Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

January 14, 2009

DMA: Direct Marketing Future is Customer-Empowered

By Brendan B. Read

Senior Contributing Editor

With the economic collapse, direct marketers, including those that rely on contact centers, are understandably unclear about what 2009 and beyond will bring. In response the Direct Marketing Association has taken a hard look into what lies ahead for direct marketing over the next five to 10 years.

The DMA released its findings in a new report, the “Future of Direct Marketing,” which provides insights into what direct marketing community leaders think about the short- and long-term future of this industry and what they see as the steps direct marketers need to take now to thrive.

Customers will be in control

Technology has given consumers myriad choices, options, and resources that allow them to find what they want and skip over what they don’t. Technology will continue to rapidly advance which will present great opportunities for both consumers and marketers. If businesses cannot provide them with what they want, there is a long line of competitors that will. With consumers driving this relationship, they will demand customized and relevant marketing messages. They not only will control the content but also its frequency and preferred channel(s).

Measurable and accountable marketing

The health of the economy has made every marketer think and re-think where to put each dollar of their marketing budget says the report. Allocations will move away from traditional channels such as catalog and direct mail and into digital channels, which are intrinsically more measurable. The proof will be in the numbers, which will force marketers to test their campaigns, provide results through metrics such as ROI, response rates, open-rates, and metrics that have not been devised yet), and justify their spending.

Traditional DM down, digital marketing up

Environmental pressures, postage rate hikes, and the potential for a Do-Not-Mail bill will result in a decrease in direct mail and catalog volumes. Marketers will see a larger shift to digital channels. Digital has many advantages, says the report, over traditional DM such as its ability to track real-time measurements, create more targeted, relevant, and personalized messages, and reach new generations of consumers who were born with a mouse in hand.

Many channels, one message

It’s not all bad news for direct mail and catalogs. Integration has always been a key component to direct marketing and will only increase in importance in the future as the number of viable channels increases. There will be a movement from single channel campaigns to more integrated multichannel strategies. The campaigns have the same message across multiple channels allowing marketers to reach more customers, who in turn have more opportunities to respond via the channel of their choice.

Here are the report’s recommendations on how direct marketer should prepare for this future:

Invest in your future

The #1 way to prepare for all four of the above predicted trends is to invest resources in the proper technology, staff, and mindset to be ready for the shift that is already occurring in DM. Marketers need to know how to use Web 2.0 effectively. This means they need to know how to incorporate it into multichannel strategies, how to capture and capitalize the abundance of data that digital channels offer, and how to track and measure performance using analytics tools and techniques. This investment will lead to more informed decisions about marketing choices, which will make us better marketers.

Ask for preferences

With the marketer-customer relationship increasingly favoring the latter, marketers need to seize the opportunity now to keep their customers happy. Over-stimulating customers with too many marketing messages shuts them off from products, services, and information. Even the most relevant message will get lost. Ask customers what they want to receive, how often they want to receive it, and through what channels. While the initial investment may be costly, the overall return of a campaign will greatly increase due to the highly targeted nature of marketing programs.

Data is your best friend

Direct marketers have many data-driven tools in their toolbox. One of the most easily implemented is testing. Test against messages, test channels--test everything and anything! The beauty of testing is that it allows one to see what works and what does not. In a state where every marketing dollar counts, testing is even more critical. Digital channels give marketers the opportunity to capture a wide range of data. Don’t waste that data, use it to one’s advantage. Use it to create customized messages, price a new product and justify marketing spending.

Be open-minded

Times are changing, and now more than ever marketers have to keep an open mind about where technology and trends are taking them. Direct marketing has always been resilient, and while it faces difficult times today, it also has tremendous opportunities that may require us to expand our thinking and adapt to new changes. Stay on top of trends, learn what leaders are doing in the industry, be aware of best practices, and keep an eye on competitors.

“The direct marketing community is not alone in feeling the impact of today’s struggling economy, however, they have always been resilient,” says Michelle Tiletnick, DMA research manager and author of the report. “Direct marketing advertising expenditures now account for over half of total advertising expenditures and going forward, marketers will continue to be more cost conscious in their campaigns. While direct marketing has evolved drastically over the years and there are challenging times ahead, its measurability and accountability ensure that direct marketing is here to stay.”

Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.

Brendan B. Read is TMCnet�s Senior Contributing Editor. To read more of Brendan�s articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Michael Dinan

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