No More "Pay & Pray" Advertising!

Ok, boys and girls...quiz time!  If you went to Las Vegas and you kept throwing your money away playing craps or any other game, would you still keep playing?  Ok, so it is a ridiculously rhetorical question, but I'm going somewhere with this.

As a business owner, executive or entrepreneur how do you measure the effectiveness of your advertising?  Can you put an ROI on your advertising dollars?  If not, you are merely gambling!  You are involved in "pay & pray" advertising, where you pay and pray that people respond to your ad.

Loyalty programs are very popular and they offer companies the ability to track customers, eliminate "faceless customers" and understand the value each customer. Stop blowing your budget on untrackable campaigns and start mining the value of your existing customers.  

So, let me pose a question to all you business owners, execs & entrepreneurs - as recession fears loom, how will you use marketing & advertising to enhance your position in the marketplace???

$4.00 A Gallon...Holy MOLY!!!

Today we heard gas may reach $4.00 a gallon by summer.  Now, we aren't math prodigies but that's 400 pennies 0r 40 dimes...hmmm maybe my children's piggy-banks hold a gallon or two worth of pocket change?

What does this have to do with customer loyalty programs you might ask?  Well, my dear bloggers discretionary spending drops when consumers have to decide between fuel and their favorite hoagie, latte or that nifty high definition Blu-Ray DVD player (I hear they're awesome, by the way.)

So, if consumer spending decreases, how do you keep your business moving forward?  The answer lies deep, ok it's not that deep, it is right under your nose...YOUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS!  Breath taking isn't it, hold the applause please...no really, we couldn't have done it without all the little people.  

Levity aside, your existing customers and their value to your business hold the key and by knowing who your most valuable customers are you can use that information to sent precise marketing messages.  If you are not segmenting customers you need to be!

How Does My Business Keep Customers? Take a Look Inside!

dataRM is a powerful customer retention & segmentation tool designed to increase profits and decrease wasted advertising dollars. It gives you a clear picture of your best, average & "not-so-good" customers so you can focus your marketing spend on your most profitable customer segments. It can also help you keep customers with a latency module.

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The Faceless Customer

How many customers enter a typical retailer anonymously?  Most I would presume...these are "faceless customers" and without knowing who they are how can retailers serve them best?

ADVERTISING IS RISKY - we call it "pay & pray"...you pay for it & pray customers come in.   With all of the available technology out there it is time to put a face on your customer and communicate with them on a highly personalized basis.  

How? 

• Step 1 - Mine your database (if you don't have a customer database it's time to step out of the dark ages and establish one (those Gieco cavemen would use one!).  
  
• Step 2, use customer data from your database to send your customers precisely targeted marketing.  
  
• Step 3, Measure your results & maximize your highest returning marketing efforts.
  

Sounds simple and it is but action is needed to take your business to the next level.  Wasted time is wasted opportunity!

Is Traditional Advertising Dying?

We continually hear from our clients that the existing economic woes are resulting in slower sales. With gas prices being high, the housing market crashing and fears of recession looming, consumers are keeping discretionary spending to a minimum.

That begs the question - how are retailers communicating with customers today? And, with growing online & social media options becoming more popular do falling response rates among traditional advertising methods forecast a dismal future for newspapers, magazines & broadcast direct mail?

A highly targeted approach focused on specific customer segments could be the answer.

Sound off below, by responding to our survey. Looking forward to seeing the responses.