Integrated and cross channel marketing campaigns are de rigueur these days. Direct Mail Marketing specialists Washington Direct Mail spoke to 15 industry experts recently to find out their thoughts about what makes a great campaign and we’ve highlighted some of the best quotes.
Steve Mole, Marketing Manager at United Carlton emphasised messaging and tight budgets. He said, “As a marketer used to working within tight budgets and resource limitations, the more I can do with automation and behavioural-based profiling and targeting, the more effectively my time is used.”
Darren Taylor is a Digital Marketing Consultant at The Big Marketer. He believes it is crucial to achieve refined customer and prospect segmentation. He said, “It’s all about refined customer and prospect segmentation, and how much useful data you can get into your CRM to lead the messaging of your email campaigns.”
Simon Jenkinson, Marketing Manager at Littlefish added, “What’s the most powerful piece of direct mail you’ve ever received? If you’re a marketer, chances are you’ll have at least one favourite, or more likely, a collection. Mine was a framed comic strip. The story: a brand offering limited customer service hours, helplessly watching unsatisfied visitors falling into the arms of competitors. There lies the point. You’ve forgotten all the ‘spam’ emails you received today.” Thomas Oban, Digital Marketing Manager at Access Pay spoke about the importance of clearly defining your audience when it comes to automation. He said, “To me, marketing automation is about clearly defining your target personna, taking that audience on a journey and telling them a story using content – especially true in the B2B space.”
Their very thorough post took in the views of specialists across a number of different types of businesses. David Ingram for example is the MD at agency Bring Digital. He enthused, ““My number one tip for boosting campaign success and response rates would be to really get under the hood of customer segmentation. Too many businesses set up campaigns with a single customer view. However, by building granular segments based on customer demographic, point in journey and behavioral data, you can create a much more personalised experience.”
Speaking about her experience within the recruitment world working for Golden Egg Recruitment, Marketing Manager Debora G.Barbosa said, “It is important to have an eye for design, the same way it is important to understand the client’s mind. At the company I work for now, I have the chance to create from scratch many things and this makes all the difference.”
Dan Barton, Marketing and Innovation Manager at Fagron was keen to chat about building customer profiles. He said, “ Build your customer profiles and make sure you engage with them in the right place, at the right time and with the right message.” While Dan focused on profiling, Dale Jones at Hedgehog Lab believes generating content which provides genuine value is key. He was keen to point out that, “there’s no major secret to marketing, provided the focus of your team is on generating content which provides a genuine value to your audience. I prefer to focus on the impact of campaigns – the feelings that the team are aiming to generate and the actions they’re aiming to invoke, and measuring those instead.”
Kelsey Leonard over at Communicator waded in with her thoughts on planning which she thinks is crucial. She added, ““We’ve all heard the age-old saying ‘perfect planning prevents poor performance’. In the case of marketing automation, this rings even more true. The success of a campaign rests heavily on the data you use to power it.”
Justina Rimkeviciute is the Digital Marketing Manager at PROFORECAST LTD and she believes market analysis is absolutely crucial. She said, “Start with creating a market analysis and then predict a forecast for your market. No marketing department has unlimited budget or time, so estimating your potential reach and your predicted ROI’s will help you allocate your time and efforts in the best way possible.”
Charlotte Morgan at Tealium thinks a good modern day approach is being as transparent as possible. She argued, “Transparency holds the key; clearly defining the data you wish to collect, how it is being used and where it is being stored to build customer confidence in your brand.” While Becca Jay Sharples, who is the Marketing and Campaigns Manager at Viddyoze strongly believes in data collection. She said, “There’s huge problems with the starting points and ‘light bulb moments’ in campaign planning. To tackle this, we need to be asking questions constantly. Do our audience know who we are (awareness)? Do they like how we sound (brand tone)? Do they trust us (brand loyalty and reputation)?”
Peter Bennett at Pantheon Macroeconomics calls on the respect of the end user. He argued, “Whilst content, subject lines and good data are and will remain key, one thing some marketers neglect is timing. Segmenting your data by region/time zone and staggering deliveries has worked very well and has a big impact on response rates. I also suggest to have a clear call to action. What are you trying to achieve? Finally, respect the end user and their data.”
Helen Marshall is the Broker Marketing Manager at Norton Broker Services and she believes research is key. She said, “The key to successful marketing is planning & research. Research plays such a pivotal role. If you’re a good marketer, you can slot into any business.”
John Bunyan is the Marketing Manager at Profound Services. He thinks adding genuine value is crucial. He added, “Have a clear view of who you are, what you do, the value you offer and how that maps against the who, what and where of your audience. Then it’s about finding where you can add genuine value.”
Finally, David Milner is the International Marketing Manager at Sedbergh School. He thinks understanding your product gives you an edge, “Marketing is all about understanding your product, your targets and most importantly your customers. It is about telling a story, highlighting your USPs and making your customers understand why they should invest in your product/service.”
