Ad guru Lester Wunderman once said that marketers can always figure out what to sell, how to sell, and to whom to sell. What they often can't figure out is when to sell. As consumers become increasingly skilled at filtering out the irrelevant messages that are being delivered to them across more and more marketing channels, the tolerance fuse is getting shorter. While marketers are doing a better job at getting the right message to the right person, it is becoming increasingly important to send that message at the right time. Sending timely messages requires marketers to have a clear understanding of the customer’s situation so they can generate the best event-based marketing activity.

This is where something called trigger-based (or event-based) marketing comes into the picture. Trigger-based marketing works on the premise that you communicate with your customers at the precise time when they have a high propensity to purchase. Trigger-based marketing analyzes customer behavior to identify changes (triggers) that may indicate the need for a new product or service. Cross-sections of industry opinions suggest that those who engage in trigger-based marketing programs can see as much as a 400% improvement in response rates.

While some might link trigger-based marketing to e-mail campaigns, this marketing technique can work just as well in digital print-based direct mail or in text messaging. All these mechanisms share a direct two-way communication channel between the brand and the individual, maximizing the potential for a one-to-one response. Trigger-based campaigns can and should by their very nature use all types of media—Web, direct mail, SMS—in combination. Once these campaigns are set up, they run themselves. The benefit for the print/marketing service provider is that these campaigns represent a tremendous opportunity for ongoing annuity-based marketing programs. More importantly, then can generate profitable revenue streams.