Marketers are Getting More Sophisticated, Are You?

Recently, I just finished several speaking engagements on interactive marketing with a focus on email. The events were attended by marketing directors, VPs, brand managers, CEOs and other high profile executives. In meeting attendees and watching some of the other speakers, I noticed a significant increase in the intelligent application of interactive technologies in the marketplace. Marketers are getting more sophisticated in their approach to marketing so I have to ask, what are you doing?

Many people are now talking about an approach i have been advocating for years, using the website as a central hub of communication and utilizing tools such as email and search to work in conjunction to achieve goals and objectives. However, the tools available keep increasing as well as the technical capabilities of existing tools.

A primary increase in the level of sophistication lies in the delivery of personalized and relevant communications delivered in a timely manner. Again, this isn’t entirely new but the quality and ideas around how this is happening is increasing dramatically. Consumers are being allowed to set their preferences as to what content they want to receive from marketers. In turn, communications are starting to meet those expectations by using sophisticated systems (such as Dynamic Content in RhythmMail) to deliver unique offers to people with varying needs. If you like ice cream, sign up for the Birthday Club at www.coldstonecreamery.com. They are utilizing email properly–through a permission based approach that allows customers to define what they are interested in and receive offers that are relevant only to them. I probably sound like a broken record by now but you would be surprised how many people do not realize the value of being disciplined in this approach.

Another level of sophistication is being realized by optimizing campaigns based on performance analytics. The tools and testing methodologies are getting better and now I see more marketers actually taking the time to act on their marketing intelligence rather than just talking about it. Testing and optimizing is key to the success of a long-term campaign. Some experts are even advocating retaining 15% of your campaign budget towards testing and optimization. The reason being the incremental rewards will far outweigh the costs for doing so.

So what are you doing with your marketing efforts? If you have already graduated to a new level of strategic marketing utilizing interactive media, then congratulations. You are staying ahead of the competition but others are right behind you. If you’re still wondering whether or not you should start using email or search then you are probably getting beat by your competitors. If you are overwhelmed by the tools and don’t know where to begin, as I always say, seek out experts to help. Don’t be the last to get on board as it may be too late. Your competition will already be at the next level.