Arandell Corporation

Gary Sierzchulski, VP, Arandell Data Services

In case you haven’t heard this lately, ROI is the not-so-new mantra. Click here to see the latest epiphany from eMarketer exclaiming ROI a must-have. Costs seem to be driving many decisions lately; this is no surprise because many of you are in survival mode right now.  With all the channels / customer touchpoints now in play, it is more important than ever to understand the impact these have on your business and the revenue they generate (and yes…as well as the costs associated to them).  We talked about matchbacks as being a key, but as you all know it’s not an exact science. Tim Perry from CWDKids recently stated his frustration about the lack of conclusive data in an article in MultiChannel Merchant. In my opinion, however, matchbacks do give you a very good handle on what is driving your business and as long as the business rules are constant, the information is extremely valuable and useful in analyzing current campaigns and in preparing future campaigns.

The biggest constant resource in all of this is your database. It is also your biggest asset. Your database should accommodate all your marketing channels and any new ones that are being created this week.  By accommodate I mean that each channel can be clearly viewed and measured in terms of your key needs. The database should also support outgoing information as well as incoming information.

Outgoing information includes; dates, costs and event codes for all campaigns; direct mail, retail, email, Twitter, text or even the ancient telephone campaign. It is critical that each time you touch a customer that information is maintained. With the cost of storage and data decreasing as I write this post, there is no reason not to. Detailed reporting can be derived from this information and you can determine the true value of your customers.

Incoming information includes; orders, returns, “take me off your list,” “do not email me,” “do not call me,” change of addresses, survey information, etc. Again the more you have and maintain, the better.

All this information, literally at your fingertips, gives you the knowledge to understand the what, why, who, when, and how much and makes marketing decisions easier. The key is to have a platform that allows you to do all of this. We will elaborate in later blogs.

Gary Sierzchulski, VP, Arandell Data Services

Now more than ever understanding what each of your marketing channels is driving your orders is critical to your success.

Marketers have attempted various methods to achieve this understanding.  What we have found is that in many cases the results are flawed and as a result, decisions as to how to move forward are based on inaccurate information.  Doing this process internally sometimes leads to personal preferences and emphases on a particular channel over another. 

Even if you decide to keep your matchback process internal, it pays to have an outside company occasionally provide the matchbacks for you. Here are three reasons why:

• The external company can validate your results. For a few hundred dollars you could receive an external reassurance that you are on the right track, and you can continue to charge ahead. Worst case scenario? You weren’t on the right track and now you have a great resource to help you fix and improve.
• Ensure your methodology is consistent. Every company has created a system that works for them depending on their culture and the different personalities in the team. An outsider looking in has the ability to find the flaws and the areas that your team might have overlooked or neglected.
• Review your best practice business rules. There are many different ways to peel an apple. Sometimes your company’s best practice business rules might not be, in fact, the best. A fresh perspective is great to challenge and refine your current approach.

Going through the process, discussing and agreeing to the business rules, understanding where the data is coming from, etc. are all critical to the accuracy of the analysis.  Keep in mind - you should already know the total sales for the period being analyzed.  The matchback fine-tunes those numbers into the proper channel receiving credit for the sale.

Gary Sierzchulski, VP, Arandell Data Services

Well, as you all know, the USPS is strongly considering offering a discount this summer if you increase your circulation over the same period of time last year.  While this is a great step for the Postal Service in starting to finally recognize the needs and issues of catalogers, it should by no means be the key factor in deciding whether or not to increase prospecting. Right now, regardless of an incentive, this is the best time to build your brand. Consider the following reasons:

•There are fewer catalogs in the mail right now so yours will likely get more attention and have less competition than at any time since after September 11, 2001. Making it smaller and cheaper does not necessarily mean it is better. Will making your retail store smaller and “cheaper” bring in more customers?

•If you believe many of the economists, there are signs and reports beginning to show that consumer confidence is coming back. Again, this is a great time to position your brand, show the consumer that you are still out there and demonstrate that you are in a position to offer value. You need to be ready when the consumer is ready!

•We all heard about the consumer’s lack of loyalty. Many of our analyses, however, show that if you communicate with your customers by telling your story and creating value and positive feelings on a regular basis using all channels, they will be there for you and will be less sensitive to discounts.

•Your house files are shrinking, or at best, remaining stagnant. As we all know, this cannot be the case for much longer. You have two choices; increase prospecting effectively or lose market share and see your business decline. We have seen many catalogers go out of business in part to this short-sighted approach. Don’t forget; prospecting also means contacting inactive customers in your file who have done business with you in the past. Consumer tastes, interests, lifestyles, etc. constantly change, and in the past year, many have changed multiple times.

•The tools and approaches that are available to help you accomplish this are more effective than ever. They are also more complex, mainly due to the fact that we now have to consider multiple channels, contact frequency, lifestyle changes, etc. These are all part of a complex equation that can be solved with assistance from your direct marketing partners.

•Use all channels to communicate with customers. The king is not dead.  Catalogs still continue to be THE driver for sales in almost all analysis we do. More than ever, however, customers are receiving, expecting and wanting to be contacted from various channels, so you need to make sure you’re hearing what they are saying and responding accordingly.

Now is the time to get back into the game regardless of a postal incentive. We can help you to do it right by taking a systematic approach; analyzing what has worked or hasn’t worked in the past and developing a strategy to gain market share. It is not a race, but if you don’t get to the starting line soon, you will be left behind. And by the way, if any of you have tickets for the August 29 Buffett concert I’m interested.