Get out of the box to generate ROI.
During these tough economic times, it's not enough for a direct marketer to just answer the phones or mail mass marketing pieces; it takes thinking outside the box and being creative to generate ROI. A teleservices company must investigate data analytics when it comes to customer retention, acquisition and service. Utilizing business intelligence capabilities to develop and deploy a telephone and direct marketing campaign will bring a greater ROI to your marketing dollar.[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Segmenting the database
Making the most of the national consumer database is critical to maximize the possibilities for creativity in a phone call or direct mail campaign. In order to get the most out of the data, a direct marketer must first cut the data into demographic, psychographic and even transactional segments. A demographic profile will give you information such as age, income, education level and location; a psychographic profile includes the personalities, values, attitudes, interests or lifestyles of your current and potential customers. A high-quality call center will also have a transactional profile, which is the historical data on a household that shows the best time to call, how to effectively reach an individual and past buying experiences.
Functional software solutions
It's not enough for a direct marketer just to have the data; it's knowing what to do with it that produces a higher ROI. A teleservices company needs a functional way to develop a phone or mail campaign using the data it has collected. A teleservices company with the appropriate CRM software has the ability to link the segmented data to the deployment of the phone and mail campaign, personalizing it for each individual. An additional capability a direct marketer should consider is branch scripting, which allows easy script transitions for up-sells and cross-sells. For inbound calls automatic number identification directs all calls through the database in order to gather information based on profile modeling. In this instant, caller information is passed to the communicator's screen, creating unique scripts for each individual caller.
Capitalizing on your resources
Customization works with anything you sell. Outbound, you can avoid targeting people who will never respond; inbound, you can use targeted messaging to up-sell or cross-sell. In customer acquisition, retention and service, messages are tailored to take into account a customer's age, income level, interests and previous buying history. The best way to target your message is to look at a customer's past experience with your organization and then cross-reference the demographic and psychographic profiles. This allows you to tailor a message that will encourage your customer to buy.
Unlike typical mass-produced messages, customization allows you to communicate with customers based on their needs. During this economic downturn, customers are careful how they spend their money, so it is important to know what they want. With a little creativity from your direct marketer, you can create a message that is relevant to your customer and produces a higher ROI for your company.
Rick Lawson Vice President of New Business Development
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| Author: | Lawson, Rick |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Customer Interaction Solutions |
| Date: | Dec 1, 2009 |
| Words: | 494 |
| Previous Article: | Communications-based process automation. |
| Next Article: | Looking forward to 2010? |
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