Last month's issue of Direct magazine contained an article by David Henkel titled "A Little Too Personal." In the opening paragraphs of the article, Henkel writes, "You're browsing through your mail and come across an oversize postcard from your health club. Printed across the back in large text you read: 'Hi there, Chris! The last time you were here, you weighed in at 183 lbs. Can we make an approintment for you with a personal trainer?' The mail carrier and your neighbor might get a laugh out of it. But would you?"
The thrust of Henkel's article is that personalization can be an effective marketing tool, but that it is also easy to cross the line, especially when sensitive personal information is involved. The use of highly personal information is certainly an important legal and ethical issue for marketing professionals. But purely from a marketing perspective, the broader question is whether explicit personalization will continue to be an effective marketing tool as more and more companies use personalized marketing communications. By "explicit personalization," I mean the inclusion of specific facts about the recipient in the marketing message. Some examples of explicit personalization would be a first name, a job title, company affiliation, or information about a recent purchase.
In fact, explicit personalization is likely to become less effective as the use of personalized marketing communications increases. After all, "familiarity breeds contempt" as the old adage goes.
Effective marketing can be defined as getting the right offer in front of a prospective customer at the right time. When used by a savvy marketer, information about a prospective customer can be a powerful tool for determining what the right offer should be and when that offer should be presented. When personal information is used in this way, the end result is a highly customized and personalized marketing message. But in this case, the personalization is embodied in what the offer is and how it is described and presented rather than in a collection of "facts" about the recipient.
In recent years, we've seen the term "Web 2.0" used to describe a new breed of applications that are designed to leverage Internet technologies to deliver a richer set of online experiences. "Personalization 2.0" is about moving beyond the explicit personalization we see so much of today. It means using information about a propsective customer to develop and present highly personalized offers that will be attractive to that prospective customer.
The most profitable marketing services providers will be those that can help their clients gain the full benefits of Personalization 2.0.
Discussion
By jeff lazerus on Nov 10, 2008
"Personalization 2.0" sounds like something you just made up! For those of us out in the field (AKA "not in academia, journalists, consultants, or vendors) the challenge of personalization is enlightening our customers to the value they will see, not neccessarily "help{ing} them gain the full benefits. But you are correct, even if this is strangely worded: "savvy" marketers will use the tools for personalized print communication to deliver messages relevant to the person recieving the message. But then again, that's what marketing has always been about. We can now do this at a very granular level.
-- A self proclaimed expert
By Bob Raus on Nov 12, 2008
David, you are right and Jeff, you are on the right track.
The key to any successful marketing effort is to first understand the customer’s current issues and challenges. If we stick to the B2B marketplace, this becomes their current business issues (AKA pain points).
Only when you understand their issues/challenges can you then evaluate what you have to sell in the light of the value it will provide the customer. High or low value is pretty easy to determine if you really understand what keeps your prospective customers awake at night.
When you understand their issues, you can then tailor a message of value to them about your product/service. Then and only then can variable data/personalization/customization marketing techniques (whether in print, email or telemarketing, etc.) deliver the promised nirvana-type results we often are promised. The technology can not replace the work and intelligence that goes into effective "solutions marketing.”
Also, for all the product manufacturers and sales people out there: solutions marketing is very different than product marketing. Product marketing is features/functions (speeds/feeds, etc.). Solutions marketing requires an understanding of your client’s business, their industry, the economy, their target client-base, price elasticity and much more. It has been around for over a decade now and I continue to be amazed at how many companies don’t get it.
Put a different way – customer’s need to know WHY they should care about your product – by understanding the value it can bring to their business – BEFORE you ever show them a brochure, demo or (God forbid) talk price.
By Wayne Shipman on Nov 12, 2008
I would argue that the "2.0" indicates when the customer gains control with the marketers' consent. That is the essence of Web 2.0, where the "inmates" run the asylum without the interference of the business.
The users voluntarily give up personal data for a reward... so if the health club mentioned in the postcard for the recipient to log onto their own personal website and generate a personal workout plan tailored to the user, then mailed it discreetly, also including a customized pricing plan, but also allowed the user to track their workout history for FREE, meanwhile getting coaching and encouragement from others, and perhaps getting emails about how others had gained from joining the health club... the payoff is not immediate, but is measurable and trackable and can be monified.
That's the "2.0" piece... all possible today and being done. The problem is not the personalization, it's the expectation that the marketer relinquishes control... and the inmates get the benefit, but the marketer gains, either directly or indirectly. Look at Yelp, look at WebMD, they all absorb personal data and respond accordingly.
