I think this is a really good article and study on the value of web 2.0. We spend most of our timing leveraging our DOX™ platform to assist our clients in transforming their business processes - so in many respects, we have looked at the web as an interface between our clients and their customers - the networked enterprise? Sort of. This year has highlighted some opportunities inside our business to truly become networked and 2 examples come to mind….we recently implemented a new client that did not place a high value on our technology solution. When we met as a team, we decided to implement it anyway - because it brings as much value to our business as it does to their business in terms of this notion of a networked enterprise. The other big change in our organization this year was the implementation of a web-based collaboration tool - Unica's (now owned by IBM) project management application. Web-enabling the complex task of project management has truly been a game changer in our company this year. So, we will continue to look into our client's supply chain and use DOX™ as the key lever in transforming their processes but we will also look internally with a view to become this "fully networked enterprise".
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Organization/Strategic_Organization/The_rise_of_the_networked_enterprise_Web_20_finds_its_payday_2716
The article below provides some interesting statistics and dialogue on response rates in the direct mail world. To me, it is quite interesting just how much debate there is on response rates between different channels - direct mail, email, social, etc. I think that the conversation about response rates within channels, while interesting, is missing the bigger picture. What we should focus our conversation around as marketers and partners is the response rate delivered by a program or offer across multiple channels. We know that individuals within any target audience will want to receive information across many channels. Our job is to deliver common content in the most effective channel each individual. If we succeed with this task, then the debate will move away from a discussion of which channel back to a discussion on which offer or program is delivering the best results.
By Heidi Tolliver-Nigro on December 14th, 2010
Recently, I have been enjoying and industry discussion on direct mail response rates. Can we generalize them? What are the issues associated with trying to analyze them? There were some very interesting points made during this discussion that I'd like to share and comment on here.
Originally, the question revolved around statistics that detail the percentage of intended recipients of B2B and B2C postal mail campaigns who actually view/open the letter or postcard. Were there any? If so, what were they?
Here are some of the really interesting points made on this topic:
* According to the "2010 DMA Statistical Fact Book," 79% of households either read or skim advertising mail sent to their home. Obviously, this likely speaks more to B2C than B2B, one participant observed. B2B is likely to be lower since the intended recipient likely has a "gatekeeper" whose job is to screen incoming mail.
* Almost all large companies still have a mailroom or at least outsource one. If they get 100 mail pieces of the same design, that mail will never be delivered. If you want to get past the gatekeeper, mix it up!
*Such statistics are meaningless since they are, by definition, averages over both well-crafted campaigns and poorly crafted ones. If you average the results of direct mail from Fortune 500 companies and those from mom and pop shops, what will you learn? Not much.
(I would also add that you learn nothing by mixing the results of highly targeted, segmented, and personalized campaigns and high volume, undifferentiated static ones either!)
*Another reason such statistics are meaningless is that most three-dimensional packages get opened, but again, what does that tell you? Almost nothing. It is just as likely to be for the freebie inside (or in hopes that there is one) than for the message.
*The latest TGI survey (Q4 2010) reveals that 45% of UK adults have taken action after receiving mail. Overall, the highest response was from 25-44 year olds, where 51% and 49%, respectively, had taken action after receiving mail. This same demographic was also the most likely to have used a voucher and visit a store after receiving mail.
I found this particularly interesting. This is supposed to be the anti-print, mobile demographic. I guess print isn't dead among these consumers after all.
Here's the second-to-last observation on this particular discussion, and probably my favorite because it was posted by a printer:
In answer to the commonly expressed view that most people just throw this stuff away (likewise, I am a printer, and clients frequently say they want to do a job the cheapest way possible "because people are just going to throw it away anyway"), we turn their focus toward expecting the desired response rate/ROI from that group that does open it.
Hip, hip hooray! Let's hear it for the printer.
But I'll conclude with this one, because it's really what direct mail and response is all about:
I know the question is about open rates. However, is that the right question? Perhaps the question might be modified to Which audience will respond with the highest open rate for my offer? That way I believe you'll improve on the average response metric and achieve higher response rates from smaller target audiences.
Now that's some thinkin'!
As marketers we know that personalization drives results, so as online marketers why wouldn't we give consumers a personalized landing page instead of generic one? In general PURLs can drive 20% - 40% more Web visitors than a Generic URL (GURL). PURLs convert more visitors because they are designed to do one thing - turn visitors into qualified leads. Also, unlike GURLs, PURLs can tell you who visited the page, how long they were there and what action, if any, they took. All of this information gives your sales force the opportunity to quickly identify leads and follow up - ultimately generating more sales.
Distributech has a unique capability to generate PURLs for any web content and has been leveraging this technology on behalf of our clients for several years with great results.
http://easypurl.info/?p=807
As I read this short piece from the CMA's weekly email update, I immediately turned my thoughts to the question - if these are the 5 habits of highly effective CMO's, what are the supporting habits of our company to ensure that we are helping our clients - and specifically their chief marketers?
Five habits of highly effective CMOs Why are some CMOs better than others at adapting to the digital era? Tuesday's issue of AdAge reports it's because they've shed five bad habits: complacency, conformity, analysis paralysis, hands-off management and knowledge silos. Plus, adaptive marketers:
1. experiment with their organizational structure, emerging media and new technology which helps them prepare for the unexpected and stay one step ahead of the competition;
2. act as change agents who strive to create new brand experiences, encourage innovative thinking and use technology to their advantage;
3. place a premium on speed and action when it comes to using new channels or taking on new customer-facing initiatives;
4. get personally involved in new media and marketing innovations and empower their teams to take a personal stake in shaping the brand experience; and
5. tear down boundaries by creating incentives for collaboration and by motivating people to join forces in new ways, rewarding them for sharing knowledge and equipping them with the tools to stay connected with each other.
#1 - last week I met with one of Canada's leading entrepreneurs in the area of email and social marketing. We talked about many things but he said one thing that I will remember - the winners in our business will be those that help our customers understand the future and develop the solutions that will be relevant. At Distributech we are focused on this challenge.
#2 - our technology platform will always be the capability that distinguishes our company. Every week we talk about how DOXTM can evolve in a way that it differentiates our client's message and helps to build stronger relationships with their clients.
#3 - in my conversation with my friend last week, it became clear that everyone in the marketing business has some focus on this goal of "multi-channel". Marketers and service providers big and small are deluged with talk and plans of leveraging multi-channel and cross media. The winners will not be the people that talk - the winners will be the people that "do" - speed is essential.
#4 - transformation and innovation are themes that define our company and the development plans for each of our solutions. When we decided to evolve our brand this year, we wanted to graphically illustrate what transformation means and our 2-step logo does just that - in order to help transform our clients business, we first need to understand their current processes, challenges and data.