collected enough data on that individual to be relevant to them.” Examples might be a bonus rewards certificate emailed to a customer who forgot to spend their rewards dollars before they expired, or an automaker sharing articles about its brand’s superior safety with expectant parents. “The more we understand the customer, the better we can reach them,” Ramkissoon explains. In addition, it’s essential to recognize that while the end result—a sale—might be the same, the way each individual customer arrives at that end result is going to be different. Pinkney and Ramkissoon call this a oneopportunity-at-a-time approach. “The idea is to have a solution for one opportunity at a time that continually builds on the previous one, until you have a holistic experience mapped out,” Ramkissoon says. This means each touch point with a customer builds upon the previous touch point, allowing the brand to continually develop the customer relationship— in a way that makes sense. DIRECT MAIL: THE ONE FORMAT TO INTEGRATE THEM ALL While it might surprise brands that maintain strictly digital mindsets, direct mail can play a crucial role in this process of building the customer relationship—especially when it’s integrated with other channels. In fact, a recent report published by MarketingCharts shows that response rates are more than 20 percent higher when there’s a “high to complete level of direct mail integration.” How does the physical compare to—and integrate with— the digital? “With these tools, we can personalize and test direct mail the same way we would personalize and test an email campaign,” says Ramkissoon. “We can test images, content, placement and color on digital presses today.” As for integration, calls-to-action on direct mail pieces can drive the customer online, decreasing the time from mailing to actionable insights. Ramkissoon recommends teaming up with print vendors that offer these capabilities to make the most of a direct mail campaign and effectively integrate direct mail into the brand’s marketing strategy. Integrating your channels leads to a profitable combination: the data you need to build those key relationship moments, the speed of digital technology and the ability to offer customers a tangible experience. “Digital has, unfortunately, blinded marketers to the role that physicality plays,” says Pinkney. Adds Ramkissoon, “There are things you can do [in direct mail] with folds and scents and textures and die cuts. There’s no other channel that can truly deliver a brand experience like print.” BECOMING ONE WITH THE CUSTOMER Creating a positive customer experience is all about leveraging your people, processes and tools to collect and analyze the right data—which in turn helps you build relationship moments that drive customer loyalty. 11
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