Customer information is like gold to marketers - handle it with care!

For all businesses, and especially those that classify themselves as small or medium-sized, good customer data is the cornerstone of any decent marketing function.

Email marketing, the second most important marketing tactic according to marketingsherpa.com (next to social network marketing), is quite simply impossible without good email addresses. Direct mail, making a comeback of late, also depends on accurate data.

We all know how hard good data is to collect. Marketers want it, and consumers want to protect it, thus creating the most significant struggle marketers face. So when we have an opportunity to collect it, what can be more important than showing gratitude to the prospect for their willingness to offer it to us, and thanking them afterwards?

Still, I see examples of unappreciative data collection, which to me is quite troubling.

Take this example: This is the online registration process for submitting a classified ad in our local newspaper. As you can see, there is no indication of how my information will be treated by this organization. I am asked to submit my information and move on to the next step without being promised that my information won't be sold to the highest bidder. In this case, because I am the one that wants to place an ad and I'm led to believe that this is the only way to do it, I am forced to submit.

They are saying to me: "we don't really care what privacy concerns you have, if you want a classified ad, this is what you have to do."

Not exactly the treatment I expect as a prospective customer.

And they SHOULD be treating me better than this. This is a newspaper! Newspapers, perhaps more so than any other type of business, are threatened by the prevalence of online news and information. They need my information. They need me to like them. They need to treat me better than that. If I had a better online experience with them, I might be more tempted to subscribe to their paper. Instead, I will rely on local web sites and media sites for my news, thank you.

After some digging, I did discover that they have a decent privacy policy, but I shouldn't have to dig! Make it obvious for me early on in the process and treat me like the valued prospective customer that I am.

TAKEAWAY FOR YOU:

1. You need good customer information. Check the accuracy of the information you have.
2. When you have an opportunity to collect customer information, there should be nothing more obvious than the privacy policy (only a link to it is required) that dictates how delicately you will treat it.
3. Your privacy policy better not be three pages of legalese.
4. Thank the customer for it!
5. Give them something in return! You can sell them something later. Now is the time to thank them.

When this happens, I'm ashamed to call myself a marketer

I choose to believe that most marketers are good.

Most believe in accurately, appropriately and professionally representing their brands in order to generate genuine demand based on valid product value.

Then this happens, and it tarnishes our reputation.

The decent among us step out of our comfort zone and curse them.

This company is assuming, or at least hoping, that consumers are stupid.

This is a scratch-and-win (looking) card which appeared in my mailbox today. You are meant to believe, like with any other scratch-and-win game, that if you uncover a certain result, you win the corresponding prize.

Not so in this case.

In this case, you are CERTAIN to uncover a "winning" pattern. Once you do, you "may" win one of the listed prizes. All you have to do, of course, is call the "prize hotline" to find out what you CAN win.

I'm sure this company (they never reveal themselves, interestingly) is hoping that people say "Sure! Let's call the number to see what I won!" Hoping that the customer does NOT read the fine print.

I read it.

First of all, the prizes listed are "available at the outset of the game; prizes diminish as prizes are awarded" - their way of saying 'we can decide who gets the best prizes'. How are prizes allocated you ask? Well, they are "determined by the company's master list" - their way of saying 'we can assign you whatever prize we wish'. Oh, and if the prize is "unavailable, sponsor may substitute" - their way of saying 'you may not even get one of the prizes you were expecting'. Then, in order to claim this mystery prize, you need to agree to a "product presentation". Ah, yes, of course I do.

OK, so now on to the odds of winning: 1 in 800,000 for the grand prize (but don't forget, it has probably been preferentially "awarded" to someone else, or the prize may have been magically substituted for something else); 875 in 1000 (that means almost 9 out of 10) for the hotel stay. Ah, that's where they get you. You are almost certainly awarded the hotel stay "prize". They lure you with the thought of a free vacation, then force you to endure their "presentation" - the ensuing barrage of pressure sales tactics for whatever it is they're pushing (which is never mentioned, by the way).

Makes me want to puke.

Who is oblivious enough to fall for this?

More importantly (to me), how do the marketers that conjured up this scam sleep at night?