By Michel Jahn on Nov 12, 2008
"Effective marketing can be defined as getting the right offer in front of a prospective customer at the right time. When used by a savvy marketer, information about a prospective customer can be a powerful tool for determining what the right offer should be and when that offer should be presented"
Okay, yes, I can follow your argument - and perhaps, as counterpoint, I might suggest that just being "savvy" to who I am, what I am about and what i "really" need might be, well, a bit intrusive...
http://www.aclu.org/pizza/index.html
By Rick Littrell on Nov 13, 2008
You're dead on, Wayne. Once you go to the "2.0" description it implies interactivity and putting more control into the hands of the consumer. It becomes more of a bi-direction discussion, with the consumer WANTING to give you more information about themselves and willing beginning a conversation. It has very little to do with going beyon "Hi Wayne" into more relevant messaging. The key is to begin and maintain the conversation between the corporation and the consumer (regardless of whether you are in a B2B or B2C market). I could argue that direct marketing is now becoming more focused on transparency of the corporation and developing a C2B strategy. That is where the whole "social media marketing" discussion is beginning to take hold. The companies that understand the value to a open and bi-directional discussion with their clients and target markets will be the ones that will thrive in the future. No more hiding behind corporate structure under the guise of "controlling the message"! Those days are over. The internet has provided the platform to interaction between parties, pushing the messaging into the market.
By Michael Josefowicz on Nov 13, 2008
Rick-
Just a small quibble with a post that gets it.
"The internet has provided the platform to interaction between parties, pushing the messaging into the market".
These days the message has to be pulled, not pushed, into the market. The secret sauce is the speed of the response. The next really hard part of the "right message to the right person at the right time" is "the right time."
Timing is everything because customers live in "now". The Internet allows a response now. Consider that Google has built server farms around the world because they figured out that 0.9 seconds for a response is too slow.
Print has the advantage of entering a customer's physical environment and is easily accessible when the customer decides to engage, "to start a conversation with a printed piece". The print object sits quietly on the table or on the bookshelf. When the customer's available time and interest coincide the cost of information acquisition is very low. No typing in front of a computer.
The internet has the advantage of continuing the conversation. . ."now". A good internet system anticipates and fulfills the need to continue the conversation. A great internet system has many ways to move that conversation forward.
Back in the day, my secret to a successful print brokerage was to answer the phone faster than the other guy. I still think that most printers could get a 50% improvement in sales by returning phone calls/emails, quickly and professionally.
No software necessary. Just a focus on the task at hand.
By Bob Raus on Nov 13, 2008
Great conversation here! Fast relevant response is in. Slow generic response is death.
Clearly there is no substitute for excellent customer responsiveness. Whether this is answering the phone faster, having very fast network response times, creating web pages for iPhones and Blackberry's etc.
The right combination of personal and automated communications is an interesting topic in itself. Should we (only) focus on "High Net Worth" clients, or focus (more) on developing repeat customers that will eventually become High Net Worth? What aspects determine the right approach and combination of activities? B2C are very fickle, especially young buyers. Increased wallet share seems more likely in B2B.
By Michael Josefowicz on Nov 13, 2008
If the question is high net worth or repeat customers...if they are both customers, the answer is both. If the question is where you should look for prospects, my answer is neither.
New customer acquisition is expensive, but even more important, it can be a time sink. Plus you don't learn very much from suspects or prospects. If you have a real conversation with your present or dead file customers, you might earn the knowledge that creates new value with an improved process or product.
Working with existing customers (one job) to turn them into clients (multiple jobs) is a sustainable, definable strategy. You've already done the hard part - which is getting them to trust you to deliver. The trick is figure out how to continue a good conversation with them so you are top of mind when the next purchasing event is about to happen.
Meanwhile the real secret sauce is to create a community of clients.The trick there is to figure out how to encourage a conversation between your clients. That's where referrals come from. Referrals, word of mouth, is still the best way to generate work below the level of large organizations.
With large organizations the trick is to get on their preferred vendor list. If you're not already there, that ship has probably sailed.
By mike heatley on Nov 13, 2008
As an envelope maker I know am biased, but, if your message is at all personal or anything beyond a reminder for an oil change or dental appointment it really makes sense to consider using an envelope/letter package. Especially nowdays, people expect marketers to communicate in a manner that is safe, secure and preserves their privacy. As we move towards "Personalization 2.0" the envelope will become even more important.
Imagine receiving these postcards:
Dear John, We are sorry to inform you that due to your low GPA you did not get into the school of your choice.
Dear Friend, Your credit score is 406.
Dear Harry, Visit Hair World for a great deal on your next toupee!
Dear Mrs. Smith, Bring this card and save 20% on your upcoming cosmetic surgery procedure.
Dear Miss Jones, Congratulations, your pregnacy test is positive!
Dear Mr Small, Now get HUGE savings when you re-order our male enhancement products.
