E-newsletters have long replaced traditional print newsletters. Cost, ease of use, tracking capabilities and convenience are just a few of the reasons why business owners have turned to e-newsletters. Although there are many pros to using e-newsletters to stay connected with your customers and followers, your e-newsletters still need to be worthy enough to read.   Use the tips below to create an effective e-newsletter.   Think of Your Readers This may seem like a no-brainer, but we sometimes get too involved in what we want to say that we forget about what our readers want to hear. Understanding your readers means that you know ...

Direct mail campaigns are a powerful resource for any business. Not only are they highly targeted, measurable and flexible, they are also easy to personalize and cost effective. The tips below will help you get your direct mail campaign on the right track for a great return on your investment. 1. Research Your Target Market – Knowing who you are selling to is one of the most critical steps in direct mail advertising. Since your research shapes the rest of your decisions, it’s important to understand your target market from the start. Research tools such as data lists are useful at ...

Direct Mail Marketing has been a marketing cornerstone since the first concepts of a postal service. Before the Internet's capability to feed information to anywhere in the world, marketing catalogs and other forms of direct mail marketing were often how people in rural areas purchased what they needed to survive. Just because the Internet is the hot new thing in today's commerce arena doesn't mean that the old guard is ineffective or outdated. Keeping this in mind, here are 5 ways marketers can pump some vitality into their current direct mail marketing strategies. 1. Make sure your message is clear As with all ...

More than 16% of the U.S. population moves each year, creating a large pool of potential new movers and new homeowners who could be your next customers. These people are going to need a lot of services, looking into new business and companies, and more receptive to trial offers. New movers spend more in the first 6 months than the typical consumer does in 3 years. Also new movers are 5 times more likely to become long-term customers as compared to existing residents. More specifically, during the year of their move, new mover households spend 52% more than non-movers on home ...

According to a study by Aberdeen Group and VeraCentra, companies with better customer service and efficiency will lead to more repeat business from established customers. "Best-in-Class" companies had a 91% customer retention rate and increased their net client value by 6%. Companies in the bottom 30% only had a 62% customer retention rate and their net client value decreased by 9%. One of the main characteristics of Best-in-Class companies is that 80% of them capture customer history regularly and make it visible to all customer-facing staff. By constantly gathering information on customers, they can improve their customer service and continue to please ...

By now, you’ve become accustomed to a variety of e-mail marketing tactics.  Small and large companies alike are using  e-mail marketing to engage their audience and to grow their sales.  The truth is that blasting an e-mail to everyone on your compiled client/prospect lists is not necessarily going to yield any results. The key to maximizing your conversions and improving the effectiveness of your e-mail campaigns is to have a strategic plan.  First, analyze the data you collected from previous campaigns.  By using behavior-based targeting, the likelihood of having better conversions is much greater.  Instead of sending your e-mail offers to ...

As times change and technology advances, the needs and requirements of clients change.  To keep up with technology and the ever-increasingly sophisticated customer, businesses must constantly revise and update their marketing strategies.  Every marketing campaign has one common goal: obtain a response from the target audience.  Not too long ago, the preferred method for marketing campaigns was a mass marketing approach where a specific offer would be sent to as many prospects as possible.  While that may have increased visibility, conversion rates are very low.  Recently, sophisticated technology has made a case for the superiority of a one-to-one marketing approach. ...

Variable data printing (VDP) and digital printing technology allows business owners to target customers more specifically with the aid of specialty data and mailing lists.  With VDP, business owners can define a target market based on income, lifestyle choices, interests, marital status, gender, and an almost infinite number of categories.  Business owners are able to actually imagine the "perfect client," the customer most likely in need of their goods and services, and then systematically and specifically target individuals who fit that description in their direct mail marketing campaigns. These highly targeted direct mail marketing campaigns are even more effective when they ...

During a recession, the business owners that survive - and even thrive - are those who take advantage of the unique opportunities of the times.  In a business climate in which many marketers are cutting expenses by slashing marketing budgets, some are using the latest advances in variable data and digital printing to make the most of every marketing dollar spent. In the past, the owner of a brand new neighborhood restaurant may attract customers and increase awareness in the community with a generic direct mail marketing campaign. The business owner might design an attractive and informative postcard inviting customers. He ...

As modern marketing practices become increasingly high-tech and advanced with every innovation in communications technology, you might be surprised to learn that overwhelming research indicates that a standard of the industry, direct mail marketing, continues to be a strong and high-yielding option, especially in today's slowing economy.  Print in the Mix, a  clearinghouse on print media effectiveness, follows marketing data in all areas of print marketing, including direct mail, magazines and catalogs, newspapers, and custom publishing.  According to Print in the Mix, in 2008, direct mail marketing campaigns produced a ROMI (return on marketing investment) of over $15 for every ...

Studies Show VDP & PURL Successfully Drive Up Response Rates & ROI Recently, we have been writing about the benefits of personalization in a marketing campaign.  Today we want to drill home the point further.  One of the main reasons some people may be hesitant to adopt VDP (Variable Data Printing) or PURL (Personalized URLs) solutions is a lack of numbers indicating probable success.  We want to erase any hesitancy you may have. James Mikes, Director of Technology for PODi, said last year that companies generally double their response rates when they switched from a static marketing campaign to a personalized one.  These rates ...

Segmentation in business; is the method of dividing business into correlated groups that enhances the business view. For structural growth in business, segmentation is an imperative and effective means to achieve the end result. With emerging smaller franchises the need to find 'that subtle' difference to bring forth the marketing edge is very important. Opportunities in marketing increase when segmented groups of clients and customers with varying needs and wants are recognized. Markets can be segmented or targeted using a variety of factor. The bases for segmenting consumer markets include: Demographical bases (age, family, gender, occupation, ethnicity) Geographical bases (cities, states, regions, countries) Behavior bases ...