In our last Marketing Tips, we outlined the best practices for “pull-through” pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. This week’s Tip will focus on “push-through” PPC advertising.
What is “Push-through” PPC Marketing?
“Push-through” PPC marketing refers to online advertising that “appears” to a consumer based on the consumer’s location, behavior, interests or demographic information. Unlike “pull-through” advertisements, the consumer is NOT entering keywords into a search box. Rather, the website is using information about the consumer to determine whether the ad should appear.
For example, Facebook members will self-report facts such as their location, age, interests, etc. Based on this information, advertisers can request that their ad appears only to the Facebook members who fit a specific profile (demographic, geographic or behavioral).
Other sites, like Yahoo! can target individuals based on the location of the consumer’s computer, past sites the consumer has visited (behavioral) or demographic information.
In other words, an advertisement is “pushed” to an individual based on selected criteria on the belief that the ad will be relevant to the individual. This creates the opportunity for highly targeted advertising programs. However, similar to the “pull-through” PPC advertisements, the advertiser only pays if a consumer clicks on the ad and back-end reports provides valuable analytics.
Best Practice Tips
Many of the “Best Practices” outlined in our last Tips applies here as well:
o Consumers who click on the advertisements should be driven to a narrowly focused micro-website. This site can be used to collect information about the respondent, deliver documents and ultimately drive them to a “main” website.
o Micro-websites should be linked to a contact management system to collect the respondent’s contact information, and provide an opportunity for follow-up communications.
o Set up analytic reports for all steps in the advertising and selling process to track activities and provide a comprehensive view of the marketing environment.
o Support your PPC campaign with phone support so respondents who are interested and ready can talk to a person before making a purchase.
o As always, integrating a PPC advertising campaign with other online and offline advertising initiatives generally provides the best overall results.
To discuss “push-through” PPC marketing, or other forms of direct-response marketing, contact us at DMC Advertising. We are specialists in highly targeted and measurable marketing programs.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Best Practices for “Pull-through” Pay-per-Click Marketing
The advertising category of “paid search” has grown at a rate of nearly 30% year-over-year for the past several years. A study published earlier this year by Forrester Research and Shop.org (a division of the National Retail Federation) revealed that nearly 40% of major companies’ online marketing budgets were allocated to “paid search” tactics. This is significant compared to other popular online tactics such as email marketing (11%), search engine optimization (3%) and Social Media (1%).
What is “Pull-through” PPC Marketing?
We define “pull-through” pay-per-click search marketing as advertising that appears in the search results based on the keywords a person types into a search engine. In other words, the ad appears and “pulls” a person through to the vendor’s website based on the interest expressed through the use of key words in the search. This process is used in both major search engines (such as Google or Yahoo) or in vertical search engines (such as Business.com or Thomasnet.com).
This form of advertising has become very popular for obvious reasons – your ad only appears to those who have expressed an interest in your product or services, and the marketer only pays for the ad when the respondent clicks on the link. In other words, it is demand-driven. Additionally, PPC advertising is highly measurable.
Best Practice Tips
Here are some tips for best practice in “pull-through” PPC marketing:
o Since marketers “bid” on keywords, test and measure a number of different keyword combinations. Sometimes longer strings of keywords are cheaper, yet are more targeted to the most relevant shoppers.
o Research and choose the best search engines to place your campaign. For consumer searches, Google is dominant for shear numbers, but depending on your target audience, other search engines, such as Yahoo!, may be a better choice. For business searches, many marketers may select certain vertical search engines such as Business.com or Thomasnet.com. The key to success is understanding your audiences and how they generally conduct a search.
o Set up AdGroups based on keyword groupings so they can be tracked and measured.
o Set up specific micro-websites where respondents are driven. It is important to keep respondents’ interests focused. If a respondent clicks on an ad for a specific product, but is driven to a general website, the person will likely get lost and abandon the search. Also, the URL for the micro-web sites should relate to the keywords that are part of the established AdGroup.
o Set up the analytics reports for each of the micro-websites to identify respondents’ behaviors. The focus should be on measuring and testing these ads to optimize performance.
o If you are a B2B marketer, it is important to tie the responses into a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to track these leads through the sales process.
o It is also important to back up the online experience with phone support. Often people get to a point where they are ready (or need) to speak with a sales representative before they make the purchase.
o PPC marketing, like all media, is most effective when integrated into other supporting media, rather than as a stand-alone medium.
