The Role ofDirect Response Marketing

in Building and SustainingClient Relationships

by Katie Williams

hen most people think direct response marketing (DRM), they think directmail, but DRM is much broader than that. Data driven one-to-one print andelectronic communications, targeted email campaigns, client events and yourcompany’s Facebook and Twitter sites are all direct response marketing deliv-

ery mechanisms. How marketers integrate these tools and channels determines how valuable,meaningful and memorable the customer experience is for clients, customers and prospects.That experience is what ultimately affects audience behavior, either positively or negatively,and drives your response.

Affecting behavior can be achieved in a number of ways from creating awareness topersuading, informing, reminding, or planting doubt. But ultimately all roads lead to drivinga specific, definable behavior, otherwise known as a call-to-action: Buy our product. Call us.Participate in our survey. Hire us. Refer a friend. Like us. Follow us. Friend us.

Alin Jacobs, well-known relationship marketing expert and Chief Marketing Architect at iC3, for his insight on the evolution of direct response marketing and advice on how to build and strengthen customerrelationships in today’s rapidlychanging environment.

For more than 28 years Classic has taken a leading role in informing and educating customers about industry innovations, research and developments.

Change magazine provides us an opportunity to share

insights and opinions from our customers, business partners,

associates and industry experts on the topics

and trends you’re talking about today.

For this issue we turned to

RevolutionEvolution

FromTo

W14

October 2011 • change

we ask you

The Role ofDirect Response Marketing

in Building and SustainingClient Relationships

by Katie Williams

hen most people think direct response marketing (DRM), they think directmail, but DRM is much broader than that. Data driven one-to-one print andelectronic communications, targeted email campaigns, client events and yourcompany’s Facebook and Twitter sites are all direct response marketing deliv-

ery mechanisms. How marketers integrate these tools and channels determines how valuable,meaningful and memorable the customer experience is for clients, customers and prospects.That experience is what ultimately affects audience behavior, either positively or negatively,and drives your response.

Affecting behavior can be achieved in a number of ways from creating awareness topersuading, informing, reminding, or planting doubt. But ultimately all roads lead to drivinga specific, definable behavior, otherwise known as a call-to-action: Buy our product. Call us.Participate in our survey. Hire us. Refer a friend. Like us. Follow us. Friend us.

Alin Jacobs, well-known relationship marketing expert and Chief Marketing Architect at iC3, for his insight on the evolution of direct response marketing and advice on how to build and strengthen customerrelationships in today’s rapidlychanging environment.

For more than 28 years Classic has taken a leading role in informing and educating customers about industry innovations, research and developments.

Change magazine provides us an opportunity to share

insights and opinions from our customers, business partners,

associates and industry experts on the topics

and trends you’re talking about today.

For this issue we turned to

RevolutionEvolution

FromTo

W15

change • October 2011

What makes this even more critical today is the propensity forconsumers to share their experiences – both good and bad – throughsocial media. The old theory where one person tells ten people who tellten more people about a product or customer experience no longer exists.Now it’s one person telling thousands through social media.

“I think the customer experience is the most exciting thing outthere,” Jacobs said. “And that experience starts with the company.When you keep your employees happy and motivated they’re going tobring it back to the customer.” He cites Zappos and Google as greatexamples, saying the loyalty they enjoy begins at home in their ownfacilities and easily translates to the customer experience. He pointsout, however, that it’s important for marketers to remember thatfocusing on the customer experience doesn’t eliminate the need forongoing communications like one-to-one, data-driven communicationsand personal URLs. “It’s not a one-touch program today – it’s amulti-touch program,” Jacobs stated.

Test AssumptionsDetermining which communication channels to use and how

often you should communicate with a particular audience requiresdoing your homework. Jacobs encourages testing your assumptionsfrequently using tools like online surveys that make it convenientand easy for your audience to provide feedback. People like to sharetheir opinions but they’ll stop sharing if they fail to see changes as aresult. “If you’re not receiving feedback it’s because they don’t thinktheir opinion matters to you,” Jacobs said. It’s not enough to simplyengage customers and ask what’s important to them. You have to fol-low up in ways that are meaningful to them and that send the messagethat you heard them and are taking action as a result of their feedback.This helps create a foundation of trust for the relationship.

Earn Their TrustTrust is an area that Jacobs feels strongly about. All too often he

sees a problem with how companies position trust in the sales andmarketing process. He believes trust must be earned and that there isa significant difference between saying “I’m your trusted partner” and“I want to earn the right to be your trusted partner.” Communicating agoal to “earn the right” infers that you also have skin in the game; you’rein it for the long haul and are committed to doing your part to makethe relationship work for both parties.

