In this issue...
DM Basics: List Research Strategies (Part 1)
London Bound: IDMF 2007 ~ May 1-3 ~
GZ Responds to Poste Italiane's Postal Recoding
Introduction to Search Engine Marketing: Intriguing to Kids of All Ages
Meet Leigh Anne Parks
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Welcome
It's Spring time in Vermont! The birds are flying north and the snow plows are still out? Our official "mud season" is soon to end and the beautiful weather is just around the corner.
Thanks for your continued interest in GZ News. We're interested not only in your feedback related to our GZ News content, we also welcome your suggestions and proposed contributions to GZ News. In this quarter's issue we're pleased to feature the first in a three part series of articles by Stacy Berver.
Unfortunately, we've had no qualifying entries in our photo contest, with just a few days left...get your entries in before April 30th. (Hint: See you in London... bring your camera if you get there a few days early for the IDMF)
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DM Basics: List Research Strategies (Part 1)
by Stacy Berver
Because direct marketing is cyclical we often get caught up in the cycle, like a mouse in an exercise wheel. We keep running, frantically trying to get where we’re going, but there is no end.
Like that mouse, your direct marketing program will eventually become tired. That is, if you don't force yourself to think about the big picture and remind yourself of the value of the basics.
This issue of GZ News brings you Part 1 in a three part series aimed at reminding you about the DM basics. We begin with List Research Strategies and continue next issue with Preparing to Plan Your Next Campaign. The final part of the series will delve into Accurate Reporting and Detailed Analysis.
By the time we reach Part 3, we're hoping our back-to-basics approach will have helped you clear your head and gain additional strategies for fighting fatigue in your program.
Rest assured, you will find our strategies to be universal. However, we haven’t forgotten that international marketers always have a few added layers of complexity when dealing with DM issues - you’ll see that they’re highlighted throughout the series.
Part I – List Research Strategies
Every direct marketing business is driven by offer and audience. If your offer isn’t reaching the right audience the effect can be devastating. The question is, how do you find the right audience?
The answer isn’t as simple as mailers wish it would be. It’s typically a combination of hard work mixed with trial & error, and a bit of instinct for good measure. Most early list successes come from targeting lists with similar offers, product and price point. Make sure to pay close attention to the recency of the names you’re renting.
As you find a few lists that work, your comfort level with branching out should increase. Even if you’re lucky and you have a huge budget for list testing, you should still move forward cautiously. For example, if I’m selling Widget A for $39, cash up-front, I might begin by testing Widget B buyers who spent $36 in the past twelve months. If my initial test of Widget B buyers works, I wouldn’t roll out to a universe of Widget B buyers who bought through installment billing and are three to five years old, but I would consider testing them.
Just like testing new creative, changing only one variable at a time with list tests is essential to understanding the results.
There are lots of ways to find new lists. However, in my opinion there are three ways where you should focus the majority of your time.
First, find a good list broker. The best list brokers have been marketers in a past life. They understand how hard it is to find a good list and they know the time crunch you experience every time you go back into the mail. The best list brokers also care intimately about your offer and your business. They spend most of their time getting to know your products and your offers. They make list recommendations based on knowing you and understanding your previous results. They know that the more time they invest in your business, the more successful lists they’ll recommend, and the more business you’ll ultimately send their way.
A bad list broker is incredibly easy to spot. They push the same list recommendations out to everyone, paying little (if any) attention to matching like offers or usage with mailers. Avoid these folks – they’re not in it for the long haul.
International programs typically benefit greatly from working with list companies who have a targeted international presence. Whether they’re a foreign company or a US company with an international division doesn’t seem to much matter, but do seek out someone who specializes in global markets. Not only are international lists harder to find, they’re far less targeted than what you’ll find in the US market. Don’t risk limiting yourself further by working with someone who’s not a specialist.
Next, pay attention to who is using your list and whose lists you’re using. Require reciprocal rental for anyone who uses your list and I guarantee you’ll easily find at least one or two new lists each year.
Very recently I finished a big project for an international client where we took the lists they were using and cross referenced the usage on each of them. When we saw a pattern of a mailer (whose list they had not tested) using many of the same core files as my client, we knew we had a good test idea. This opened up new universes my client had never considered.
Many international mailers don’t rent their files because they shy away from competition or list rental just isn’t as prevalent in their country. Often you’ll find this barrier can be broken through with a swap deal. And you’ll find that these lists, which aren’t already on the market to others, are undiscovered goldmines.
Finally, get out and mingle. Get to know your competition. Sure, you may teach them something that they didn’t know and if you’re lucky they’ll do the same for you. Many people avoid the competition, but my theory is that if you embrace them you’ll do more good for one another’s businesses than either of you can imagine. And you’ll both be stronger.
Many great list deals have come from getting to know someone whose list you could never make work. Mailers are willing to share marketing knowledge if they know you – these insights into their list are often the edge that you need to turn a loser into a winner.
It’s complicated to network when your competition is global, but it’s not impossible. One of the best networking opportunities for international direct marketers is the US DMA. When I was an international mailer it was often the only show I attended each year. I knew that my counterparts from all over the world would travel to the US and I could find many of them in one place. The London IDMF is another great networking opportunity.