Evaluating “Pull-through” PPC Marketing Results
When planned, monitored and managed correctly, “pull-through” PPC marketing can be a very effective and efficient form of advertising. Some of the key metrics you may want to monitor:
o Which search engines are being used to conduct a search?
o Which keywords are used most often?
o How are “responders” different from “buyers”?
o At which point are responders abandoning the search process?
There, of course, are many other ways to measure performance. They will depend on your audiences and offerings. But establishing a process to routinely test, monitor and analyze results can provide the opportunity to experience improved campaign performance at a lower acquisition cost.
To discuss “pull-through” PPC marketing or other forms of direct-response marketing, contact us at DMC Advertising. We are specialists in highly targeted and measurable marketing programs.
Watch for our next Marketing Tips when we focus on “push-through” PPC marketing.
What is “Pull-through” PPC Marketing?
We define “pull-through” pay-per-click search marketing as advertising that appears in the search results based on the keywords a person types into a search engine. In other words, the ad appears and “pulls” a person through to the vendor’s website based on the interest expressed through the use of key words in the search. This process is used in both major search engines (such as Google or Yahoo) or in vertical search engines (such as Business.com or Thomasnet.com).
This form of advertising has become very popular for obvious reasons – your ad only appears to those who have expressed an interest in your product or services, and the marketer only pays for the ad when the respondent clicks on the link. In other words, it is demand-driven. Additionally, PPC advertising is highly measurable.
Best Practice Tips
Here are some tips for best practice in “pull-through” PPC marketing:
o Since marketers “bid” on keywords, test and measure a number of different keyword combinations. Sometimes longer strings of keywords are cheaper, yet are more targeted to the most relevant shoppers.
o Research and choose the best search engines to place your campaign. For consumer searches, Google is dominant for shear numbers, but depending on your target audience, other search engines, such as Yahoo!, may be a better choice. For business searches, many marketers may select certain vertical search engines such as Business.com or Thomasnet.com. The key to success is understanding your audiences and how they generally conduct a search.
o Set up AdGroups based on keyword groupings so they can be tracked and measured.
o Set up specific micro-websites where respondents are driven. It is important to keep respondents’ interests focused. If a respondent clicks on an ad for a specific product, but is driven to a general website, the person will likely get lost and abandon the search. Also, the URL for the micro-web sites should relate to the keywords that are part of the established AdGroup.
o Set up the analytics reports for each of the micro-websites to identify respondents’ behaviors. The focus should be on measuring and testing these ads to optimize performance.
o If you are a B2B marketer, it is important to tie the responses into a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to track these leads through the sales process.
o It is also important to back up the online experience with phone support. Often people get to a point where they are ready (or need) to speak with a sales representative before they make the purchase.
o PPC marketing, like all media, is most effective when integrated into other supporting media, rather than as a stand-alone medium.
Evaluating “Pull-through” PPC Marketing Results
When planned, monitored and managed correctly, “pull-through” PPC marketing can be a very effective and efficient form of advertising. Some of the key metrics you may want to monitor:
o Which search engines are being used to conduct a search?
o Which keywords are used most often?
o How are “responders” different from “buyers”?
o At which point are responders abandoning the search process?
There, of course, are many other ways to measure performance. They will depend on your audiences and offerings. But establishing a process to routinely test, monitor and analyze results can provide the opportunity to experience improved campaign performance at a lower acquisition cost.
To discuss “pull-through” PPC marketing or other forms of direct-response marketing, contact us at DMC Advertising. We are specialists in highly targeted and measurable marketing programs.
Watch for our next Marketing Tips when we focus on “push-through” PPC marketing.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Calculating Advertising ROI
In our previous blog, we used ROI calculations as a tool to prepare an objectives-based budget. Today, we will discuss how ROI calculations should be used to determine if your advertising efforts resulted in the incremental growth of your organization’s profits.
One of the leading experts in this field of marketing ROI is James D. Lenskold, who literally wrote the book, “Marketing ROI”. You can find many useful tips regarding marketing ROI on his website www.lenskold.com .
According to Lenskold, the key to calculating ROI is to focus on profits, not gross sales revenue. In other words, how much are you willing to invest to secure incremental profits? This idea seems like a “no-brainer”, but Lenskold outlines many of the common obstacles that exist in organizations that prevent the application of this approach.