“The way I earn that right with my clients is by establishingmyself as an expert and sharing information about marketing withmeaning,” Jacobs explained. “This tells people that you’re going tobring value to the relationship and that’s really what it’s all about.” Jacobs also believes it’s critical for marketing and sales to get beyond the“what” and communicate the “why.” Why does someone want to dobusiness with you? Is it convenience, location, price or the customer experi-ence? Marketers have to be able to answer the “why’s” for their cus-tomers in a way that’s meaningful to them and adds value to their lives.

“I’m a regular customer at a neighborhood restaurant and pianobar,” Jacobs shared. “They’ve got great food and music, but so do a lot

of places. This place is different because they know me and greet me by name when I walk through the door. They even called me one timewhen I hadn’t stopped by for two weeks – just to make sure I was alright.”

When Jacobs needed gift certificates donated for an event herecently hosted, he knew where to go. All the restaurant asked washow many certificates and in what amounts. In turn, he actively pro-motes charitable events the restaurant sponsors, getting the word outto his friends and business associates. Jacobs claims that’s the differ-ence between being a customer and being one half of a relationship.“Now I have to tell them if I’m going to be out of town for an extendedperiod of time so they don’t worry,” he joked.

Don’t Blame the TechnologyLastly, Jacobs cautions against blaming the technology if your

marketing efforts fail to produce the behavior or results you seek.“Technology doesn’t make or break your communications. The technologyis just the delivery mechanism. There’s no getting away from the funda-mentals that drive results: engaging design, a meaningful message and a great offer.

To learn more about Alin Jacobs or gain additional insight through his blog, visit “http://www.icommunicat3.com.”

According to Alin Jacobs, Chief Marketing Architect at iC3,consumers of goods and services have made it clear that theydon’t want to simply be a part of the conversation today. Theywant to control it. So how do you adapt your marketing strategiesfor an environment where the consumer is in the driver’s seat?Jacobs suggests you start by having “an affair.”

“Clients and consumers aren’t seeking a relationship withyou. They’re smart enough to realize that, typically, only the busi-ness benefits from a relationship,” Jacobs explained. “What theyare willing to do is have an affair with you... Affairs bring excite-ment and imagination. They’re dynamic and changing. Relation-ships, on the other hand, become comfortable because we’re nolonger putting the same high level of effort into them,”

How does this translate to your marketing efforts? Jacobssuggests identifying where your customers are and joining themthere. Learn about them, talk with them and determine whatthey’re interested in—but don’t immediately jump in with “Oh, by the way, I sell widgets.” To paraphrase Seth Godin’s referencein his best-seller, Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers IntoFriends And Friends Into Customers, if you’re looking to get mar-ried, you wouldn’t walk up to the first woman you see and say“Will you marry me?” You’d get to know her first, enjoy the dat-ing process and begin to build a relationship. But Jacobs saysmany companies are too eager to jump straight to marriageand the consumer or prospect is simply not ready for that levelof commitment.

Not Feeling the Love from Your Target Market? There’s a Fix for That

Few understand the principles behind affecting consumerbehavior like relationship marketing guru Alin Jacobs. A 25-year mar-keting veteran and sought-after speaker, Jacobs spearheaded a varietyof programs for companies including Xerox, XMPie, CoxCommunications, Kodak, Volkswagen of America, Seminole Casinos,Toyota Motor Sales, and the Trump Network. In fact, Jacobs helpedlead the revolution that ushered in the personalized print and web-based communications many companies rely heavily on today to

communicate with clients and prospects. As an early advocate for one-to-one, relationship based communications, Jacobs was successful inleading several of his clients down this path before much of the tech-nology to support these strategies even existed.

Jacobs maintains that to achieve success today, marketingefforts have to evolve as quickly and dynamically as the marketplacethey serve. “I don’t even use the term direct marketing,” Jacobs said.“It doesn’t convey what we’re trying to achieve. If we’re seeking todevelop and build relationships, our marketing efforts need to be one-to-one – as though each person is your only customer.”

Jacobs points out that an evolution has quickly taken placeover the past three years alone, moving from saturation mailings – orwhat he refers to as true junk mail – to highly targeted, data-drivencommunications. This has required marketers to adjust their strate-gies to communicate “with” not “to” customers.

“While this is far from a mature industry, emerging technologieshave already transformed the business landscape,” Jacobs said. “Socialmedia continues to challenge other forms of marketing as the break-through strategy of choice, shifting power to the consumer.“

Market Like You Mean It Jacobs maintains that monologue-style brand advertising no

longer works because we’ve empowered the consumer. Theydecide what they want to read or watch. The consumer is alsothe judge of whether or not you’re creating value. Marketersneed to hone in on what’s important to each individualand tailor communications to that individual.

