When it comes to using their customer and prospect databases for direct marketing purposes, business-to-business marketers have plenty of room for improvement, according to an online survey recently conducted by Godfrey, a leading business-to-business marketing communications agency.
B2B marketers could make their direct marketing campaigns more effective if they combined Web 2.0 technologies with the intelligent use of customer and prospect databases, Godfrey added.
For details on the survey’s results, see below:
Results of Direct Marketing Survey
- 80 percent of B2B marketers said they maintain a sales lead or inquiry database, but only 55 percent use it regularly for direct marketing.
- Only 40 percent of B2B marketers said they regularly engage their inquiry database via e-mail or an e-newsletter.
- Only 60 percent of B2B marketers said they use their customer database for targeted direct marketing, and only 40 percent said they regularly update customers with new offers.
Targeted vs. Mass Direct Marketing
- While mass direct marketing techniques typically yield response rates ranging from 0.5 to 2 percent, targeted direct marketing technologies are considerably more effective, according to Godfrey.
- With segmented e-mail marketing and e-newsletter campaigns, B2B marketers can realize 40 percent open rates, 10-20 percent click rates and opt-out rates of less than 1 percent.
- Targeted direct marketing allows B2B marketers to build and refine an in-house database of customers and prospects, then deliver relevant, focused messages to segmented lists.
- Targeted e-mail remains the most efficient direct marketing tool. Compared to printed direct mail, e-mail significantly reduces distribution costs (printing, handling, postage) and, because it’s online, fulfillment is as easy as a click of the mouse.
What Godfrey Brings to Direct Marketing
- Godfrey provides planning, implementation, and ongoing management and analysis of direct marketing programs, including permission-based communications such as e-mail, e-newsletters, RSS, webfeeds, podcasts, vodcasts, webcasts and webinars.
- Direct marketing is part of Godfrey’s full suite of online marketing services, which include behavioral and contextual targeting, consumer-generated media sponsorships and content, search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM).
QUOTES
Godfrey: Lynne DeMers, leader, strategic direct marketing team:
“Direct marketing isn’t about sending 20,000 mailers to a rented list and hoping for a 2 percent return. Now it’s about creating a program and a system of messages, offers, information capture, measurement and refinement. It’s a direct communications ‘roadmap’ of continuous cultivation that provides more targeted information and leads prospects to the point where the sales channel can take over.”
Godfrey provides full-service, integrated business-to-business
branding and marketing communications services. The agency offers research, brand management, advertising,
convergent public relations, digital marketing,
search (SEO and SEM), media, direct marketing and
analytics services.
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