Extra Steps Can Cut Bad Addresses to Lift Mail Response

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Bad address data continue to depress ROI for a significant chunk of direct mail marketers. For mailers struggling with bad addresses and deliverability, AccuList® suggests three remedial steps that go beyond standard merge-purge processing and USPS National Change of Address (NCOA) updating.

But first the good news for direct mail fans: The channel’s superior response and ROI lead 58% of marketers to plan expanded investment in direct mail across industries in 2023, according to a recent survey by Lob and Comperemedia. The bad news: 32% of marketers still worry about achieving response goals because of “bad address data.” 

So what can mailers do to cure this “bad address” problem?

#1 Check Individual Record Quality Before Processing

The initial step AccuList recommends is implementation of a data processing and quality control regimen before merge-purge, hygiene updating or appending of new data, whether for prospecting files or house files.  For example, first and last name on internal and external lists should appear in separate fields, along with the corresponding postal address in separate columns.   

At AccuList, our data experts begin by applying utility programs to individual records before standardizing them to find hidden duplicate or misspelled names, titles and addresses, or other deliverability issues. Next, we use the USPS Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS) certification on individual records to verify that each address matches with the right zip code and delivery route. 

#2 Correct for Multiple Deliverability Issues

The second step is to update mail files for multiple potential address and deliverability issues. Mailing files should be:

1) devoid of house file do-not-mail requests;

2) matched against DMAchoice (the Association of National Advertisers—ANA—mail preference service);

3) updated against USPS NCOA to meet Move Update requirements;

4) address-corrected to meet USPS Delivery Point Verification (DPV) standards; and

5) run against other public source databases for records not found with NCOA, such as deceased or prison addresses.

#3 Go Beyond NCOA

Because the USPS FASTforward or NCOALink represent only a portion of total US movers, a third step is to initiate more advanced mover hygiene.  At AccuList, we also access the most comprehensive public and private “Mover” databases commercially available to fill in the gaps. We can then identify a much greater number of postal addresses that are verified as Deliverable or Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA). 

In fact, this advanced hygiene allows us to identify up to twice the number of address changes versus matching addresses on the NCOA database. And we can not only confirm if the intended recipient is no longer at that address but help find the new address by comparing real-time information.

Via these extra data processing steps, marketers can eliminate duplicate names and addresses, avoid offending those who do not want unsolicited mail, reduce undeliverable mail and wasted postage, and earn postal discounts. An important “byproduct” of this process for prospecting mail is the identification of “multi-buyers.” You can mail them a second time, absolutely free, subject to list owner approval of your mail date and creative!

For more on AccuList data services, see https://www.acculist.com/merge-purge/ and https://www.acculist.com/advanced-data-hygiene/

Print Catalogs Surge, Respond to Digital Tracking Crackdown

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AccuList® has a long list of consumer catalog clients, and we’ve noted renewed marketer interest in traditional print catalogs. 

Why? One reason is Apple’s crackdown on the ability of consumer data platforms, such as Google and Meta, to track and target consumers, per a recent Ad Age report. For example, Insider Intelligence data shows direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands cut ad budgets for Meta’s Facebook and Instagram by almost 8% between January 2021 and January 2022. At the same time, DTC brands increased offline marketing from 12% to 15% of spending. 

Rising acquisition costs for digital channels are another factor expanding catalog budgets. A SeQuel Response survey found 44% of  DTC brands boosted direct mail spending in 2022. More than half blamed the rising customer acquisition costs of digital channels. 

Catalogs also are seen as better retention tools. Ad Age cites menswear brand Todd Snyder’s report that its catalog buyers tend to purchase from the brand for longer periods and to purchase more items. Plus, its annual holiday catalog is used to “bring back lapsed customers.” 

Finally, catalogs are more likely to capture and keep consumer attention. Kara O’Brien, head of offline marketing at furniture and home goods retailer Wayfair, explained to Ad Age that their seasonal catalog gives “that extra real estate…to tell richer product stories and invite customers into all that Wayfair has to offer.” She added, “And it has staying power—a tangible print piece is something consumers can keep, bookmark, revisit and even share with family and friends.” 

