Partnering with Smart Analytical Firms for Intelligent Direct Marketing

I recently attended a trade show — it was a traditional direct marketing event at its best.  It catered to printers, lettershops and data firms — as well as those industries that supported them.  I cruised around the exhibition hall chanting my analytical mantra to those folks who would hear it.  Actually, it turned out to be a great experience for me because there were some firms there who are very open — and see the value of — integrating an analytical approach into their direct marketing strategy.

Interestingly enough, the folks who seemed most open to my message were firms that specialized in marketing data.  And of those firms, those who really understood the power of targeting through analytics got most excited about potentially partnering with our company.

This is an important concept in a sluggish economy.  You must really understand your customers so that you can keep them loyal, while acquiring new ones at the same time.  What makes them your customers?  What do they look like demographically or from a lifestyles perspective?  What are their likes and dislikes?  Do they have children?  How much money do they make?

If you can answer these questions, you’ll be well on your way to understanding how better to market to your customers, and how to target those prospects that most resemble them for the greatest DM success.

Here’s another case to consider.  CNN Online News has recently reported that Rugs Direct has partnered with Omniture to “gain increased understanding of consumer trends and behaviors associated with the company’s Web site content, promotions and merchandising strategies.”  Rugs Direct is one of the countries largest providers of area rugs.  According to Rugs Direct President, Randy Kremer, “From personalized products to exclusive merchandise, we use our online channel to drive a significant portion of our sales. It’s important that we understand how to effectively acquire new customers, present them with relevant offers and achieve the highest levels of customer satisfaction. Omniture promises to provide us with online marketing and search technologies as well as significant retail consulting expertise — augmenting our in-house marketing team to execute on targeted campaigns and gain increased ROI.”

See . . . it doesn’t matter if you’re marketing online, offline or both.  Here is an example of a perfect partnership.  Rugs Direct knew exactly what was missing in their marketing plan, and Omniture provided them with the technology to better understand their valuable customers.  They provided Rugs Direct with analytical support in addition to the search technologies to better hone in and attract new customers.  The end result?  More profitability!

Hence, my mantra.  Whether you’re attending a traditional direct marketing tradeshow or working with a savvy, online e-tailer companies are getting it.  It is no longer even thinkable to blanket the marketplace with your message.  We must make those we are targeting want to do business with us because of our relevant, interesting and targeted offers.  Using an analytical approach will help you structure the strategy that will get you there.  Doing this will ensure that you will be a successful marketer — regardless of the state of the economy.

Long live intelligent direct marketing!