Remember the 80s? Direct Mail was more ‘Wham!’ and as hope-for-the-best as Wimbledon FC and their patented long-ball game. I was only born in ’84 but I can safely say that it probably wore bad knitwear too.
The messaging was overtly mass market and mass push. The result was predominantly poor response rates and ineffective. Costly marketing campaigns were sure enough to be eschewed by a more sensitive approach that brought with it the rewards a bit of effort in cultivating data ought to deliver and just that little bit more future-proofed.
One-size fits all just won’t cut it anymore. It didn’t really deliver in the first place. One-to-few or even one-to-one opportunities are now an easily achievable reality and enable a short, medium and/or long-term relationship with a customer or prospective customer. This doesn’t just apply to direct marketing either and just you wait til you join up all your marketing dots under one system.
Traditionally, Direct Marketers have steered clear of ‘technology the distraction’. Now, faced with a consumer that gears their purchasing behaviours around ‘technology the enabler’ – be it through price comparision sites, word of mouse, barcode scanning mobile apps, or product reviews – it is now crucial that marketers harness the technology that can deliver the relevant insight which informs their carefully crafted marketing message.
Technology and the empowered consumer have created the need for a mind shift in most organisations. No more thinking in terms of product to consumer but more in terms of identifying and supplying to the consumer need(s) and not just at the point of delivery. Let there be consumer influence from product development and all the way through your business. Where there is data, there is great opportunity.
Have you seen my Digital Dialogue Mindmap?