They have no integrity. No morality. No professionalism. No dignity.

Sadly, they can call themselves marketers, as I do.

I am ashamed to be associated with them by any description.


So endeth my rant for the day.

Direct mail can work... except when it looks like this!

Direct mail is making a comeback.

When you hear of the term "junk mail" today, you're probably thinking about the junk you get in your email inbox. Believe it or not, junk mail used to actually refer to... wait for it... MAIL!

The ease and affordability of email made it the golden child of marketing, but also made consumers an easier target for junk email. But as consumers become more spam-filter-savvy and as corporations block more and more unidentified inbound email, marketers (at least the progressive ones) are returning to direct mail, and getting much better at it.

There is still less promotional mail than in its heyday, but some direct mail packages are personalized, sophisticated, impressive and in many cases compelling (inspiring the marketer's desired response).

However, as much as I applaud marketers for their clever return to direct mail, I cringe when I see stuff like this (click on the image) in my mailbox.

This company really tried hard. They went door-to-door (no postage) and tried to deliver a compelling message. I still don't know what that message is, because there is NO CHANCE I am going to read this.

Neither are you.

TAKEAWAY FOR YOU:

Please, if you're considering a return to promotional mail, remember:

1. Keep it simple (which means SHORT)
2. Make it pleasing to the eye (my eye needs to be drawn to it, but not overwhelmed)
3. Include an offer that is really hard to turn down or ignore. No more "10% off online orders" or "save the tax". It may seem like a lot to offer, but it's truly not enough. Give away something valuable for free (no free fridge magnets!) or consider the deepest possible discount without having to declare bankruptcy.
4. Think about the last item YOU got in the mail that inspired you to act in some way. What made it so effective? Can you use that tactic in your program?
5. Make it easy for them to act. A simple phone number or url (acme.com/mailoffer for example)
6. Once is never enough. Send multiple mailings. Remember that people need to hear something 6 or 7 times before they actually HEAR it. Oh, and never send another mail offer to someone that's already responded! Pay attention to the details.
7. Ask for feedback. Ask friends, colleagues, family members if they would be compelled. Don't try too hard to measure the results - direct mail often just build brand awareness. But you can get opinions about your program and work on improving the next one.
   

CIBC fixes its direct mail program

A short while ago I posted a brief criticism of CIBC for sending me a direct mail package that tried to convince me to sign up for a card I already owned.

Well, just like McNain before it, CIBC has been influenced by the power and reach of my blog (what's the punctuation for sarcasm again?) and has dramatically improved its direct mail program.

As this photo attempts to show, they not only figured out that I already have the card, but they suggested I visit a LOCAL establishment (which is saying something, given that I live in a town of 33,000) to earn extra loyalty points.

So, it appears that their database and direct mail marketing staff has figured out exactly who owns what product, AND has established marketing partnerships in each cardholder's home town.

Now THAT'S direct / 1:1 marketing.

Marketers take note.


TAKEAWAYS FOR YOU:

1. If you don't have this level of detail about your clients, get it.
2. If you do have it / once you do get it, USE IT.

Uh oh. Someone at CIBC's in trouble about this direct mail...

Today I received a direct mail piece "inviting me to apply for a CIBC Aerogold VISA Infinite card".

Um, I already have one!

So, the obvious problem is that they completely wasted their money sending these mailers to existing cardholders. That's basically step number one when it comes to direct mail aimed at acquiring new customers: make sure you don't send it to existing customers! Direct mail 101 people. Huge oversight.

Here's the less obvious, but equally damaging problem: the impression I now have about CIBC. I've written a number of posts recently about the importance of strengthening your brand with your actions, not weakening it. This is, sadly, a clear example of how quickly you can damage your reputation. Many of the cardholders that received this in the mail will just quickly discard it and forget it, but many still will take note of the oversight and think poorly of the company that sent it.

This mismanagement of the corporate brand has less tangible, but significantly damaging implications. The next time I need to get a credit card, what recollections will I have about my experience with CIBC? Will it persuade me to consider a competitor's card? Don't know for sure, but we do know that significant damage has been done.