You get my point. Postcards are great for reminders but an envelope does everything the postcard does and more. That is why consumers say envelopes are their preferred, secure and private way to receive direct mail marketing messages. Easily printed 4/4 envelopes give graphic designers lots of real estate to work with to tell your story. Studies show people are just as inclined to read the back of the envelope as the front.
By Erik Nikkanen on Nov 13, 2008
Where do you sign up for the "Do not send personalized mail" list?
By Michael Josefowicz on Nov 14, 2008
Mike,
Nice point about the envelopes. I didn't appreciate that 4/4 envelopes can now be easily done. If there were a widespread understanding of this new functionality in the design community, I bet they could do some amazing things with it.
Meanwhile, I think you point to one of the great advantages of Print - security. Any one not in the Google generation has a deep mistrust of email communication because it can so easily be stored, retrieved and broadcast. I have to believe that fear does not affect printed communications.
Emails are very cheap and easy to send and even easier to delete. Recepients implicitly know that. It tends to devalue the content of communication, making it much easier to be ignored.
In the middle of a conversation, the cheap casual nature of an email is exactly it's feature. To start a conversation, it's a bug.
By Hal Kohn on Nov 15, 2008
It all comes down to a matter of trust.
If the customer wants to hear from you, they will like it even more when you personalize the message. If they don't want to hear from you, then they will hate it even more when you personalize. So...I think it's time for web 3.0 or something.
By Michael Josefowicz on Nov 15, 2008
If the issue is trust, then it's about sales 101
By Edmund Dante Hamilton on Nov 16, 2008
Does anyone have any actual examples of Personalization 2.0 in practice that can be viewed online or any links to who is implementing this?
By Wayne Shipman on Nov 20, 2008
Just catching up after attending a printing symposium at RIT... there are a number of cross-linked media that are merging print with web. Companies such as Constant Contact offer both ways to reach your mailing list, and are beginnning to branch out with user-directed campaigns for small or large businesses.
With Personalization 2.0 I think the control issues and permission-to-intrude are tied at the wrist and ankle. Look at the corporations that are experimenting with viral video, contests which blur the lines of control for their logo for example, and you can see why it take courage and commitment to take the next steps. Michael Jahn's link to the legal issues show that it's potentially a landmine, yet what choices do we have but to move into the future?
For companies with intrinsic relationships to their customer base and with purchase details, they can do a lot yet choose not to. Amazon sends me pre-selected titles to view, Borders sends me coupons, Barnes and Noble tells me what I'm missing out on, etc. Eddie Bauer sends me info about clothes I might like, but not suggested sizes (grin). But there are no color choices, or matching outfits, or accessories specific to my purchases. Why?
A current survey done of chief marketing officers is very interesting; I don't have the details here, but survey says: little to ***no growth*** in variable data printing planned, even though the CMOs acknowledged the effectiveness and payback advantages. Cold feet? Too much work? Not clear.
Remember when Time-Life Books would sign you up for subsciptions for book series? Once you stopped one series, you would get the next offer, ad infinitum. Sold a lot of books.
Think about how simplistic that appears today - yet it is the same concept of Print of Demand Publishing, without the technology advantage. Subscription publishing is Very Old (1700s, perhaps earlier). Yet **we** think we invented it in the last few years. What changed is the timeframes and delivery mechanisms, not the original premise of the idea.
Are telegrams and Twitter very different in concept, or just technology? They are Time-value based decisions, which is why Western Union had to morph or die.
So, Team: What ancient business processes can we steal from the 18th or 19th century and modernize with 21st century thinking and technology?
By Michael Josefowicz on Nov 20, 2008
How about back to the beginning?
1490 - Peter Schoeffer, after Gutenberg went broke, Peter, his printer became a publisher.
His firm lasted three generations.
18th century - Ben Franklin printer who became a publisher. We all know how we did.
1829 - George H. Evans and English printer who founded the Working Man's Advocate. Not sure how this worked out.
1832 - "In desperation, Day decided to publish a paper in an effort to take up some of the slack in his declining job-printing business" . . .within six months the Sun had a circulation of about 8,000, which was nearly twice that of its nearest rival"
By 1837, the sun was printing 30,000 copies a day, which was more than the total of all New York daily newspapers combined when the Sun had first appeared.
from Press and America, Emery and Smith. p 215
With all the unemployed writers, citizen journalists, and recent college grads + the tech for micro publications + web tools for content aggregation + non profits that need advertising + all the buzz about buzz + the big papers crashing and burning. . .
Why wouldn't this work?
Plus you could fire your customers, have a predictable work load and stop worry about explaining ROI to people who are too busy to think about it.
What do you think?
By Harvey Hirsch on Nov 21, 2008
Or you can discard the Legacy Marketing Theories of the 60's and focus on 21st Century 1:1 Multi-channel Marketing tactics that bring in high response/high value clients who desperately need more business. "Digital Rules!"
Discussion
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