If you’re thinking of joining the trend by adding or expanding catalogs in your marketing mix, AccuList can help. See https://www.acculist.com/consumer-catalogs/

How Nonprofit Fundraising Can Weather Pandemic Impacts

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AccuList’s nonprofit fundraising clients are facing a novel crisis as the novel coronavirus pandemic shuts down business-as-usual across America and threatens recession. Humanitarian causes such as food banks, homeless shelters and senior-care services are feeling the pinch as food donations from panic-buying-hit grocery stores and dollars from corporations drop, and self-quarantines eliminate volunteers. At the same time, rising numbers of people, especially the old and the poor, are becoming food and shelter insecure. Meanwhile, nonprofits that rely on events for fundraising are especially hard-hit.

Stay the Course on Fundraising Efforts

Based on fundraising experience in previous crises, such as 9/11 and the 2008 recession, AccuList joins other experts in urging nonprofits not to cut back on fundraising efforts during this critical period.  Indeed, since event fundraising is likely to be cancelled or postponed, now may be the time to shift resources into high-response workhorses like direct mail. And for some causes directly impacted by pandemic issues (food banks, homeless shelters, elder care, emergency health and medical supplies), fundraising messages may be especially resonant and effective now. Yes, philanthropy has trended at 1.5% to 2.5% of GDP annually since 1978, and it’s pretty clear GDP (and thus fundraising) is going to take a hit in 2020. But as a NonProfit Pro magazine article by Craig Depole, president of direct-response fundraising agency Newport ONE, warns, organizations that pulled back and stopped soliciting after 9/11 and the 2008 recession took years to recover from their losses, “while organizations that continued to solicit their donors with messages of need and impact emerged stronger and healthier.”

Take Steps That Will Bolster Fundraising Appeals

Depole’s NonProfitPro article goes on to outline a number of steps to make fundraising outreach more successful during a national crisis: 1) Double-down on stewardship of donors (more thank-you phone calls, impact reporting, staff engagement); 2) Keep talking with donors and share compelling stories, with humanitarian charities especially able to cite the transformational impact of donations; 3) Acknowledge the fears of donors who are watching stock portfolios decline and engage with them as partners rather than ATMs; 4) Review messaging for relevance, clarity and appropriate tone; and 5) Have alternative plans ready to go, say in case your mail shop or creative team is quarantined, or you need to substitute for promotional supplies from China.

Focus Retention & Prospecting on Weathering the Crisis

As a Network for Good blog post by Kimberly O’Donnell stresses, “In uncertain times, one thing is certain with fundraising—the more you plan, the better off you will be.  Successful fundraising during a recession is two-pronged: 1) Focus hard on donor engagement and retention, and 2) Use intelligent prospecting techniques to recruit new followers and supporters…. When you work to retain your donors while broadening your reach, you hit the nirvana needed to withstand hard times.” A poll of fundraising agencies by The Nonprofit Alliance similarly offers two cogent responses to how agencies are preparing nonprofit clients for the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. One respondent advises, “As this unfolds, my advice will likely be the same as to every other major disruption, including 9/11: 1) Acknowledge the crisis and state how the organization is helping solve it; 2) Stay the course, (and) don’t cut back on acquisition and renewal efforts.” Another adds, “Election fundraising, along with a huge drop in retirement savings, will create a terrible environment for suggesting a donor should consider an upgraded level of giving this year.  Focus on mission, and focus on renewing their support at any level.  You need to fear 2020 donor attrition like never before and prevent it to the best of your abilities.  Focus on how many active donors you will have to begin calendar 2021.”

Personalization, Omnichannel Strategies Drive 2020 Direct Mail

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AccuList’s direct mail marketing and mailing list clients embrace a channel that, despite perennial death notices, continues to outperform in terms of response, but mailers must also rely on evolving strategies for success in 2020.

