Customers respond to one-to-one marketing

Many retailers know that up to 80 percent of profits are likely to come from 20 percent of customers. Therefore, it makes sense to nurture and maximize lifetime relationships with this key customer base.

Today’s better educated, more informed consumer doesn’t respond to the outdated “one-size-fits-all” method of marketing—and the good news is, retailers don’t have to waste time or money trying to make him or her do so.

Most retailers already are primed to make the most of knowing and responding to customer priorities through advances in readily available one-to-one marketing technology.

Statistic show that when customer profiles, population demographics and sales patterns are not taken into consideration, mass mailings often draw back a response rate of 2 or 3 percent.

By contrast, one-to-one marketing commonly delivers a 20- to 30-percent response level. Let that sink in for a minute: a 20- to 30-percent response level.

Every month, information can be tapped to market directly to customers who have a known reason to respond. Rather than market to 10,000 people, a retailer may only market to 100—but with greater results.

Being customer focused means—often quite literally—simply being on the same page they are. Graphics, text and even fonts have been proven to alter the amount of power that marketing materials hold over current and prospective customers.

Consider the bridal and baby registries offered by many retailers. Such registries are in-house data mines that show who is likely to be purchasing a home, decorating a nursery, planning a first-year birthday party or in need of Pull-Ups in a couple years, not to mention when a customer may be searching for an anniversary gift.

One-to-one marketing and innovative digital printing technology makes appealing to customers on a personal level simple. A store flyer featuring nursery furniture bargains on the front page would quickly pull on the heartstrings of these registry markets, for example.

Further, while the generic inside sale pages might remain the same, the flyer’s cover images could alternate to appeal to other target markets as well—back-to-school clothes for households with kids, for example, or gardening tools for the customer who frequents that department.

A mass mailing, initially, may be an efficient way to collect customer data. A retailer might offer a dozen free doughnuts to customers who fill out a quick questionnaire, for example. This information forms a base of knowledge from which retailers can begin to better market merchandise.

Retailers who offer value or loyalty cards collect data that can inspire successful one-to-one marketing.

Phone numbers, zip codes, number and ages of children, and when and where consumers shop in a store provides solid footing for retailers wishing to encourage repeat business. Such data also can be used to entice customers prone to shopping in one corner of the store to take advantage of related deals in other, less-visited sections.

Customer feedback opportunities (response cards, follow-up calls, websites) allow retailers another route for capturing valuable consumer data. While customers will appreciate quality assurance initiatives, stores can springboard off responses to better serve—and sell—these consumers in the future.

Understanding how demographics impact a retailer’s bottom line is another good starting point.

The U.S. Census Bureau provides geographic information for specific regions within each state, including gender, household size, marital status and education statistics. Companies specializing in electronics information techniques can help retailers capture this data and put it to use.

The data exists. Building customer loyalty is simply a matter of taking the time to understand who customers are, evolving customer service into customer caring, and appreciating that return on investment. One-to-one marketing is as inevitable as a customer’s desire to be recognized.

This article was contributed by Ryan Beld, a one-to-one marketing expert and technology sales representative for Grand-Rapids-based Integra, a firm specializing in information distribution.