In summary, the best lists are the ones that you find with patience and perseverance. Make sure you’re always on the look out and never, ever stop testing.
Don’t miss Preparing to Plan Your Next Campaign in the next issue of GZ News. Let us help you step back and remind yourself of the big picture before you jump into the details surrounding your next campaign.
Stacy Berver is an independent direct marketing consultant, specializing in international expansion. After thirteen years as an international mailer she recently began consulting to other mailers looking to take their business global. Most recently, as the President of International Marketing Solutions LLC, a division of Agora Inc., Stacy was responsible for the international marketing and distribution of over fifty newsletters, books and products. During her time at Agora, Stacy spoke regularly at industry events as an expert on international direct marketing and recently served on the DMA’s International Council Operating Committee as well as on the Target Marketing Editorial Advisory Board. Stacy holds a BA in Communications with a specialization in Journalism from Loyola College in Baltimore, MD. She lives in Elkridge, Maryland with her husband, two sons and two dogs. Stacy can be reached via email at Sberver@mac.com or via phone at +1.410.336.4394.
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London Bound: IDMF 2007 ~ May 1-3 ~
Last year there were close to 7,300 attendees at the International Direct Marketing Fair at Earls Court 2 in London. Fun was had by all, with information- packed educational seminars, with more than 60% of those in attendance at the managerial level of their organizations. It has historically been the show to attend, and this year is shaping up to be another great one for attendees and exhibitors alike.
We hope you will stop by and see us: May 1st through 3rd at stand E829.
Please set time aside while your at the IDMF to:
- Attend our noon seminar on Thursday, May 3rd conducted by Dimitri Garder & Marty Shaw entitled "10 Ways to Increase Revenue: Global Marketing Data Management Strategies and Tactics". You will leave the seminar with great ideas to put into action immediately.
- Complete our Annual International Direct Marketing Survey. Stop by stand E829, fill out our brief annual survey and we'll be certain to include you in our list of those that receive the trend data we will compile from all those that respond, before it is published.
To learn more, or to register, click here...
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GZ Responds to Poste Italiane's Postal Recoding
Recently we announced a postcode update in response to Poste Italiane's postal recoding of many geographical areas.
The enhancement of our Italy data processing service designed to help mailers update their Italian address files to comply with Italy's recent postcode change, including the most current Italian postal codes was initiated in response to the Italian postal authority, Poste Italiane, changing their postal code system.
As many global postal authorities have done, and continue to do, Poste Italiane is enhancing its old postal code system in pursuit of efficiency improvements. With this enhancement, continuing through 2007, the old Italy postal codes will not be available on Poste Italiane's legacy processing, necessitating the manual processing of this mail.
Read our recent press release...
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Introduction to Search Engine Marketing: Intriguing to Kids of All Ages
by Marty Shaw, Global-Z Sales & Web Marketing
Last year my family and I went to the Boston Museum of Science. It was a spectacular time of wonder and exploration. I highly recommend it! The picture, above, is my then-ten-year-old son absolutely transfixed by the audiokinetic sculpture-- an intriguing machine with balls that move around metal tracks and make noises as they go -- that he happened upon shortly after we entered the museum. If you’ve ever seen it or one like it at your local shopping mall you will appreciate the curiosity and interest it brings out in children of all ages (I think my son could have spent the majority of the day observing and mentally dissecting the sculpture). This picture of my son came to mind as the 2007 Search Engine Strategies (SES) conference was wrapping up at the Hilton New York in Manhattan, April 10-13; my third SES conference in recent years. While I consider myself relatively well versed in search engine marketing, during SES NYC this year there were a number of times I felt what I’m sure my son felt at the Boston Museum of Science. Approximately 6,000 SES NYC attendees chose 15 informative and enlightening sessions, out of 75 available-- intriguing seminar sessions that moved us around search engine marketing tracks, with most attendees making noises as they go, no doubt consciously or subconsciously asking themselves “How does this search engine marketing stuff work? I’m intrigued!”.
As international direct marketers facing ever increasing costs associated with your direct mail campaigns many SES attendees with whom I spoke emphasized their interest in search marketing as a direct corollary to these cost increases. This prompted me to continue my GZ News article on search engine marketing. Where to continue? I suggest I continue where I should have started—at the beginning. Many of you know as much or more than I do related to this ever-changing DM channel, so this may serve as a helpful refresher. For those of you that are relatively new to search marketing this may offer you helpful insight into what was offered to those attending Danny Sullivan’s session: “Introduction to Search Engine Marketing”. Danny chaired and programmed SES 2007. He is the recognized authority on search and search engine marketing. Since 1996, Danny has been helping webmasters, marketers, and everyday Web users understand how search engines work and how to profit from them. I will highlight, albeit very briefly, some if the key points he offered to attendees of this “search 101” session.
What is search engine marketing?