2020 Success Depends on Data-Driven Personalization

Research consistently shows that personalization bumps up response. Most recently, in a 2019 NAPCO Research report on direct mail personalization, 44% of respondents saw personalized print marketing campaigns increase response by 16% on average, while Canon Solutions research found that adding a person’s name and other personalized database information (along with using full color) can increase the response rate of direct mail campaigns by up to 500%! So it’s no wonder that the recent Printing Impressions article by senior editor Toni McQuilken cites a number of leading marketing and print industry leaders stressing that data-driven personalization is the route to 2020 direct mail success. For example, Maureen Powers, president, Direct Marketing Group at RR Donnelley, asserts, “Personalization is more important than ever before, including with direct mail…We are using the direct mail channel to drive the customer experience through communications such as coupons and personalized offers. We’re also changing how we help our clients message their clients based on individual customer preferences and their point in the customer journey.” Likewise, Jim Andersen, executive chairman of IWCO Direct, stresses the shift toward variable data printing of smaller runs of targeted, personalized direct mail with digital tie-ins: “Today’s direct mail is more effective, relevant, and timely thanks to more sophisticated audience selection and segmentation. This technology uses digital print to personalize every component of a mail piece, including letters, inserts, cards, and call-to-action reply devices that connect the physical mail to an online, digital marketing experience.” 

Customer-Demanded Omnichannel Campaigns Mate Mail With Digital

For Andersen, mail personalization must be part of the omnichannel approach that customers demand today: “One of the biggest opportunities in the direct mail space is providing effective and efficient solutions to consumer demand for personalized, relevant messaging integrated across all channels. Insightful use of data, combined with the flexibility of digital print production, allows marketers to seamlessly integrate tactile marketing in their omnichannel campaigns.” Summer Gould, of Target Marketing magazine, has cited three already-proven ways to combine mail and digital:  1) online display ads that match direct mail data files to an IP address to target specific people by displaying cookie-free banner ads on web pages; 2) Facebook ads that match direct mail data with Facebook data to send targeted ads (see our Facebook Match services); and 3) e-mail matched with direct mail audience targeting to keep offers fresh, deliver response reminders and make added special offers (see our Digital2Direct services). The mail-digital mating can be taken even further to a union of programmatic automation with mail. Printing Impressions cites the example of Brodnax 21C Printers in Dallas, where Jim Singer, managing partner, describes their innovative program: “We take raw XML data to drive intricate, complex direct mail campaigns, including ongoing on-demand digital printing campaigns for local store marketing applications. Every night at midnight we get a massive amount of data, and the automated workflow we built for this programmatic offering” kicks in to generate direct mail campaigns and send them to production.

Data Quality Has Never Been More Paramount

These trends to more personalization and omnichannel integration rely on marketing data for segmentation and targeting, of course. Plus marketers must adjust for growing regulation of data security and privacy. All make data quality a top direct marketing priority in 2020. Yet too many marketers feel overwhelmed by the torrent of omnichannel “big data.” A Forrester Consulting 2019 survey revealed that, while 82% of companies place a high priority on refining data quality, more than a quarter of all marketing campaigns were hurt by substandard data in the last 12 months. Clicktale 2019 surveys of marketing and customer-experience professionals found almost a third of marketers don’t feel they’re effective at utilizing their web and mobile data, over half (54%) said they “don’t believe they have a strong understanding of their customers’ behavior across digital channels,” and 20% reported feeling like “they will never truly understand why their customers buy.” Check out this 10-step data-quality strategy from VisionEdge Marketing if you are looking for a place to start.

 

 

 

 

 

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Metrics, Video and Shopping Lead 2020 Social Media Trends

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Moving into 2020, AccuList’s clients using social media marketing have a busy, changing landscape to navigate, with expanding opportunities. Social media experts highlight some new trends, some ongoing trends, and some ideas just over the horizon.

Say Goodbye to Vanity Metrics, Marketers

Among the top trends highlighted in a recent Entrepreneur magazine article by Deep Patel is a de-emphasis of social media “vanity metrics,” such as follower counts and “likes.” In fact, Instagram is following Facebook in removal of public likes of other members’ Instagram posts, although you can still see the number of likes on your own posts, which will help combat the sometimes fake likes and followers that can misrepresent brand and influencer power. Hopefully, marketers will take it as a signal to seek more actionable metrics, such as the rate and quality of user engagement, or user demographics and data for audience targeting. While social media management provider Sprout Social’s “Sprout Social Index” monitoring still shows likes/comments as the leading measure of social success (72% of marketers), followed by shares/retweets (62%), nearly two-thirds of marketers surveyed felt that social listening will be more crucial in 2020, meaning a greater concern with what’s being said rather than how many people are talking or looking at a single post. One reason vanity metrics are fading is that social marketers are being held more accountable for bottom-line results as the Sprout Social Index now finds that 63% of marketers regularly report social data to their bosses.

