Integrated Marketing Machines: Can They Work.

If the goal is an integrated marketing machine, then we must eliminate "mass" communication.

No matter where you turn in business today, you run into the hot topic of integrated marketing. Billions of dollars are now being spent each year to help integrate, leverage and align marketing

But are all those billions well spent? Probably not.

Most businesses attempt to integrate direct mail and advertising. Contrary to popular belief, direct mail and advertising are not the stuff of which integrated marketing machines are made--even if you build it, they may not come.

This isn't a message you'll find in too many places. Virtually every advertising agency will attempt to sell you on direct mail programs as a complement to big ad campaigns. In fact, in the past 10 years direct mail has become the fastest growing revenue source for brand marketing and advertising agencies in the U.S.

Unfortunately, many ad agencies apply the same copy and design principles from advertising to mail. And while direct marketing may work with general advertising, it must remain separate and distinct from print and/or broadcast advertising. After all, the only thing advertising and direct mail have in common is the use of the English language. Here's why:

The primary functions of general advertising are to build brand awareness or to create demand for a new product. To provide a context for a sale at a later time and place.

Direct marketing is exactly the opposite.

Direct marketing is structured to sell now. It is designed to build a marketplace that we can go back to again and again and sell follow-up or new products.

Building a marketplace requires "bells and whistles"--the copy teasers, the snipes, banners and other creative devices that direct mail, not advertising, employs effectively. Integrating direct marketing and general advertising is not only difficult, it is nearly impossible.

The real opportunity for integration is between direct mail and electronic communication, using paper mail for reach, and electronic communication to build affinity.

* The Birth of a New Opportunity

Why is electronic communication so important? The Internet has become a commodity. More than 85 percent of medium to very large companies are Web-connected, representing more than 40 percent of PC usage in the United States according to Forrester Research. What does this mean to direct marketing? Direct marketers gain an easier, faster and less expensive way to communicate with customers and prospects.

But be careful; don't replace paper mail with e-mails. Although the availability of e-lists is growing rapidly, from only a few hundred one year ago to thousands today, there is still some concern about renting quality e-lists. List owners who have chosen to rent or share their e-lists are controlling their own transmissions, thus raising the odds of duplication and fraud.

Instead of using rented e-mail lists to begin marketing efforts, use traditional paper mail to reach qualified prospects who will respond favorably to your campaign. Then use electronic communications to stay in front of your prospects. With every communication, further your relationship with the prospect and leverage your understanding of his or her business needs. The result: an integrated experience for the prospect, and a successful campaign for you.

* The Three Steps to integration

With so much attention on integration, how do you make sure you are doing it right? Here are some basic steps to use on your next campaign:

Test, Test, Test

Steer clear of one-off mailings. To generate qualified responses to your direct mail campaign invest in testing--carefully and sensibly. If you aren't testing, you aren't doing direct mail. That doesn't mean having to develop (and pay for) two entirely different creative packages but rather test the things you think could affect response. For example, in one campaign you should test:

* the offer

* creative concepts

* copy positioning

* postal class, and of course

* lists

Analyze the results of your mailing, and continue mailing using the most successful combinations of elements.

Time and time again, businesses say, "There isn't enough time for testing," or "There isn't enough budget for testing." However, discipline pays dividends. When following a strict program of testing and re-mailing, companies have seen direct mail programs generate 10 times greater response, and 20 times lower cost per lead.

Close the Gap Between Sales and Marketing

To succeed we need to do much more than simply generate leads; we need a machine that carries leads through the sales cycle. As a rule of thumb, 95 percent of leads are at the point of interest when they respond to your direct mail offer. How do you turn those inquiries into sales? Build affinity.

Don't just turn new leads over to the salesforce. The closing ratio of a single sales rep is small, and the amount of unproductive time spent on each prospect is large. The greatest lead in the world will sit, untouched by sales, if it isn't ready for the close. It is marketing's job to optimize the opportunities of the salesforce by doing the grunt work for them. Apply marketing throughout the entire sales cycle, and then turn them over to sales when the leads are at the point of consideration.

e-Communication to Build Affinity

The key to building affinity with your prospects is listening--letting your target tell you what it likes. And what it doesn't. Electronic communication allows direct marketing to become a form of listening. An individual prospect is empowered to tell you what interests her, how her business is changing and what problems she is facing right now. Electronic communication empowers you to provide exactly what she is asking for.

Here is how it works.

Drive prospects to your Web site. Then use database stores to track and capture what they do on your site, as well as what they tell you. Ask the prospect everything you will need to know to communicate effectively, for example:

How often can we communicate with you--weekly, monthly, once a quarter?

What business problems are you currently experiencing in your job?

How do you evaluate solutions--articles, seminars, online demos?

How mature is your business--start-up, growing, or established?

And don't forget:

What is your e-mail address?

The goal is to deliver customized e-communications, based upon what the prospect has told you, and your business rules. Every subsequent touch is an opportunity to determine if the lead is ready for the salesforce or if more marketing communications are required. Most prospects will purchase a solution within a year of first interest. When your prospect is ready to buy, you will be there with relevant, timely information. Your prospect will most likely buy from you because you listened to her needs.

e-Communication, Not Just e-Mail

Here are a few types of electronic communications used to build affinity:

Individual e-newsletters--use your data stores to build individual newsletters, based upon each prospects particular needs. Include new product alerts and free upgrades.

Custom seminar invitations--invite your prospects to seminars in his or her town. Attach a map to the hotel.

Use e-mails to target not only the decision maker, but also the decision influencer--reward your contact for forwarding e-mails to the CFO, the product manager or the operations director--anyone whose own area of control will be affected by the purchase of your product.

Make your prospect look good. People don't buy products, they buy salvation. Become your prospect's salvation--send e-mails with hot industry news, tips on succeeding in the market, or ideas for effective meetings.

Use emotion. Show you care. Every e-communication doesn't have to sell. Send occasional words of encouragement to your prospects. Since human behavior is not motivated by reason alone, make sure your communications build emotional ties as well, not rational.

If the goal is an integrated marketing machine, then we must eliminate "mass" communication. In any medium you use, you can only talk to one person at a time. Several people may read or hear your message at one time, but each one will read it individually. With the proliferation of e-communications, you can talk to each person's individual needs, one at a time.

Rob Six is the director of demand creation at SmartAge.com (San Francisco, CA), a provider of business-to-small business e-commerce and online promotional services and products, and teaches workshops in integrated marketing for the Direct Marketing Association. Previously he was the director of direct marketing and lead management at Oracle Corporation.