article offers two case studies that should inspire emulation. First, Chick-fil-A, which wanted to both build its customer database and increase store traffic, launched a direct mail campaign of 5,000 plastic postcards that included social sharing. Thanks to the viral impact, the campaign gained a 279.8% response! Second, Stein Mart wanted to increase store redemption through a referral program. The discount retailer mailed 20,000 postcards with a social sharing component, and the campaign gained a total response of 150.58%. For more, including links to the case studies for details, see our web blog post at http://www.acculistusa.com/drive-response-by-integrating-direct-mail-and-social-sharing/