PURL Marketing, Personalized URL Marketing

Personalized URL Marketing, PURLs Statistics

2007-08-14T07:35:00.000-07:00

For your information: Random quotes and statistics about Personalized URL (PURLs), microsites, and VIP landing pages.

Forty-Three Percent of Consumers Prefer to Respond Online
According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) 43% of consumers prefer to respond to an advertisement online.

30 Percent Returns are Possible
According to the article "PURLs of Wisdom", “Personalization allows direct mail, which traditionally has less than 2 or 3 percent returns to obtain returns greater than 5 percent. Some of the more effectively designed programs can achieve returns of 20 to 30 percent.”

Behavioral Marketing to Reach 3.8 Billion in Three Years
More than thirty-three percent of websites offer behavioral targeting—or relevant offers, according to “Behavioral Targeting: Advertising Gets Personal” by eMarketer.com. The same report forecasts that spending on targeted marketing will jump from 575 million in 2007 to 3.8 billion in just three years.

PURLs Plus Email Marketing Equals Huge Results!
According to a Jupiter Research report, incorporating web analytics into email campaigns increases response rates by up to 5% and open rates up to 13%!

PURLs Help Maximize Customer Value
It pays to build relationships with and market to your most profitable clients. Unisys’ top 50 clients generate 80% of the companies revenue, according to Ellyn Raferty, the VP and general manager-worldwide marketing.

Behavioral Targeting: Advertising Gets Personal

2007-08-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

In a world that is demanding more personalized and relevant marketing, the Internet, perceived to be all that is cutting-edge fairs no better at meeting this demand than does offline print marketing.

According to an eMarketer report, "Behavioral Targeting: Advertising Gets Personal" only 33.8 percent of websites offer relevant and targeted marketing. Direct mail is close behind, according to a recent InfoTrends report, as only 31% of consumers feel their direct mail is personal or relevant.

Consumer demand for relevance is there, and US behaviorally targeted online advertising spending is estimated to meet that demand increasing from 575 million in 2007 to 3.8 billion in 2011.

Resources:
Free Relevant Marketing Webinar
eMarketer

Free Personalized Marketing Webinar

2007-08-10T11:45:00.000-07:00

Event: Free One-to-One Marketing Webinar
Date(s): 08/15/2007 (every Wed.)
Date(s): 08/22/2007 (every Wed.)
Date(s): 08/29/2007 (every Wed.)
Date(s): 09/5/2007 (every Wed.)
Date(s): 09/12/2007 (every Wed.)
Time: 2:00 PM - 2:45 PM CDT

Event Details: Are you ready to implement a personalized marketing strategy that generates long-term results? Confused how to start? Variable Thinking will show you how! Attend our weekly 45-minute webinar and walk away with a clear vision on how to increase response rates and revenue while lowering your marketing costs. Learn the ins and outs of one-to-one marketing with Variable Thinking, the definitive worldwide leader in marketing technology and services.

Our complimentary webinars are held every Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. CDT. All attendees receive valuable one-to-one marketing resources.

Reserve your space now! http://www.variablethinking.com/webinar.aspx

How to Choose a Solution Provider

2007-08-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

If you search the phrase "marketing solution" on Google you'll be smacked with 167M sites that includes everything from email, SEO, direct mail, and ministry marketing solutions. You'll be attracted to the pages because "marketing solution" will be all over the content and in page titles, but you'll never actually find an explanation of what a "marketing solution" is. That is why it's important to ask yourself if you're looking at a true solution--or a service.

PODI defines a solution as, "A repeatable combination of core products, services and unique knowledge that improves the economic performance and delivers ongoing value." In other words, solution providers are long-term partners who understand the needs of your business.

A true marketing solution must achieve at least one of three things: 1) fulfill unmet marketing needs; 2) provide a unique technology you can't find elsewhere; 3) offer services that would be unaffordable elsewhere. When looking for a solution provider, it's important to make sure the company understands the needs of your company and helps you acquire, retain, and grow customers.

Another important question to ask when researching companies is whether or not the solution can be replicated, or if individual services can be purchased when needed. One example of a complete marketing solution is Variable Thinking’s Integrated Marketing Solution. All of the services are offered individually, but are most effective when used as a "solution" that includes: database marketing, personalized direct mail and email, personalized landing pages (PURLs), digital printing, direct mail fulfillment, real-time sales leads, and response tracking.