In its most simplistic and fundamental form, Lenskold’s equation for calculating ROI is:
Gross Profit Margin – Advertising Costs / Advertising Costs
Here, the organization takes the gross profit margin (or profit before the marketing costs are taken into consideration), subtracts the advertising costs, and then divides that value by the advertising costs. The result is a percentage return, much like financial investments may produce a return.
For example, if an organization’s “gross profit margin” is $750,000 and their advertising cost was $500,000, the resulting ROI is 50%:
$750,000 - $500,000 / $500,000 = 50%
What is the “correct” ROI level? Well, that becomes a management prerogative based on the business, industry and market conditions.
With his book, Lenskold explores some very complex variations of this equation and other consideration, such net present value, lifetime value of a customer, cross-selling current customers, and so forth. However, the book is a useful guide to determine how best to calculate marketing ROI within your organization.
If you are looking to move your organization to a more measurable approach with your marketing efforts, I recommend you check out Lenskold’s website and begin to transition your marketing budget from an expense to an investment within your organization.
For more information on measurable marketing, or other strategy-based advertising applications, contact DMC Advertising at (262) 523-2000. We are specialists at targeted and measurable marketing programs.
One of the leading experts in this field of marketing ROI is James D. Lenskold, who literally wrote the book, “Marketing ROI”. You can find many useful tips regarding marketing ROI on his website www.lenskold.com .
According to Lenskold, the key to calculating ROI is to focus on profits, not gross sales revenue. In other words, how much are you willing to invest to secure incremental profits? This idea seems like a “no-brainer”, but Lenskold outlines many of the common obstacles that exist in organizations that prevent the application of this approach.
In its most simplistic and fundamental form, Lenskold’s equation for calculating ROI is:
Gross Profit Margin – Advertising Costs / Advertising Costs
Here, the organization takes the gross profit margin (or profit before the marketing costs are taken into consideration), subtracts the advertising costs, and then divides that value by the advertising costs. The result is a percentage return, much like financial investments may produce a return.
For example, if an organization’s “gross profit margin” is $750,000 and their advertising cost was $500,000, the resulting ROI is 50%:
$750,000 - $500,000 / $500,000 = 50%
What is the “correct” ROI level? Well, that becomes a management prerogative based on the business, industry and market conditions.
With his book, Lenskold explores some very complex variations of this equation and other consideration, such net present value, lifetime value of a customer, cross-selling current customers, and so forth. However, the book is a useful guide to determine how best to calculate marketing ROI within your organization.
If you are looking to move your organization to a more measurable approach with your marketing efforts, I recommend you check out Lenskold’s website and begin to transition your marketing budget from an expense to an investment within your organization.
For more information on measurable marketing, or other strategy-based advertising applications, contact DMC Advertising at (262) 523-2000. We are specialists at targeted and measurable marketing programs.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Objectives-based Budgeting
Why is the advertising budget the first area to be cut during a recession? Most likely, it is because advertising is viewed as an “expense” rather than an “investment”. And the reason advertising is often viewed as an expense is because the methods to determine the appropriate budget has little to do with revenue goals, and the activities are not measured to link advertising with sales results.
Today, we will review a few of the most common methods companies employ to establish their marketing budgets (and why they are not the best approaches).
Then we will discuss an approach that ties advertising to revenue and begins to turn the advertising budget from an expense to an investment.
Common Budgeting Methods
Percent of Sales
This is a formula-driven method based on the previous year’s sales results (such as 2% of sales). This is considered to be one of the most common approaches because it is simple, and ties the budget to revenue (albeit, historical). However, by looking backwards, companies are ignoring the current or projected economic conditions, marketing trends or the future opportunities.
What Can We Afford?
This approach considers the financial projections for the organization, and management decides how much it is willing to spend on advertising. This approach is used often because it sounds “fiscally responsible” and is very simple. However, this method is unrelated to sales revenue and (again) ignores future opportunities.
Increase Over Last Year
A third common approach is to take last year’s budget and allocate an increase (or decrease). Generally, this becomes an Accounting process rather than a Marketing one. Again, this makes budgeting simple and may even account for economic conditions such as inflation or a recession. However, it also assumes that the “original” budget was developed soundly (and this is often a very big assumption). The budget may be completely arbitrary and ignores current market conditions.