Video’s Social Power Keeps Growing

Brent Barnhart at Sprout Social joins Patel at Entrepreneur in listing video as a continuing growth trend for 2020. Video will make up 82% of all internet traffic in 2020, according to Social Media Today, and, as Barnhart notes, YouTube is second only to Facebook in terms of active users now, with Chinese-owned social video app TikTok bounding up as the latest video market disrupter, catering especially to Gen Z and influencers. Patel urges brand marketers to prepare for video formats to reshape marketing strategies, with more stress on creative storytelling that engages viewers in seconds (especially on platforms where the like button goes away). Meanwhile, increased use of audience segmentation is expected to drive a new “personalized video” marketing trend toward content that is customizable and hyper-relevant to specific market segments, notes Patel. Now that social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, are pushing brands to produce video content through Story Ads that get higher click-through rates than traditional ads, personalization will take response, and video use by marketers, even higher.

Social Shopping Is More Direct and Targeted

Social shopping is now an integral part of the social media experience, per Barnhart and Patel. Patel advises marketers that, to meet user expectations for access to brands and products through social platforms, they need to combine creative and engaging storytelling (which often relies on videos and influencer marketing) and a frictionless shopping experience where customers don’t need to leave the social media site to buy products. Watch for an increasing number of shoppable posts, stories and links on all social media sites. Barnhart likewise sees increased direct business from customers on social media and points to examples such as Facebook’s roll-out of personalized ad experiences that deliver products dynamically to customers, changing formats (such as carousel and collection) and call-to-action varied by audience targeting. Other proofs of direct social-selling growth include Instagram’s introduction of shopping and even LinkedIn changes to its ad platform to help B2B brands push products to relevant customers.

Influencer Marketing Turns to Smaller, Tighter Connections

Patel predicts that big-is-better, celebrity influencer marketing, while not going away, will be increasingly supplemented by use of micro- and even “nano-influencers” with only a couple thousand followers. These nano-influencers have smaller, better-defined audiences that allow for greater personalization and stronger audience engagement, delivering more measurable results. Barnhart agrees and says brand-marketer interest in smaller-audience influencers is a reaction to both the rise in “fake influencers” and the trend away from  “likes” as a key engagement metric. Brands are increasingly interested in influencers who can back up their cost with metrics and audience data. Nano-influencers also address another trend identified by both Patel and Barnhart: an audience shift from public to private, tight-knit communities on social media. Nano-influencers are one way to connect with those tight-knit communities and build trust and engagement there.

For many more social media trends, see the Entrepreneur article.

Election Year Is Double-Edged Sword for Nonprofit Fundraisers

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AccuList’s nonprofit fundraising clients are entering a presidential election year, arguably one that is more contentious and partisan than usual. Will that be good or bad for fundraising? What strategies will help navigate the political crosscurrents to reap donations?

Political Ferment Can Churn Up Donations for Some

Research by online fundraising platform Classy has found that an “election effect” can drive an “unprecedented increase” in recurring donations for some nonprofits aligned with politically charged issues. For example, Classy reports that, after the 2016 presidential election, nonprofits directly opposed to President Trump’s policies, actions, or ideology saw a “surge in donations.” As another example, research by the Lily Family School of Philanthropy found donations increased significantly for “charities associated with progressive or liberal causes mentioned during the election” in the week after the 2016 election. Per 2019 Classy research, 46% of respondents said their political beliefs dictate the organizations or causes that will receive their donations. Classy suggests some basic strategies to use political winds to propel efforts to bump up new donors and recurring donations: 1) go back through donor data from the 2016 election to see how donations were affected before and after election day, taking into account political party as well as demographics and the timing of spikes; 2) pay attention to news about political issues that my relate to your cause for timely and targeted positioning of appeals; 3) reach out to existing donors and ask how the 2020 election is impacting plans to donate in order to decide how and when it’s best to ask for a donation; and 4) embrace flexibility in strategy so that you can adjust efforts to shifts in the national conversation.

