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5 Tips for Data You Can Trust

The success of your marketing campaigns hinges on having excellent, reliable data. But how can you be sure that you are working with data you can trust? Here are five tips for getting it right.

1. Clean and update your data. When was the last time you ran your database through a mailing list cleansing and updating routine? Ensure that your mailing list is complete, accurate, and up to date. Even the most well-crafted direct mail campaign won’t be successful if the mailers themselves don’t get there!
2. Enhance your data. You can do a lot with someone’s name and address (more than you might think), but having additional demographic or behavioral data can help you do even more. Use third-party resources to add information that helps you better understand your customers, create more targeted segments, and improve the relevance of your messaging.
3. Verify your data. So, you’ve bought additional data to enhance your campaigns. How do you know the data you’ve purchased is accurate? Verification tools run data against a series of algorithms or an external database to ensure it’s right. Ask if your third-party data provider verifies its data before you make your purchase.
4. Consolidate it. One of the biggest bugaboos in data-driven messaging is data in silos. Consolidate your data from different departments (such as marketing, sales, and purchasing) into a unified view of your customers. Is Susan Jones, who shops online, the same Susie P. Jones, who buys from your catalog? You need to know. If it is, ensure that everything you know about Susan is in the same place.
5. Standardize it. It needs to be standardized to gain accurate insights from your data (including identifying relationships and patterns to inform your personalization and targeting). For example, if your system has your customers’ birthdates
   stored in multiple formats, such as October 1, 1963, Oct. 1, 1963, 10/1/63, and 10/1/1963, the system won’t “see” them as the same.

Your data is your greatest marketing asset. Let us help you make the most of it.

During Times of Uncertainty, Market Like a Leader

In today’s times of uncertainty, it can be challenging to know how to strike the right tone. While consumer spending remains strong, there is still much uncertainty about the future. Some Americans are doing quite well. Others are still struggling. For marketers, this means crafting messaging that is both optimistic and sensitive. It can be a tricky balance. Here are five tips for getting it right.

1. Exude confidence. During difficult times, people flock to leaders who exude confidence. Brands can inspire, motivate, and make people feel that everything will be okay. Reach out using the theme, “We’re here to help.”
2. Invest in social and environmental justice. Consumers like to align with brands that “do good.” Promote your support for socially or environmentally conscious organizations and let people know about it. For example, a SheerID study found that, during the pandemic, 68% of respondents wanted brands to donate to programs that provided direct support for medical workers.
3. Offer a helping hand. While the U.S. economy continues to grow, this is still a time of struggle for many. Offer deferred payments, ideas for lowering expenses, and so on. Even if your customers don’t need the help themselves, this kind of care for others builds brand equity that pays off in the long run.
4. Show off your expertise. This is a great time to share meaningful expertise with your customers. Think “Top 5 Ways to Save on Lawn Care” or “3 Plumbing Fixes You Can Do Yourself.”
5. Make your customers’ lives easier. When the world is uncertain, consumers want to feel that they at least have control over their own homes and families. Position your products in terms of how they can help your customers make lives safer and easier, even in small ways. “Let us help you save 10% on your home electric bill,” or, “We’re offering FREE delivery of pool chemicals all summer long so you can relax at home!”

Brands can play a positive role in helping their customers through uncertain times. Striking the right tone tells your customers that you are paying attention… and that you care.

Designing an Effective Postcard

One of the best ways to use direct mail is to use postcards. Postcards are an inexpensive way to get your message in front of potential customers, and when done well, they can produce great results. How do you design a direct mail postcard that moves people to action? Read on to find out.

1. Keep it simple.

The first rule of thumb is to keep it simple. Your postcard should have a clear and concise message that is easy for the recipient to understand. The last thing you want is for your postcard to end up in the trash because the recipient didn’t get your point or see the relevance immediately. So keep it simple and to the point.

2. Create different messages for different target audiences.

While full personalization (each piece speaking directly to each recipient individually) is highly effective, it may not always be practical. Fortunately, dividing your audience into targeted segments gives excellent results, too. You will speak to parents with young children differently than you do single adults or empty-nesters, for example. Or talk to men differently than you do women. By segmenting, your copy will be more relevant, increasing the chances that your postcard will be read and acted upon.

3. Use eye-catching Images

Another critical element of creating an effective postcard is using eye-catching images. With a postcard, you have limited space to get your message across. Studies have shown that people process visual information 60,000x faster than text, so when space is at a premium, let images help tell your story.

4. Don’t forget the Call to Action

Last but not least, make sure you include a call to action. This is a step that many businesses overlook, then wonder why their results are disappointing. If you’re running a sale, your CTA might say, “Visit our website today and use promo code XYZ.” Without a call to action, people may set down the postcard without ever taking the desired steps. Don’t assume your audience will act. Always include a CTA!

Postcards can be a great way to reach your target audience and generate leads. To get great results, you must keep it simple, mail to carefully selected targeted audiences, use eye-catching images, and include a powerful call to action. Follow these tips, and you’ll be well on your way to designing postcards that get results!

Four Data “Buckets” and How They Can Benefit Your Messaging

Shoppers today expect their marketing messages to be highly targeted to their wants and needs. The good news is there is a ton of data for use in targeting, whether you gather it yourself or purchase it from a reputable list company. But what are the best ways to use that data? There are many different categories of data, and each can be used for various purposes. Let’s look at four data categories and how they can be used.

Demographic data: Demographic data are the most specific data types and create large customer “buckets” that can be used to market the right products to the right people. As two straightforward examples, the types of clothing you will offer teenagers will differ from the types of clothing you will offer thirty-somethings, and the type of landscaping services you suggest will differ whether someone’s home sits on a .5-acre lot or a 15-acre farm. There are limitations to how much demographics can tell you, but they can be an essential starting point.

Geographic data: Where someone lives can give you important insights, too. Customers in the Northeast will be open to different products in January and February than those in the Southwest. Customers in urban areas generally have other priorities and needs than those in rural settings. There are many geographic “slices,” so find the right ones that make sense for your products.

Interests: Cross-referencing your customer data with interest-based data can also be incredibly useful. For example, knowing whether people in your database donate to charitable causes, purchase hunting or fishing equipment, or participate in ultra-marathons will give you even more ways to divide your target audience into relevant segments.

Past purchases: Tracking customer purchases can teach you a lot about your customers and help you anticipate what they might need next. If someone purchased a pair of general-purpose walking shoes in January, for example, they will likely need a new pair one year or so later. If, on the other hand, they purchased a pair of high-end trail running shoes, they are likely logging serious miles and will need replacements within the next three to four months.

Customer targeting doesn’t have to be complicated. It just requires finding the correct type of data to match your marketing goals, then being intentional about how to use it.

Need help? Just ask!