Objectives-based Budgeting
A better approach is Objectives-based Budgeting. This is the process of developing a marketing budget based on measurable revenue objectives and projected return-on-investment (ROI) to determine the correct advertising allocation.
Key Advantages
o It is based on FUTURE business opportunities and economic climate, not historical
o It forces organizations to make sound business decisions that align resources with organizational goals
o It turns advertising from an “expense” into an “investment”
So why doesn’t everyone use this approach? Objectives-based Budgeting is a more complex approach and requires individuals within the organization to be accountable. Also, many of the measurements needed to prepare the budget have not be available in some organizations. However, we will attempt to provide a straight-forward, simplistic approach to this method.
Key Steps
o Establish an ROI Parameter
ROI is generally expressed as a percentage, such as a Certificate of Deposit generated a 3% ROI on the initial investment. For organizations, it is common to set a more significant ROI level, such as 200% (or more) of the projected profit margin. This level is a managerial prerogative to establish a budgetary tolerance.
o Estimate Client Lifetime Value
If you don’t already know, it is important to determine the lifetime value of your clients, especially if you rely on repeat business to grow your organization. This involves multiplying the average annual revenue per customer times the average client tenure. Then determine the projected margin for your clients to determine the expected value for each new client you secure.
o Establish Objectives
It is important to set specific, quantifiable and realistic sales objectives to calculate projected revenue. Review historical statistics to estimate key metrics such as close ratio, appointment-to-proposal ratios or lead-to-appointment ratios. Each organization will have its own unique set of metrics. Use these historical values to project the level of sales activity that will be needed to secure the correct number of new clients and resulting revenue.
o Do the Math
If you have been able to determine all of the values listed above, you can calculate the appropriate funding levels to acquire new clients.
For example:
o Your organization wants to achieve at least a 200% ROI of its profits.
o You expect that the average annual gross revenue of a new client will be $3,000 with a profit margin of 10% (or $300), and that a new client is typically retained for five years. This means a new client is projected to be worth $1,500 in lifetime profit.
o If your sales objectives call for the acquisition of 500 new clients, then the projected profit margin from these new clients will be [$1,500 x 500] or $750,000.
o The generally-accepted formula to determine an advertising budget that will achieve the target ROI is:
profit margin – advertising costs / advertising costs = ROI
To achieve a 200% (or 2:1) ROI in this example, the advertising cost calculation would be then be:
$750,000 - $250,000 / $250,000 = 200%
In other words, to achieve a 200% ROI on $750,000 profit, you can justify a $250,000 advertising budget.
o Now you need to go back to your sales metrics and determine if this budget is sufficient and appropriate to generate the level of activity necessary to produce the sales. In other words, can you generate enough leads, appointments or proposals with this budget so the end sales result meets expectations?
Clearly, we have provided an incredibly simplified approach to a fairly complex process, but hopefully it will provide enough of an overview to help you to begin applying this process within your own organization.
For more information on objectives-based budgeting, or other strategy-based advertising applications, contact DMC Advertising at (262) 523-2000. We are specialists at targeted and measurable marketing programs.
Today, we will review a few of the most common methods companies employ to establish their marketing budgets (and why they are not the best approaches).
Then we will discuss an approach that ties advertising to revenue and begins to turn the advertising budget from an expense to an investment.
Common Budgeting Methods
Percent of Sales
This is a formula-driven method based on the previous year’s sales results (such as 2% of sales). This is considered to be one of the most common approaches because it is simple, and ties the budget to revenue (albeit, historical). However, by looking backwards, companies are ignoring the current or projected economic conditions, marketing trends or the future opportunities.
What Can We Afford?
This approach considers the financial projections for the organization, and management decides how much it is willing to spend on advertising. This approach is used often because it sounds “fiscally responsible” and is very simple. However, this method is unrelated to sales revenue and (again) ignores future opportunities.
Increase Over Last Year
A third common approach is to take last year’s budget and allocate an increase (or decrease). Generally, this becomes an Accounting process rather than a Marketing one. Again, this makes budgeting simple and may even account for economic conditions such as inflation or a recession. However, it also assumes that the “original” budget was developed soundly (and this is often a very big assumption). The budget may be completely arbitrary and ignores current market conditions.