Other Fundraising Efforts Can Be Pushed Offstage

Not all nonprofit causes can be linked to political issues. In a Forbes magazine post, Gloria Horsley, founder of Open to Hope Foundation, acknowledges the positive “election effect” for fundraisers that align with political agendas but notes a potentially negative impact on other nonprofits when more politically charged sectors noisily take center stage and siphon donor attention. She urges nonprofits that can’t find a way to make a connection to a political issue to reemphasize why the mission is just as critical despite the election noise. One approach is to illustrate how helping the nonprofit can produce tangible results, in contrast to the less certain outcomes of political efforts. People like to know they are making a difference and to have an emotional connection to a cause. Donors with an emotional connection to an organization will dig deeper and stay longer—even in an election year. That’s where good storytelling content makes a difference. In a post for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), fundraising consultant Linda Wise McNay cites storytelling as one of the top eight 2020 trends that nonprofits should embrace. She urges messaging to provide donors and prospects with a compelling case for support by collecting intimate, personal stories about beneficiaries of the nonprofit’s work, and then sharing those stories in print, online, on the phone and in person.

Taking Sides Can Result in Donor Losses, Too

Of course, McNay of AFP also lists the election as a major trend affecting nonprofits in 2020, but she sounds a note of caution: “Our conversations public and private are filled with comments and opinions on candidates and issues. Be wary of saying anything too controversial to your constituents that may be considered taking a position on one side or the other. Double up your efforts to fulfill the mission and goals of your organization, being careful not to take any political stance that might offend your donors and prospects and thwart your fundraising efforts. Your goal is to be still operating after the election, no matter which side wins the election in November.” One way to stay on the right side of your audience is to know them and target appropriately, and that means leveraging another key 2020 trend cited by McNay: access to, and analysis of, high-quality data on existing donors and prospects. AccuList will be happy to help with that data!

 

 

 

Mobile, AI Highlight E-mail Marketing Trends for 2020

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AccuList’s e-mail list and data services clients can expect to ride some positive trends into 2020, according to e-mail marketing pros. While continuing to top other channels in terms of ROI, e-mail marketing worldwide in 2019 also showed improved delivery rates, rising open rates and increasing click-through-rates, per data from UK-based Data and Marketing Association. Digital marketing platform Smart Insights recently surveyed experts to find ways to further leverage the positives this year.

Mobile-Optimize E-mail to Target Lead Source of Opens

The impact of mobile usage on e-mail can’t be underestimated. In 2019, mobile browsing (53% of traffic) surpassed desktop/tablet browsing (47% of traffic), notes Smart Insights. And while mobile still lags in terms of purchase revenue (32%) versus desktop/tablet (68%), it’s growing fast, with a 23% year-over-year increase that has helped accelerate mobile optimization across digital channels. Data from Litmus shows that mobile devices also led in e-mail opens (41.9%) compared with desktop opens (18.2%) by Q1 of 2019. Clearly, mobile optimization is a priority for e-mail marketers. Coding for a mobile-viewing format is only the beginning. Changes to copy, images and overall layout can boost click-through by streamlining presentation to place the focus on quick engagement and links to landing pages, product pages, blogs, etc., note experts. Concise copy with enough white space for easy reading is a first goal. Other tips include using image dimensions that are small enough to render well and placing images on the “first fold” to encourage scrolling. Using e-mail design with short copy not only leads to quick scanning but also allows the call-to-action (CTA) to be seen early and avoids excess scrolling that loses click-throughs. Remember that the surge in wearable technologies is limiting even more of the space marketers have for messaging. Finally, make sure that e-mails are rendering correctly across all types of devices, a testing option offered by most e-mail service providers.

Watch for AI to Expand Potential Use in E-mail Marketing

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is coming of age in marketing, including e-mail campaigns. Worldwide, 30% of companies will be using AI in at least one sales process in 2020, Gartner predicts, and 87% of current AI users say they are planning on using it for sales forecasting and e-mail campaign enhancement, per Statista. Connext Digital foresees seven ways that AI will begin to influence e-mail marketing: 1) applying algorithms and data insights for predictive personalization; 2) analyzing demographics, purchasing patterns and online behavior for smarter segmentation; 3) automating workflow for e-mail triggering, tailored messaging and lead nurturing; 4) using natural language technology to find the best words for response optimization of subject lines and CTAs; 5) improving e-mail timing and frequency by specific recipient;6)  A/B and multivariate testing to quickly identify trends and develop predictive results; and 7) developing data to enhance broader analyses, for example to predict potential churn.

