Friday, May 31, 2013

Good QR Code, Bad QR Code

QR Codes have been called the marketing tool that marketers love to hate. Why? Because so many seem to provide absolutely no value. 

Perhaps you scan a QR Code and it doesn’t go anywhere at all. Perhaps you get an error or the page to which the code points doesn’t exist. Perhaps you see a QR Code on a product you are interested in, so you scan the code and end up at a manufacturer’s non-mobile website where you get lost in a maze of links so dense that you forget why you went there in the first place. 

Does this mean that QR Codes are a waste of time? No. It means not enough thought was put into creating them.

When you are thinking about creating a QR Code, the first thing you should do is ask yourself, “What purpose do I want this code to serve? What do I want the person scanning it to get out of it?” If you don’t have a good answer, wait until you do. 

A great example of QR Code use is Best Buy. When you enter a Best Buy store, all of the products have QR Codes. When scanned, the codes take you to products specs, customer reviews, and other information not available on the shelf talkers or product packaging that will help them make a purchase decision. The QR Code puts the information in the customer’s hands at the very time that they need it — as they are making the decision. That’s a QR Code used well.

Contrast that with a QR Code placed on a lawnmower that takes you to the manufacturer’s corporate site. Or a QR Code on a “house for sale” sign that takes you to the realtor’s entire inventory. Those are QR Codes used poorly. It’s not the QR Code that’s the problem. It’s the lack of thought behind it. 


When creating QR Codes, think about the end use!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Reactivating Inactive Customers

Want more customers? Try reactivating customers who haven’t purchased from you in a while. These are people who have already shown an interest in your company and your products by purchasing from you in the past.  When looking to boost sales, they are a natural place to start.

There are two ways you can approach these customers. 

First is to simply attempt to re-engage them with discounts, special offers, and surveys to find out whether they are still engaged with your brand at any level. If they are no longer purchasing from you, you want to find out why. You can use static re-engagement mailings, personalized re-engagement mailings, or personalized URLs for feedback and surveys. 

Second is to use outside data resources to gain insight into inactive customer behavior and thereby increase your chances of re-engaging with them. 

Let’s say you know that your inactive customer purchased from you 90 days ago, but before that, it was 240 days ago. You might also know the size, color, and item purchased. A list agency like Epsilon can often give you significant additional information on these customers. For example, it might tell you that this same customer purchased 35 days ago from a competitor, has purchased seven times in the past year with your competitors, spends an average of $150 with each order, and that his or her last purchase was 15 days ago. 

That is tremendous insight that can help you understand how to re-engage with that customer again. In fact, Epsilon found that while response rates to rental lists averages 1.2%, response rates from house files averages 2.68%. It might take a little more work, but the return is far better.


So before looking outside for new customers, consider rekindling relationships with inactive customers. Use your existing data and additional third-party data to guide your messaging to re-engage those customers and get them purchasing from you over and over again. 

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Personalization Creates 30% Lift

Looking for proof that personalization works? Consider the case of one historical museum that used personalization to create a lift in donations of 30%

For the past decade, the museum had been using direct mail as its primary way to solicit donations. After years of success, however, effectiveness was starting to wane. The museum wondered if personalizing the message to each recipient would breathe new life into its efforts.  

To find out, the museum split its mailing in half.  To the first half, it sent a traditional static newsletter. To the second half, it sent a personalized newsletter. Personalization included the person’s name, the state in which they lived, the number of charter members in that state, and prefilled the response forms to make sending in a donation easier. The results?

  • Among those actively contributing, response rates increased 30%.
  • Among less active but still donating members, response rates increased 25%. 
  • Among both active and less active members, the value of the donations increased.
Why did this campaign work?

In this case, personalization taps into the recipient’s sense of responsibility to the organization. “They know me — they are relying on me,” not just as an anonymous donor, but as someone the museum relies on by name.  When you call someone by name, there is a responsibility that comes with that, especially in the world of fundraising.  

Including the number of charter members in the recipient’s state also taps into the sense of collective responsibility. “Look how many other people are deeply supporting this cause. I should be more committed, as well.”

Finally, the prefilled form removed one of the barriers to responding to any campaign—the need to fill out a form, address an envelope, and add a stamp. If all the recipient has to do is drop a check in the envelope and put it in the mailbox, that alone can elevate response.

Whether you are a nonprofit organization or not, the lessons are clear. Call your customers by name, tap into collective responsibility (or collective participation in some kind of benefit), and make it easy to respond. Then watch your response rates soar.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Smart Strategies for Maximizing Print

All around us, we hear about the benefits of going paperless. When it comes to marketing, that’s just not a smart move. When our inboxes are clogged with spam and any company can look big and successful online, print carries a gravitas that inspires confidence and trust.

Now is not the time to give up print. But smart marketers are making their print contacts even more powerful.

1. Focus on recent customers. Clients who have purchased from you recently know who you are. They just need a simple reminder, such as a postcard or sell sheet, to give them a reason to buy from you again. If you’re looking to stretch your marketing dollars, focus on recent customers first.

2. Know your top customers. Pay particular attention to retaining customers with the highest profit margin. Then target prospects with similar profiles with the presumption that you will be able to serve them profitably as well. If you don’t know who your top customers are, a proactive investment in data analysis can reap big returns.

3. Be relevant. You can only satisfy buyer motivations if you understand what your prospects love and hate—their hearts’ true desires and what keeps them awake at night. Knowing your customers and engaging in sincere dialogue about what they want and why they want it will pay off in repeat sales and quality referrals

Print marketing is evolving. Success is no longer based on trying to get a static, “same to all” message in front of as many people as possible. It’s about marketing smart and marketing relevant, and using the tangible, confidence-building medium of print to its maximum advantage.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Make Graphics and Color Sell!

When you think about marketing that packs a punch, your thoughts most likely turn to the list, the pitch, and the incentives. But when it comes to the design, how much thought do you put into your images and the color of your graphics? As long as they look good, is that enough? No! One of the secrets to powerhouse selling is knowing how images and color influence the buying decision. 

Graphics have better recall than words, so they are a critical part of the mix. Your target audience will remember the images, even if they don’t remember the text, so your images have to do more than look pretty. You need to select images that communicate the same message you are communicating through your copy. 

Color is an emotional trigger, as well. Every shade has both a positive and a negative connotation, however, so it needs to be selected carefully.  For example . . .

  • Red is a dominant color that might successfully evoke an image of love and passion, but it might tap into the darker feelings of rage and violence, too. 

  • Green can stimulate thoughts of money and self-actualization, but greed and envy are associated with this hue, as well. 

  • Yellow is associated with happiness and joy, but if you are marketing products to men, it can be seen as childish and inappropriate for merchandise associated with prestige. 

Great marketing starts with a relevant list and a great message, but they only tell half the story. Pair a great list and powerful message with an understanding of the critical roles of graphics and color and your efforts will be outstanding.