When email and direct mail are used together, response improves and brands are strengthened. Yet many marketers expect prospects to view their message through a single channel. They are overlooking the chance to establish a common branding thread and perhaps double their response. By sending similar messages to the same prospect using a combination of direct mail, telemarketing, email and mobile messaging, marketers create multiple impressions and provide prospects with a choice on how they prefer to respond.
Keep these guidelines in mind when planning your multichannel campaign:
• Establish the goals of the multichannel campaign. What are you trying to accomplish?
• Generate a profile of your target market or “ideal customer,” then select lists that offer multichannel options for people who most closely fit this profile.
• No matter what the channel, every communication you send should have common branding elements. For example, make sure the name used in the email “from” line is the same as the one in the printed piece. In addition, every message should have a Web site URL. Ideally, the prospect will arrive on a customized landing page with the same offer as the one in the email or print piece, and a registration form. Don’t forget to adapt your site for mobile devices.
• Scheduling is very important for each channel. It takes timing and coordination to run an integrated campaign. For postal and email multichannel campaigns, send an e-mail message both before and after your direct mail drops. The email blasts should hit about two days before the direct mail and then a few days later as a followup.
• Finally, analyze response in its totality: Some prospects call in an order after reading a postal piece, others respond to an email after receiving a catalog. The channels should support each other.
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