Facing Privacy Laws, E-mail Marketers Focus on Building Trust

Cold e-mailing, spamming and phishing have tainted e-mail’s reputation among consumers (and marketers), but recent privacy regulations, including the European Union’s GDPR and California’s CCPA, have spurred the e-mail marketing world to go beyond CAN SPAM to focus on privacy, compliance and subscriber trust. E-mail definitely continues as a strong communications channel despite past abuses. A 2019 Drift study found that e-mail is the leading communications channel for B2C, far above websites, social media, and even face-to-face meetings, with 65% of respondents saying that they used e-mail to communicate with organizations in the past 12 months. Compare that with 55% communicating via telephone and 42% via websites, the next most popular channels. So with the majority of recipients only receiving e-mails to which they have opted-in from particular senders, smart marketers will want to focus on building on recipients’ trust and providing value in 2020.

Read more detail from Smart Insights.

Personalization and Privacy Trends Highlight Need for Data Strategy

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As data brokers, the AccuList team keeps a close eye on the many issues affecting the data strategies of our direct marketing clients. Data privacy is going to be one of those issues. While many of our U.S. clients are not affected directly by the European Union’s General Data Protection Act (GDPR), U.S.-based consumer-data privacy efforts have now resulted in the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), with other states likely following that model and federal legislation on the horizon. Regulation is only one of the data complications facing marketers now that omnichannel data personalization has become essential for targeted response and ROI. So what strategies will help prepare for data market changes in 2020?

Data Privacy Demands Customer Focus Across Silos and Sources

Companies face complicated decisions when combining first-party data collection, user-level data from the big digital platforms (Google, Facebook and Amazon) as well as second- and third-party data in ways that balance consumer privacy with smart (and customer-demanded) personalization. A post in AdExchanger by Briggs Davidson, a senior manager at Deloitte Consulting, outlined some key steps for coping with a marketing data landscape that now includes regulation like CCPA. He advises starting with a focus on the customer in collecting, organizing, storing, and activating data across all silos that may need to meet data-privacy compliance, such as marketing and IT. Then when it comes to first-party data, prepare to shift marketing strategies to ensure consumers have a reason to share their data, delivering value to build trust. Davidson predicts creation of data clean rooms, or a separate analysis space for combining first-party data with platform-level customer data under strict privacy controls before usage. Marketers also will need an even closer embrace of media analytics to support a unified customer view, and use of new tools, such as Google’s Ads Data Hub. Finally, marketers will need multidisciplinary teams—for example Google’s upcoming restrictions on DoubleClick ID will boost the need for tech pros for unified customer views within Google—as well as partner collaboration in collecting and storing customer data.

Personalization Power Is Driving Marketing Data Trends in 2020

Hyper-personalizaton is expected to drive data marketing in 2020, according to a useful infographic put together by European digital platform firm Qualifio, which found that 83% of marketers say creating personalized content is one of their biggest challenges. Why? Because personalization now requires: 1) new tools to collect and analyze first-party data for compliance with data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA; 2) an omnichannel purchasing journey and analytics for a single customer view; 3) incorporation of new technologies such as voice search (50% of Google searches are expected to be voice searches in 2020); and 4) meeting rising customer standards for personalized promotion and service. In fact, 70% of the customers surveyed want an immediate response to their questions or complaints, which is fueling artificial intelligence  (AI) and machine learning (ML) initiatives. Marketers surveyed are already moving to meet personalization challenges, with 78% of European companies completing a GDPR compliance assessment and 65% using omnichannel efforts to personalize customer journeys, per Qualifio’s data. For those U.S. marketers still hesitating to commit to personalization, check out these statistics on improved response, ROI and brand loyalty for e-mail, mobile, e-commerce and digital ads. Direct mail personalization, from name-only to variable images and text, has a proven track record of success, too; in fact, a 2019 survey by NAPCO Research found 44% of responding marketers said personalized direct mail increased response, on average, by 16%.  