Objectives-based Budgeting
A better approach is Objectives-based Budgeting. This is the process of developing a marketing budget based on measurable revenue objectives and projected return-on-investment (ROI) to determine the correct advertising allocation.
Key Advantages
o It is based on FUTURE business opportunities and economic climate, not historical
o It forces organizations to make sound business decisions that align resources with organizational goals
o It turns advertising from an “expense” into an “investment”
So why doesn’t everyone use this approach? Objectives-based Budgeting is a more complex approach and requires individuals within the organization to be accountable. Also, many of the measurements needed to prepare the budget have not be available in some organizations. However, we will attempt to provide a straight-forward, simplistic approach to this method.
Key Steps
o Establish an ROI Parameter
ROI is generally expressed as a percentage, such as a Certificate of Deposit generated a 3% ROI on the initial investment. For organizations, it is common to set a more significant ROI level, such as 200% (or more) of the projected profit margin. This level is a managerial prerogative to establish a budgetary tolerance.
o Estimate Client Lifetime Value
If you don’t already know, it is important to determine the lifetime value of your clients, especially if you rely on repeat business to grow your organization. This involves multiplying the average annual revenue per customer times the average client tenure. Then determine the projected margin for your clients to determine the expected value for each new client you secure.
o Establish Objectives
It is important to set specific, quantifiable and realistic sales objectives to calculate projected revenue. Review historical statistics to estimate key metrics such as close ratio, appointment-to-proposal ratios or lead-to-appointment ratios. Each organization will have its own unique set of metrics. Use these historical values to project the level of sales activity that will be needed to secure the correct number of new clients and resulting revenue.
o Do the Math
If you have been able to determine all of the values listed above, you can calculate the appropriate funding levels to acquire new clients.
For example:
o Your organization wants to achieve at least a 200% ROI of its profits.
o You expect that the average annual gross revenue of a new client will be $3,000 with a profit margin of 10% (or $300), and that a new client is typically retained for five years. This means a new client is projected to be worth $1,500 in lifetime profit.
o If your sales objectives call for the acquisition of 500 new clients, then the projected profit margin from these new clients will be [$1,500 x 500] or $750,000.
o The generally-accepted formula to determine an advertising budget that will achieve the target ROI is:
profit margin – advertising costs / advertising costs = ROI
To achieve a 200% (or 2:1) ROI in this example, the advertising cost calculation would be then be:
$750,000 - $250,000 / $250,000 = 200%
In other words, to achieve a 200% ROI on $750,000 profit, you can justify a $250,000 advertising budget.
o Now you need to go back to your sales metrics and determine if this budget is sufficient and appropriate to generate the level of activity necessary to produce the sales. In other words, can you generate enough leads, appointments or proposals with this budget so the end sales result meets expectations?
Clearly, we have provided an incredibly simplified approach to a fairly complex process, but hopefully it will provide enough of an overview to help you to begin applying this process within your own organization.
For more information on objectives-based budgeting, or other strategy-based advertising applications, contact DMC Advertising at (262) 523-2000. We are specialists at targeted and measurable marketing programs.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Broadcast Voicemail – A Low-cost, High-touch Tactic
Unless you are a hermit or are living “off the grid”, you have likely experienced broadcast voicemail. The most common experience people have with broadcast voicemail is during elections – you check your voicemail messages and listen to a recording from a local celebrity or politician urging you to vote for their candidate.
Some institutions, like school districts, have begun using this technology to alert parents of district school children about specific activities or issues.
However, there is also a solid marketing application in the right circumstances. It can complement other direct marketing tactics for one additional, high-impact touch point. Here are some of the key features of broadcast voicemail.
Key Features:
o Price. You only pay for “completed” messages, and the cost is typically less than the cost of postage.
o Fast & Easy. Most can be set up online to deliver them quickly.
o Automated call list management. Most services have a host of call list management features to meet regulatory requirements and provide back end reporting.
o Delivery Options. With digital advancements in telecommunications, broadcast voicemail systems can be programmed for either “live” delivery or “voicemail message” delivery.
o Transfer options – “press ‘0’ to speak with an attendant”. This allows the recipient to speak to a live attendant instantly for additional information.