Search engine marketing is a combination of public relations and advertising. Google, for example, represents this by a summary, text-based excerpt of your website appearing in the “free” body of the search results page (highlighted in green in the screen shot, below, referred to as editorial, natural or organic listings). Your targeted ad appearing in the right side of the search results page (highlighted in yellow, below, referred to as “cost-per-click” where you, the advertiser, pays a fee when the ad is clicked, bringing the searcher to your desired webpage).
While the screen shot is too small to see, the section of the page circled in red identifies the number of results found for any given search. Our job, as direct marketers, is to be well positioned "above the fold" for as many relevant key phrases associated with your business as possible.
As Danny expressed, search engine marketing is getting in front of someone expressing an active desire in what your business has to offer.
What is vertical search marketing?
Google search results, comprising approximately 56% of searchers’ preferred search engine, is a horizontal search engine. That is, your business, say selling Ford Mustang enthusiast memorabilia around the world, compete for search results placement with mustang breeders’ marketing efforts... completely unrelated businesses. In vertical search, search engines will focus on the specialties within a given discipline, so the competition for search placement will be amongst related business offerings, thus providing grater relevance for the searcher; which the major search engines maintain is their main goal. (no relevance, no searchers, no searchers, no advertisers, no advertisers, no revenue… no search engines). Danny suggests we’ll see more search focusing on verticals. While it can be debated as to whether or not business-to-business (B2B) is a vertical, Business.com is banking on the growth in vertical search (check out www.business.com as an example of this vertical search engine).
Where to start?
Don’t put your search marketing efforts exclusively in “free”/organic or paid/advertising search. You should be in both. Studies have demonstrated that conversions (e.g., sales, white paper downloads, web form inquires completed) increase by 100% or more when a business appears in both organic and paid search results “above the fold” on a relevant search results page, when compared to search marketers’ results appearing in only the organic or paid search results.
What are your prospective customers searching for?
Start by listing the top ten phrases that summarize your business/website’s offerings. The phrases should be at least 2 words (e.g., “blue widgets”). As highlighted at SES, if you’re in a hurry, go with your gut. If you have the time… research, research, research (e.g., wordtracker.com, Google AdWords Keyword tool , Country-specific tools.
Leverage your content
Ideally, each of the key phrases you market will bring you prospective customers to a webpage (referred to as a “landing page”) that has relevant content which pertains to that specific term. That is, don’t have you prospective customers all land on your home page, necessitating they find their own way around. If our prospective customer is looking for, say, “Canada NCOA” services we ring both the organic and paid listing to a landing page specific to this service.
What do search engines look for on a website?
Major search engines “crawl” you webpage every 4-8 weeks, on average. Key components to being crawled effectively include: relevant within-page content, relevant page titles, well designed webpages for “searchability”, credible links to and from your website, age of your site, and much more. Importantly, if the engines are not finding your site, you can submit it to them so they will include it in their next crawl… no guarantees (e.g., Google Add URL page, Yahoo!, MS Live Search)
What is paid inclusion?
Yahoo! offers a paid inclusion program which guarantees your site will be included in their crawl, and mixed in with the free listings, revisited by the Yahoo! crawler regularly. No guarantee that you will rank highly for your keyterms, however. Like paid search, you pay a set fee on a per-click basis if someone clicks on your listing.
More on relevant content
If you want people to find your business related to a particular term make sure it is included on your website copy. That is, if you want to have them find your “premium widgets” search your own site for these terms. If you can’t easily find these terms neither will the search engines.
Links
Search engines index your site by following links to, within and from your site. It’s not about sheer number of links. Link quality gains more prominence as the major engines’ algorithms evolve. The engines now include things such as “importance” of the link (As Danny highlighted, a few links from quality sites is more important than hundreds of links from bad sites.)
I’ve only summarized a small portion of Danny’s presentation, which was an intro to content that was expanded upon in great depth in 74 other sessions over the 4 day SES conference. I will continue to expand upon search marketing in subsequent issues of GZ News, and I always welcome you feedback in an ongoing effort to be sure this section of our eNewsletter provides you and your colleagues with information you can apply to, and benefit your business.
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Meet Leigh Anne Parks
Leigh Anne Parks of Customer Service joined the Global-Z family in 2002 after graduating from Southern Vermont College with her Bachelors degree in business. She continues to provide support to Global-Z’s clients along with her colleagues Penny Galusha and Stephen Aalderink.
After starting at Global-Z, Leigh Anne married her husband in June of 2005. She recently became a mother to her beautiful daughter Cameron who was born on November 8, 2006. She resides with her family in Bennington, VT.
Leigh Anne enjoys working at Global-Z because of the people and incredible flexibility the company has shown especially with the new baby.
Dimitri Garder, Global-Z’s Director of Operations notes “Leigh Anne has been an invaluable member of the Customer Service team for the past 4 ½ years and a wonderful mentor to her teammates. She has gained substantial expertise in direct marketing during her tenure at Global-Z and has proven an invaluable source of knowledge for our customers, helping them improve and manage their international direct marketing campaigns. Leigh Anne has a keen sense of humor and always adds a note of good cheer to the office. It is great to have her on the team.”
Leigh Anne’s email address is: lparks@globalz.com
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