Data Quality Key to Privacy, Personalization, New Tech Initiatives

Data quality will be even more key to data strategy in 2020. It is paramount in meeting consumer data privacy regulations, for example, where validated contact data is required to avoid consequences ranging from compliance penalties to brand damage. Effective omnichannel, targeted marketing also requires data quality. A Forrester Consulting July 2019 report revealed that while 82% of companies place a high priority on refining data quality, more than a quarter of all marketing campaigns were hurt by substandard data in the last 12 months. Plus, the high-tech analytics and artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) that marketers count on to boost personalized customer interaction also depend on data quality. A majority of enterprises engaged in AI/ML initiatives (78%) say these projects have stalled—with data quality as one of the culprits for 96%—according to a new study from Dimensional Research. That’s why CMO Kristin Hambelton, of Marketing Evolution, urges marketers in a recent Forbes magazine post to take these basic steps for improved 2020 data quality: 1) prioritize data quality and create a comprehensive initiative that includes not only processes and technology but defined positions responsible for data verification, collection and cleansing policies; 2) define and verify high-quality data in terms timeliness, completeness, consistency, relevance, transparency, accuracy, and representativeness; 3) organize disparate data sources with unified marketing measurement, breaking down silos to develop a holistic customer view across sources and channels, and to form actionable insights. 

 

 

Prep for 2020 Marketing With Clean, Personalized, Predictive Data

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As 2019 closes, AccuList’s data services clients have a year’s worth of multichannel customer, campaign and sales information to analyze and inform 2020 plans. So what are the big trends that the data pros foresee will deliver maximum ROI?

Data Hygiene Issues Remain a Priority

Clean, up-to-date, quality data is still the basis for good marketing analyses and campaign planning. A November Business2Community post by marketer Dan Moyle helpfully summarized the key data cleansing tasks that businesses need to undertake to hit the ground running in 2020. After all, it’s estimated that 20% of the average contact database is dirty, so this is not a trivial effort. Increasing marketing efficiency, response and customer loyalty, requires removing data errors and inconsistencies. Start by monitoring data for issues such as duplicates, missing information or bad records to figure out how and where they are occurring. Then standardize processes at each entry point. Next validate the accuracy of data across the database by investing in data tools or expert data services, and commit to regular cleansing and maintenance of data quality. Identify and scrub duplicates. Once the data has been standardized, validated and de-duped, improve its analytic value by using third-party data appending sources (to flesh out demographics, psychographics, firm-ographics, purchase history, etc.) for a more complete customer picture. Establish a feedback process to spot and update, or purge, incorrect information, such as invalid e-mail addresses identified by a campaign. And communicate standards and processes to the whole team so that they understand the value of clean data in segmentation targeting, lead response, customer service and more.

Using Data for an Agile, Personalized, Customer-Centric Edge

Data trends figured prominently in the 2019 Martech Conference and a recent article from martech firm Lineate highlights a few keynotes, such as the role of data in personalization. When a 2019 RedPoint Global survey of U.S. and Canadian consumers finds that 63% expect personalization as a standard of service and want to be individually recognized in special offers, personalized marketing is clearly a competitive essential. Expect to see use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) increase in 2020 as personalization tools. Machine learning is when a computer is able to find patterns within large amounts of data in order to improve or optimize for a specific task. For example, for more personalized offers and messaging in acquisition, this means using ML to recognize if people from certain areas are more likely to respond to a specific offer or which past high-response special offers may resonate in future . Personalization is also key to the customer-centric experience proven to drive long-term retention and brand loyalty–as opposed to getting the same message again and again. When personalization is combined with elimination of data silos and creation of a single customer view across channels, marketing becomes especially powerful. Indeed, integrated database development and the elimination of data silos are also key to the growing “agile marketing” trend. Agile marketing breaks down team silos (which assumes breaking down data silos) in favor of teams focusing on high-value projects collectively. According to a 2018 survey by Kapost, 37% of businesses have already adopted agile marketing, and another 50% said they haven’t yet become agile but expect to be soon.  