Another question to ask is if the "solution" is outsourced or provided under one roof. Variable Thinking is the only company that can provide the entire marketing solution under one roof, meaning you’re only communicating with one business partner.

Justify Marketing Efforts

2007-08-02T11:58:00.001-07:00

Justify Marketing Efforts With Accurate and Measurable Results

Are you satisfied with your ability to track direct mail or email campaign responses? Most CMOs are not! Chances are, since you're reading a blog about PURL technology, that you're not satisfied either and are looking for solutions.

Whether your knowledge of PURL technology is novice or advanced, you've probably heard the following terms: PURLs, personal URLs, microsites, microsite marketing, and personal websites. All of these terms refer to an interactive technology that allows advertisers to manage consumer data, track responses, and personalize customer service and sales in turn increasing response rates and ROI.

Okay, so how do you incorporate PURLs into your existing advertising? Setting up a PURL campaign is easy. By merging your database with PURL technology, a password-protected page is created for each person on the list in a matter of seconds! Each address can then be incorporated into a personalized email, or direct mail marketing campaign. Who doesn't want to see the offer waiting for them at TheirName.YourCompany.com? Once your customers or prospects take that call to action and visit the PURL they find it to be a familiar sight as it continues the look and feel of the direct mail or email. This is when you start to see the value in PURLs.

As good as the offer may be, PURL technology is worthless unless attached to a compelling email or direct mail piece with a strong call to action. To see an excellent example of customized direct mail used in conjunction with PURL marketing, check out Variable Thinking's website. Variable Thinking is a great example of a marketing firm that strategically uses personalized marketing with PURLs, achieving extremely high response rates for their clients.

As respondents fill out a few survey questions the information is imported into your database; sales is instantly notified of the lead by email or via their Blackberry or cell phone; the message contains their contact information and answers to survey questions; and sales can not only call while the prospect is interested, but the conversation can be personalized. Simultaneously, the prospect is sent a customized email based on their answers. If this were a PURL campaign for a car dealership, and the prospect stated an interest in SUVs from the current year only, then a follow-up email might have a picture of that car with a list of similar vehicles on the lot. PURL technology is an easy choice for strategic advertisers since it can easily enhance any existing campaign and is extremely affordable.

Everything you've just read can be achieved for just pennies per PURL. Whether you refer to PURLs as personal websites, microsites, or personal URLs, PURLs will:

---Improve your market reach.
---Provide value to your organization with measurable, increased campaign performance.
---Route leads for immediate follow-up.
---Capture market intelligence to drive future sales and marketing success.

Are you using PURL technology? Share your thoughts and comments with readers!

RESOURCES:
Variable Thinking
PURL Marketing

Can Your Corporate Site Track Responses?

2007-07-31T13:31:00.000-07:00

A common worry among CMOs is their inability to track direct mail responses and provide measurable campaign responses.

Does it pain you to know that the 42% of direct mail respondents who prefer to respond online probably get lost in your help desk que. Has your webmaster or help desk ever sat in on a marketing or sales meeting? Do they know how to close the sale when a prospect responds online? Probably not.

The fact is corporate websites are incapable of tracking direct mail responses resulting in lost sales revenue and the inability to accurately measure marketing campaign responses. CMOs who once took job security for granted are now scrambling for solutions on how to track online responses and build relationships with web-savvy consumers.

What they’ve found are PURLs, (personal websites) which are microsites that communicate with customers in real-time. PURL technology is so sophisticated it can engage in spontaneous communication based on answers provided by the respondent.

Here is a quick overview on how PURL technology works.

---A unique PURL is created, in seconds, for each person on your mailing list, or customer database.

---The PURL is listed on the direct mail or email piece, along with the consumer’s username and password.

---The consumer visits their PURL and receives an incentive to answer a few questions

---Specific answers to these survey questions trigger different messages, images, and offers on the next page of the PURL.

---This valuable data, including updated contact information is automatically entered into a database.

---The company’s sales team is notified in real-time of the lead.

---The respondent receives an instant thank you email based on the answers given on the survey.

There are a few companies that provide PURL technology, but the only marketing firm that can provide everything under one roof (ideas; ad creation; personalized direct mail; PURL, email, event, and franchise marketing; custom banners; direct mail fulfillment; and campaign tracking) is Variable Thinking located in Tinley Park, IL, Phone (815) 806-1400; sales@variablethinking.com.