“It’s great if someone responds to the first attempt toengage them, but it’s really not about that anymore,” Jacobssaid. “It’s about creating an ongoing dialog.” To accomplishthis, companies need an integrated approach that doesn’trely on any one technology or medium. Companies can makea big mistake throwing all their eggs in one basket, whetherit’s social or mobile media, print, internet, TV, radio or in-store displays. All of these channels are important and mustwork together to create the consumer experience.

“I believe in the convergence of three powerful elements:the brand, the customer experience and the engagement process.

As marketers, we need to be able to tell a good story and I believeat least 97% of that story should be true,” he smiled.

Engage the Entire OrganizationJacobs can’t over-emphasize the importance of engaging the

entire organization in the marketing process. Your brand—who you areand what you stand for—must resonate across every aspect of theclient experience from print and online media efforts to product andservice delivery. Many organizations only engage customer-facingemployees in the marketing process. That falls flat on its face whenbehind-the-scenes support and services like technology, shipping, orproduct quality fall short. The consumer doesn’t differentiate betweenthe inferior product or experience and your brand. They’re all one in the consumer’s mind.

“I don’t even use the term direct marketing,

It doesn’t convey what we’re trying to achieve.

If we’re seeking to develop and build

relationships, our marketingefforts need to be

one-to-one – as thougheach person is your

only customer.”ALIN JACOBS

R E L AT I O N S H I P M A R K E T I N G G U R U

16

October 2011 • change

we ask you

What makes this even more critical today is the propensity forconsumers to share their experiences – both good and bad – throughsocial media. The old theory where one person tells ten people who tellten more people about a product or customer experience no longer exists.Now it’s one person telling thousands through social media.

“I think the customer experience is the most exciting thing outthere,” Jacobs said. “And that experience starts with the company.When you keep your employees happy and motivated they’re going tobring it back to the customer.” He cites Zappos and Google as greatexamples, saying the loyalty they enjoy begins at home in their ownfacilities and easily translates to the customer experience. He pointsout, however, that it’s important for marketers to remember thatfocusing on the customer experience doesn’t eliminate the need forongoing communications like one-to-one, data-driven communicationsand personal URLs. “It’s not a one-touch program today – it’s amulti-touch program,” Jacobs stated.

Test AssumptionsDetermining which communication channels to use and how

often you should communicate with a particular audience requiresdoing your homework. Jacobs encourages testing your assumptionsfrequently using tools like online surveys that make it convenientand easy for your audience to provide feedback. People like to sharetheir opinions but they’ll stop sharing if they fail to see changes as aresult. “If you’re not receiving feedback it’s because they don’t thinktheir opinion matters to you,” Jacobs said. It’s not enough to simplyengage customers and ask what’s important to them. You have to fol-low up in ways that are meaningful to them and that send the messagethat you heard them and are taking action as a result of their feedback.This helps create a foundation of trust for the relationship.

Earn Their TrustTrust is an area that Jacobs feels strongly about. All too often he

sees a problem with how companies position trust in the sales andmarketing process. He believes trust must be earned and that there isa significant difference between saying “I’m your trusted partner” and“I want to earn the right to be your trusted partner.” Communicating agoal to “earn the right” infers that you also have skin in the game; you’rein it for the long haul and are committed to doing your part to makethe relationship work for both parties.

“The way I earn that right with my clients is by establishingmyself as an expert and sharing information about marketing withmeaning,” Jacobs explained. “This tells people that you’re going tobring value to the relationship and that’s really what it’s all about.” Jacobs also believes it’s critical for marketing and sales to get beyond the“what” and communicate the “why.” Why does someone want to dobusiness with you? Is it convenience, location, price or the customer experi-ence? Marketers have to be able to answer the “why’s” for their cus-tomers in a way that’s meaningful to them and adds value to their lives.

“I’m a regular customer at a neighborhood restaurant and pianobar,” Jacobs shared. “They’ve got great food and music, but so do a lot

of places. This place is different because they know me and greet me by name when I walk through the door. They even called me one timewhen I hadn’t stopped by for two weeks – just to make sure I was alright.”

When Jacobs needed gift certificates donated for an event herecently hosted, he knew where to go. All the restaurant asked washow many certificates and in what amounts. In turn, he actively pro-motes charitable events the restaurant sponsors, getting the word outto his friends and business associates. Jacobs claims that’s the differ-ence between being a customer and being one half of a relationship.“Now I have to tell them if I’m going to be out of town for an extendedperiod of time so they don’t worry,” he joked.

Don’t Blame the TechnologyLastly, Jacobs cautions against blaming the technology if your

marketing efforts fail to produce the behavior or results you seek.“Technology doesn’t make or break your communications. The technologyis just the delivery mechanism. There’s no getting away from the funda-mentals that drive results: engaging design, a meaningful message and a great offer.