Taking Data Insights From Retroactive to Predictive

Looking ahead to 2020, marketers should also consider adding predictive modeling to their toolkit if they haven’t already done so. Why? A study by ClickZ and analytics platform provider Keen found that 58% of marketers using predictive modeling experienced a 10%-25% ROI lift, while another 19% saw more than a 50% uplift. While retroactive campaign data can be very useful for reporting and results analysis, it’s not always as good for informing future multichannel directions, for optimizing media investments, or for quick execution and performance assessment. In fact, nearly 80% of Keen/ClickZ survey respondents felt they’d missed opportunities because of slow or inaccurate decision-making using non-predictive data reporting. For example, standard data analysis often fails to span all channels (e.g., online video vs. store-level programming) and mistakenly gives most credit to last-click channels such as search or transactional activities. In contrast, the Keen/ClickZ survey found marketers using predictive modeling boosted results in multiple areas, including a better understanding of the target audience (71%), optimizing of touchpoints on the customer journey (53%), and improving creative performance (44%). Predictive modeling also can help businesses synthesize large volumes of data, a key concern for many; in fact, 38% indicated their current measurement solutions do not support the scale of their data.

 

Data, Technology, Personalization Top Event Marketing Trends

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Because AccuList helps trade show and conference marketing clients with market-tested direct mail, e-mail and telemarketing lists and services, we naturally watch trends in event marketing closely. Overall, the good news is that, even in a digital world, live events and face-to-face experiences retain their power, with over 40% of marketers saying live events are their most important marketing channel. Plus, event marketers have more tools (and challenges) as they move into 2020.

New Technology Tools Build Buzz and Engagement

A post by marketing guru Michael Brenner for Marketing Insider Group cites a number of technology trends that event marketers can use to boost attendance, engagement and ROI. For example, Artificial Intelligence (AI) can improve efficiency at all stages of event planning and marketing, from ticketing and sales to personalized promotions and automated event follow-up, while augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) can provide more immersive and engaging experiences to event-goers, for example by demonstrating a product (such as a luxury apartment) that is difficult to do at scale or by engaging attendees like the Coca Cola-hosted VR that let participants be a football player in the World Cup. Interactive video is also being increasingly used to build buzz on social media before events and to increase personalized interaction at events.

Up-to-date, Quality Data Literally Drive the Show

Marketing technology now provides access to real-time event data that can enable marketers to evaluate everything from attendance numbers and attendee satisfaction to which talks and topics are the most popular. Long-term, accurate information about registrations, ticket sales, and attendee demographics can help create effective audience-building and exhibitor sales campaigns. Indeed, many marketers find their biggest problem is being overwhelmed by a flood of data, ranging from audience attraction (website visits, social media clicks, registrations);  on-site engagement (RFID metrics, mobile app engagement); post-show follow-up (attendee opinions, costs, ROI); and auxiliary data (CRM, membership data, attendee interests). The key to prioritizing and analyzing, notes event marketing and tech agency Freeman, is to 1) centralize, standardize and integrate data; 2) decide on goals (such as attendee satisfaction, exhibitor ROI, or reduced attendee and exhibitor churn); and 3) define the metrics that best measure achieving those goals. Remember you only manage what you measure, so a focus on growing an overall attendance number can miss the more important goal of getting the right people to attend. Based on analysis of attendance or exhibitor patterns in the data, marketers can then segment data lists in direct marketing for better targeted response and ROI.

Using Data for Personalization Now Seen as Key

For all marketing channels, digital and off-line, personalization is the new requirement. As Brenner’s post notes, because they believe it’s so effective at increasing event marketing ROI, 9 in 10 event planners use some form of personalization. His article includes a useful infographic from a 2017 Eventsforce study on the ROI of personalization which shows that not only do 73% of event planners believe that personalization and data-driven marketing are a priority but 89% personalize event invitations via names, content and links; 71% personalize event communications via e-mail content and landing pages; and 58% personalize registration via different forms for different audiences. Other areas of personalization include event site experiences and give-aways; push notifications and concierge services on apps and mobile; agenda scheduling and networking; and personalized survey questions. As far as collecting the data needed for personalization, the most effective tools are rated as registration systems (84%), CRM/marketing systems (62%), surveys (29%) and event apps (29%). Lower-rated options include social media, interactive screens and kiosks, and interactive technology such as RFID badges. For more, see Brenner’s article.