But, as you might expect, there are also some restrictions with this technology. Here are some of the “do’s-and-don’ts”:
o For consumer promotions, your organization must have an affinity relationship: either as a customer or as someone who has given permission to receive voicemail messages. The exceptions? Political parties (of course they would exempt themselves) and non-profit organizations.
o Best practice for B2B use is similar to consumers. It is best to have a relationship or permission before sending broadcast messages. However, provided you offer an “op-out” at the start of the message, you can send messages to individuals in a business setting without an affinity relationship.
For your next campaign, keep this unique medium in mind. But like many other media, broadcast voicemail must be used selectively and will work best when integrated with other communications.
For more information on digital marketing tools, or other strategy-based advertising applications, contact DMC Advertising at (262) 523-2000. We are specialists at targeted and measurable marketing programs.
Some institutions, like school districts, have begun using this technology to alert parents of district school children about specific activities or issues.
However, there is also a solid marketing application in the right circumstances. It can complement other direct marketing tactics for one additional, high-impact touch point. Here are some of the key features of broadcast voicemail.
Key Features:
o Price. You only pay for “completed” messages, and the cost is typically less than the cost of postage.
o Fast & Easy. Most can be set up online to deliver them quickly.
o Automated call list management. Most services have a host of call list management features to meet regulatory requirements and provide back end reporting.
o Delivery Options. With digital advancements in telecommunications, broadcast voicemail systems can be programmed for either “live” delivery or “voicemail message” delivery.
o Transfer options – “press ‘0’ to speak with an attendant”. This allows the recipient to speak to a live attendant instantly for additional information.
But, as you might expect, there are also some restrictions with this technology. Here are some of the “do’s-and-don’ts”:
o For consumer promotions, your organization must have an affinity relationship: either as a customer or as someone who has given permission to receive voicemail messages. The exceptions? Political parties (of course they would exempt themselves) and non-profit organizations.
o Best practice for B2B use is similar to consumers. It is best to have a relationship or permission before sending broadcast messages. However, provided you offer an “op-out” at the start of the message, you can send messages to individuals in a business setting without an affinity relationship.
For your next campaign, keep this unique medium in mind. But like many other media, broadcast voicemail must be used selectively and will work best when integrated with other communications.
For more information on digital marketing tools, or other strategy-based advertising applications, contact DMC Advertising at (262) 523-2000. We are specialists at targeted and measurable marketing programs.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Mass Faxing – More Than Putting Lipstick on a Pig
At the risk of dating myself, it was a mere 15 – 20 years ago that fax machines were considered high tech communications devices. Modern business was significantly advanced by the ability to electronically send documents in minutes rather than days.
But the shine wore off quickly as email and the internet replaced the fax as the preferred means to share information.
However, what’s old is new again. Internet-based faxing services allow B2B marketers an opportunity to send out mass faxes to your key business contacts.
Six Key Benefits of Web-based Mass Faxing
o Low cost. There is no print production or postage costs to send a fax.
o Quick and Easy. Communications can be created and sent faster than many other forms of communications.
o Personalization. Thanks to digital technology, you can use your database to send out personalized or variable messages to make them more relevant to the target recipients.
o Urgency. Faxes are still treated as urgent messages – usually placed on the recipient’s desk chair rather than being lost in their email inbox or regular mail bin.
o Availability. Unlike email addresses, companies routinely publish their fax numbers so it is easy to find or append to your database from external sources.
o Retention. Emails can be deleted in seconds without even being read. Since faxes are hard copy, they will mostly likely receive at least a cursory reading.
For your next B2B campaign, keep this rarely considered medium in mind. But like many other media, mass faxing will work best when integrated with other communications.
For more information on digital marketing tools, or other strategy-based advertising applications, contact DMC Advertising at (262) 523-2000. We are specialists at targeted and measurable marketing programs.
But the shine wore off quickly as email and the internet replaced the fax as the preferred means to share information.
However, what’s old is new again. Internet-based faxing services allow B2B marketers an opportunity to send out mass faxes to your key business contacts.
Six Key Benefits of Web-based Mass Faxing
o Low cost. There is no print production or postage costs to send a fax.
o Quick and Easy. Communications can be created and sent faster than many other forms of communications.
o Personalization. Thanks to digital technology, you can use your database to send out personalized or variable messages to make them more relevant to the target recipients.
o Urgency. Faxes are still treated as urgent messages – usually placed on the recipient’s desk chair rather than being lost in their email inbox or regular mail bin.
o Availability. Unlike email addresses, companies routinely publish their fax numbers so it is easy to find or append to your database from external sources.
o Retention. Emails can be deleted in seconds without even being read. Since faxes are hard copy, they will mostly likely receive at least a cursory reading.
