Direct mail, direct marketing, online, email, pr, if it's marketing, I've got something to say about it.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Coals to Newcastle

How multi-dimensional are your list segmentation efforts? I admit - I'm pretty one dimensional when it comes to picking attributes for a marketing campaign. Zip code range, income, transaction data - if you fit the criteria for a certain effort, in you go. Throw in the tried-and-true suppression techniques (don't market to existing customers for a lead generation campaign; those on a do not mail or call list; or those under age, in jail, a military base, etc.) and you're off to the races.

But a recent conversation with a friend from NYC got me thinking. Maybe previous transactions, household income or other demographic data alone arent' enough to find a likely prospect.

For instance, she recounted being solicited by mail for a ride-on lawn mower. Mailed to her apartment in Manhattan. "OK, what did you buy that was related to gardening?" I asked.

After a quick discussion of her recent purchases, we zeroed in on a purchase from LL Bean. We surmised the mower marketer decided to target catalog purchasers of some sort of outdoor clothing who lived in the east coast. This likely triggered her as a candidate for the tractor.

This got me thinking that more careful suppression of certain geographic regions would make sense, especially one that contains a large percentage of the US population and ostensibly its direct mail list universe.

Or take the telemarketing call this same friend received. She got a call at her vacation home on Fire Island, a place with no mail delivery, offering to have a newspaper mailed to her home there. At $50-$75 per hour for telemarketers, every phone call to that exchange was an exercise in futility.

Reminds me of calls from Verizon offering me DSL service at my home in rural NH. Only catch it, it's not available in my town (surprise!). Or worse, the call from the Boston Globe offering me home delivery. I've missed the Globe dearly since I moved from Boston 4 years ago and could not believe my luck. The Globe -- home delivered to northern NH! But cruel fate dashed my dreams of Sunday mornings curled up with a cup of coffee and the Sunday news. Sorry, we don't deliver to your town. CLICK!

So the next time you're working on your data for your mail or phone campaigns, think in multi-dimensions. Don't spend money marketing to customers based on a single attribute. Because you can't sell many tractors in Manhattan.