Precision Promotion Leadership Committee:
Qualitative Interview Highlights
Qualitative Interview Highlights
As part of the Precision Promotion campaign, executive leaders from major corporations have agreed to be part of an all-star caucus of thought-leaders, forming the Precision Promotion Leadership Committee. Through roundtables, dinner dialogs, qualitative research interviews and conference calls, these executives will be sharing insights and perspectives into leveraging personalization tools and solutions, best practices learned through their own program implementations, and some of the challenges they have faced in executive programs that aim to cement deeper engagements through targeted customer communications. The following are some initial opinions and highlights of conversations with our Leadership Committee:
Q: Do you think that personalized communications perform better than traditional mass marketing?
A: “I feel that wherever we’ve been able to personalize a message we’ve always done better than just a mass approach, always.” Said Patrick Adams, SVP of Interactive Customer Marketing for Bertelsmann Direct North America, “Whether that be a reply card that get’s stuck into a bi monthly mailing or it’s an email that says ‘Hi Patrick’ verses ‘Hi Customer’ or ‘Hi Member’ or nothing. Even with something as little as that, we always see an increase in response and in engagement. If you get deeper into it by personalizing the product they want to see, it’s like night and day. So, across the board, no matter what it is, even on the phones, if you’re using a very basic level of customization to a more sophisticated level of customization it’s always way more effective than just a real generic call or interaction.”
A: “I feel that wherever we’ve been able to personalize a message we’ve always done better than just a mass approach, always.” Said Patrick Adams, SVP of Interactive Customer Marketing for Bertelsmann Direct North America, “Whether that be a reply card that get’s stuck into a bi monthly mailing or it’s an email that says ‘Hi Patrick’ verses ‘Hi Customer’ or ‘Hi Member’ or nothing. Even with something as little as that, we always see an increase in response and in engagement. If you get deeper into it by personalizing the product they want to see, it’s like night and day. So, across the board, no matter what it is, even on the phones, if you’re using a very basic level of customization to a more sophisticated level of customization it’s always way more effective than just a real generic call or interaction.”
Q: Do you consider personalized communication techniques to be up and coming?
A: Jeff Meyer, SVP of North America Event Marketing & Sales for Feld Entertainment said, “I think if we don’t go that route we’re all going to be in trouble. It’s only going to help us as time goes on. The more relevant we can be with our messages to our consumers the better off we’re all going to be. I think that’s going to make a profound impact on our business.”
A: Jeff Meyer, SVP of North America Event Marketing & Sales for Feld Entertainment said, “I think if we don’t go that route we’re all going to be in trouble. It’s only going to help us as time goes on. The more relevant we can be with our messages to our consumers the better off we’re all going to be. I think that’s going to make a profound impact on our business.”
Q: Can you give any examples of what you see rising to the top?
A: Joe Rooney, the SVP of Cox Communication said, “I believe that people are going to look at TransPromo and customized transactional communications. I think people have to get on the bus. Quite honestly, it’s here, people have been using it for a while and I think, for us at least, it’s a huge help to our business and I don’t see it stopping. It’s only going to get better.”
A: Joe Rooney, the SVP of Cox Communication said, “I believe that people are going to look at TransPromo and customized transactional communications. I think people have to get on the bus. Quite honestly, it’s here, people have been using it for a while and I think, for us at least, it’s a huge help to our business and I don’t see it stopping. It’s only going to get better.”
Q: Have your personal communication investments performed better than mass market delivery?
A: Kim M. Sharan, EVP and CMO of Ameriprise Financial, responded, “Our personalization to our existing client base works very well, we get a very high response rate because this is a very engaged group of clients. This is about their money, it’s not like we’re selling a low interest item. This is their money and they’re very emotionally engaged with the topic. So, if Ameriprise sends them an idea or a piece of mail, the likelihood of them opening it is pretty high.”
A: Kim M. Sharan, EVP and CMO of Ameriprise Financial, responded, “Our personalization to our existing client base works very well, we get a very high response rate because this is a very engaged group of clients. This is about their money, it’s not like we’re selling a low interest item. This is their money and they’re very emotionally engaged with the topic. So, if Ameriprise sends them an idea or a piece of mail, the likelihood of them opening it is pretty high.”
Q: Have you ever used TransPromo, transactional printing combined with promotional marketing?
A: When Patrick Adams, SVP of Interactive Customer Marketing for Bertelsmann Direct North America, was asked this he responded with a clear example: “Let’s say you get an invoice from us and I want you to pay this invoice promptly. And let’s say I know that you like a special author. I might communicate a message to say that if you pay this invoice by x date, I’ll give you a promo code for a buy one get one free offer. Or, I know that you are an avid reader of Steven King, I might say that I could put you at the top of the list on the pre order list for Steven Kings’ next book.”
A: When Patrick Adams, SVP of Interactive Customer Marketing for Bertelsmann Direct North America, was asked this he responded with a clear example: “Let’s say you get an invoice from us and I want you to pay this invoice promptly. And let’s say I know that you like a special author. I might communicate a message to say that if you pay this invoice by x date, I’ll give you a promo code for a buy one get one free offer. Or, I know that you are an avid reader of Steven King, I might say that I could put you at the top of the list on the pre order list for Steven Kings’ next book.”