For your next B2B campaign, keep this rarely considered medium in mind. But like many other media, mass faxing will work best when integrated with other communications.
For more information on digital marketing tools, or other strategy-based advertising applications, contact DMC Advertising at (262) 523-2000. We are specialists at targeted and measurable marketing programs.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
PURLs – Powerful Web-based Lead-gen Tool
As a marketing professional, you know that the internet has dramatically changed the way companies promote and sell their products.
Consumers have more access to more information and are more comfortable completing transactions online than ever before. A study by the Direct Marketing Association found that people overwhelmingly prefer to go online to “check out” a company or product before responding.
However, this has also created a challenge. Your website analytics report can provide you with all sorts of traffic data, but it can’t tell you WHO is going to your website.
That is where Personalized URLs (PURLs) provide a solution.
What’s a PURL?
PURLs are a relatively new technology that links your database with digital print and email communications, and drives them to a personalized web-based platform that provides respondents with an interactive, one-to-one communication experience.
Features & Advantages
Some of the key advantages of PURLs:
o You know WHO is responding
o Additional information can be collected to further enhance your database
o All communications, including the web pages, are personalized
o You can combine both direct mail and email to enhance response rates
o You can include survey questions to help score the quality of the leads
o You can automate future communications to nurture the leads
o You can automatically direct the respondents to your website for additional information
o Response activities are captured in real-time through an online dashboard
o Response information can be immediately forwarded to sales staff for timely follow-up calls
Best Practices
However, it is also important to know that great technology won’t overcome poor direct marketing planning or tactics. For a PURL to be successful, it is important to follow direct marketing best practices, which include:
o Make sure the database is accurate and complete
o Make sure the “offer” is relevant and valuable
o Include a strong call-to-action
o Plan an integrated, multi-media approach to lift response rates
o Make sure the promoted brand is strong and well supported.
For a hands-on demonstration of this incredible marketing tool, go to the personalized URL sent to you either by mail or by email.
Respondents will receive a FREE whitepaper on Demand Generation Tactics.
If you didn’t receive an invitation to participate in the demonstration, you can go to http://www.dmcpurldemo.com/invite and participate in a generic version of the program.
Give it a try. It’s FUN!
Consumers have more access to more information and are more comfortable completing transactions online than ever before. A study by the Direct Marketing Association found that people overwhelmingly prefer to go online to “check out” a company or product before responding.
However, this has also created a challenge. Your website analytics report can provide you with all sorts of traffic data, but it can’t tell you WHO is going to your website.
That is where Personalized URLs (PURLs) provide a solution.
What’s a PURL?
PURLs are a relatively new technology that links your database with digital print and email communications, and drives them to a personalized web-based platform that provides respondents with an interactive, one-to-one communication experience.
Features & Advantages
Some of the key advantages of PURLs:
o You know WHO is responding
o Additional information can be collected to further enhance your database
o All communications, including the web pages, are personalized
o You can combine both direct mail and email to enhance response rates
o You can include survey questions to help score the quality of the leads
o You can automate future communications to nurture the leads
o You can automatically direct the respondents to your website for additional information
o Response activities are captured in real-time through an online dashboard
o Response information can be immediately forwarded to sales staff for timely follow-up calls
Best Practices
However, it is also important to know that great technology won’t overcome poor direct marketing planning or tactics. For a PURL to be successful, it is important to follow direct marketing best practices, which include:
o Make sure the database is accurate and complete
o Make sure the “offer” is relevant and valuable
o Include a strong call-to-action
o Plan an integrated, multi-media approach to lift response rates
o Make sure the promoted brand is strong and well supported.
For a hands-on demonstration of this incredible marketing tool, go to the personalized URL sent to you either by mail or by email.
Respondents will receive a FREE whitepaper on Demand Generation Tactics.
If you didn’t receive an invitation to participate in the demonstration, you can go to http://www.dmcpurldemo.com/invite and participate in a generic version of the program.
Give it a try. It’s FUN!
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