To learn more about Alin Jacobs or gain additional insight through his blog, visit “http://www.icommunicat3.com.”

According to Alin Jacobs, Chief Marketing Architect at iC3,consumers of goods and services have made it clear that theydon’t want to simply be a part of the conversation today. Theywant to control it. So how do you adapt your marketing strategiesfor an environment where the consumer is in the driver’s seat?Jacobs suggests you start by having “an affair.”

“Clients and consumers aren’t seeking a relationship withyou. They’re smart enough to realize that, typically, only the busi-ness benefits from a relationship,” Jacobs explained. “What theyare willing to do is have an affair with you... Affairs bring excite-ment and imagination. They’re dynamic and changing. Relation-ships, on the other hand, become comfortable because we’re nolonger putting the same high level of effort into them,”

How does this translate to your marketing efforts? Jacobssuggests identifying where your customers are and joining themthere. Learn about them, talk with them and determine whatthey’re interested in—but don’t immediately jump in with “Oh, by the way, I sell widgets.” To paraphrase Seth Godin’s referencein his best-seller, Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers IntoFriends And Friends Into Customers, if you’re looking to get mar-ried, you wouldn’t walk up to the first woman you see and say“Will you marry me?” You’d get to know her first, enjoy the dat-ing process and begin to build a relationship. But Jacobs saysmany companies are too eager to jump straight to marriageand the consumer or prospect is simply not ready for that levelof commitment.

Not Feeling the Love from Your Target Market? There’s a Fix for That

Few understand the principles behind affecting consumerbehavior like relationship marketing guru Alin Jacobs. A 25-year mar-keting veteran and sought-after speaker, Jacobs spearheaded a varietyof programs for companies including Xerox, XMPie, CoxCommunications, Kodak, Volkswagen of America, Seminole Casinos,Toyota Motor Sales, and the Trump Network. In fact, Jacobs helpedlead the revolution that ushered in the personalized print and web-based communications many companies rely heavily on today to

communicate with clients and prospects. As an early advocate for one-to-one, relationship based communications, Jacobs was successful inleading several of his clients down this path before much of the tech-nology to support these strategies even existed.

Jacobs maintains that to achieve success today, marketingefforts have to evolve as quickly and dynamically as the marketplacethey serve. “I don’t even use the term direct marketing,” Jacobs said.“It doesn’t convey what we’re trying to achieve. If we’re seeking todevelop and build relationships, our marketing efforts need to be one-to-one – as though each person is your only customer.”

Jacobs points out that an evolution has quickly taken placeover the past three years alone, moving from saturation mailings – orwhat he refers to as true junk mail – to highly targeted, data-drivencommunications. This has required marketers to adjust their strate-gies to communicate “with” not “to” customers.

“While this is far from a mature industry, emerging technologieshave already transformed the business landscape,” Jacobs said. “Socialmedia continues to challenge other forms of marketing as the break-through strategy of choice, shifting power to the consumer.“

Market Like You Mean It Jacobs maintains that monologue-style brand advertising no

longer works because we’ve empowered the consumer. Theydecide what they want to read or watch. The consumer is alsothe judge of whether or not you’re creating value. Marketersneed to hone in on what’s important to each individualand tailor communications to that individual.

“It’s great if someone responds to the first attempt toengage them, but it’s really not about that anymore,” Jacobssaid. “It’s about creating an ongoing dialog.” To accomplishthis, companies need an integrated approach that doesn’trely on any one technology or medium. Companies can makea big mistake throwing all their eggs in one basket, whetherit’s social or mobile media, print, internet, TV, radio or in-store displays. All of these channels are important and mustwork together to create the consumer experience.

“I believe in the convergence of three powerful elements:the brand, the customer experience and the engagement process.

As marketers, we need to be able to tell a good story and I believeat least 97% of that story should be true,” he smiled.

Engage the Entire OrganizationJacobs can’t over-emphasize the importance of engaging the

entire organization in the marketing process. Your brand—who you areand what you stand for—must resonate across every aspect of theclient experience from print and online media efforts to product andservice delivery. Many organizations only engage customer-facingemployees in the marketing process. That falls flat on its face whenbehind-the-scenes support and services like technology, shipping, orproduct quality fall short. The consumer doesn’t differentiate betweenthe inferior product or experience and your brand. They’re all one in the consumer’s mind.

“I don’t even use the term direct marketing,

It doesn’t convey what we’re trying to achieve.

If we’re seeking to develop and build

relationships, our marketingefforts need to be

one-to-one – as thougheach person is your

only customer.”ALIN JACOBS

R E L AT I O N S H I P M A R K E T I N G G U R U

17

change • October 2011