Personalize Marketing

If you are looking to get the public’s attention and gain greater exposure for your business, you’ll find that you’ll have a much easier time getting your content noticed using a personal URL. A personal URL (or PURL) is a URL which you can send to a client with their name included in the URL itself. PURLs offer a number of advantages to you and your business.

In the first place, you will find that when you combine PURLs with direct marketing software that you can have a huge impact on the way that people will respond to you.  With more and more opportunities open to you when it comes to personalized direct mail, you will find that you need to create a campaign where your clients and the people that you would like to be your clients feel as though you are meeting their needs personally.

With PURLs, you will find that you can easily customize content for each client, if you should so choose.  With this in mind, you will be able to both target your clients, and learn more about their needs.  This make for a significantly more powerful experience for your customer, and one where they will remember you and what you provide.

Response rates are greatly increased by using personalized URLs. Studies show that people are much more likely to click a link which has their name included and will also be more well disposed to the message you are trying to convey. You will have a chance to see what your prospective customers are interested in and use this data to market your products and services better to your target market.

When used along with a personalized direct mail campaign, PURLs are a useful way to track your contact’s response to your communications. You can appeal to the interests of your target market by using this information and personalizing content to meet their needs.

Personalized URLs allow you to provide a personal touch to your current and prospective clients; this builds brand identity and customer loyalty. A personalized URL makes people feel like VIPs, something which an impersonal landing page cannot offer. You can also use audio and other tools to create a stronger bond with your clientele and speak directly to them.

Remember that when you sign won with a company that can give you the right kind of PURL service that you need that you should look for one that has a flat monthly rates over per PURL pricing.  With the latter, you will need to pay for every single PURL you create, whereas with a flat monthly rate, you can create as many as you need to.

Take some time and make sure that you think about what a powerful PURL program can do for you; this is a marketing campaign where you do not want to be left behind!

By combining direct marketing software with personal URL, you can definitely give your business the push that will propel your it to new heights. Most businesses use direct mail campaigns to widen the range of their customers and usually these direct mail campaigns lead all the recipients to the same company website. This is simply not enough to spur the recipients to take action and buy your products.

Today, the audience around the world is proficient in handling the Internet. Inviting them to the same company website is not going to generate a lot of interest. Personalized URLs (PURLs) are an excellent means to entice people into buying your products. A Personalized URL refers to a web address that bears the name of the recipient. You can incorporate personalized URLs in your direct mail campaigns to increase your chances of getting prospective clients.

You can include PURLs as one of the channels for recipients to respond. For each PURL you can allot targeted VIP landing pages or personalized pages. These dynamic landing pages convey exactly what the recipient wanted to know. This way, the recipient of the direct email is certainly going to show more interest and he is going stay in that web page for longer periods of time. Thus, you can make the recipient aware of all the things about your business that you intended to. Personal URLs help you to attract the audience. It will supply leads and prospects to your business that you need in the down economy.   

This will help you in a great way when it comes to increasing the customer base of your business. You can project the sales of your business much better and know what potential customers are looking for when they stay on your business websites. You can understand the general behavioural patterns of customers. This will enable you to modify your website to suit the needs of the visitors. Performing such a customization will allow the visitors to find what they are searching for quite easily and this increases the chance of these visitors becoming your clients.

By creating Personal URL’s (PURLS) with our Direct Marketing Software we increased response rates on an email campaign 264% and more importantly sales increased by 77%. The interesting statistics was 28% increase in order amount from the people that received an email with a PURL.

Our client wanted a way to increase click-through rates on the emails they send to Real Estate Agents so they started using Purlblitz software.

You can read more about this Cash Study at http://www.personalizemarketing.com/casestudies.html

You can see the software can be used for Direct Mail or Email Marketing.

How do you publicize and get people to go to your website? Advertise Your Web Site with Direct Mail!

Once your website is up and running, you have two issues. First, you need people to see your site and secondly, you must convert them from a website surfer to a website customer.

Targeting a specific market with personalized direct mail is better than any other advertising medium. Creating messages and offers designed to reflect the potential customer’s needs and interests are very powerful.
Your message gets sent to who you want, when you want, and where they get it. These targeted customers are offered a personal invitation to visit and buy from your site or contact you for more information.

Direct mail pieces, if compelling to the consumer, can attract your prospects like magnets to your website and turn them into clients overnight, regardless of a “weak economy.”

Tell Them: “You can get what you want” or “what you need.”

If your potential customers or current customers don’t see or hear “what’s in it for them” within 10-15 seconds, they will not remain interested! They will not dig through your material to find what they want, it must be apparent from the get-go.

Tell Them: “They Must Act Quickly To Get It”.

You must assist these prospects and customers in overcoming their tendency to procrastinate and to take immediate action to get what you are offering. You must create a Sense of Urgency.

Offer ends on a particular date, perhaps in a week or two.

There is a limited supply, or receive a special bonus for acting now, but they will miss the bonus if they put it off.

Repeat all of the essentials of your offer at the end of your mail piece and tell them how to ensure getting the offer they want or need.  For instance:

P.S. Email or call by Friday, March 30th, to receive your Free Information Packet!

It couldn’t be easier than that. Begin by using a the PurlBlitz software and create personalized postcards today.

Direct mail is still the leading approach for reaching your current and potential customers. Being able to touch and feel these personalized pieces, specifically made for your customers, has a lingering effect and magnifies your marketing efforts.

Begin using the very influential ways PurlBlitz has to offer, personalizing each of those campaigns to say something directly to or about your customer, and you’ve just made them feel extra special and amplified your ability to keep those customers around for a long time.

ROI: Using personalized direct mail campaigns, is one of the best ways to track ROI. Each of your pieces can contain an internal code for tracking the exact number or responses received from each campaign. Direct mail is generally inexpensive, so why not let your customers know you care about them individually through personalized direct mail.  Through this medium, you can achieve a high return on your marketing dollars.

Leverage your efforts: Instead of providing a sales presentation to one customer at a time… it’s so much more effective and advantageous to send hundreds or even thousands of postcards, letters, brochures and offers, with your best sales pitch to all of your customers simultaneously.

Rapid Response: When you send a direct mail piece, around 85% of those who will respond will have contacted you within a few weeks.  You will know whether that campaign is successful based on the response rate you have received thus far and if you are not receiving a great response, you will be able to make adaptations to your direct mail campaigns right away.

With PurlBlitz, the magnitude of your direct mail campaigns is just beginning.

Read what a well known marketer wrote about Personalization.

Kim T. Gordon: Marketing
The Power of Personalization
Use these 3 smart tactics to personalize marketing messages and increase sales.
By Kim T. Gordon | September 12, 2007

The Power of Personalization
Use these 3 smart tactics to personalize marketing messages and increase sales.
Marketers have found a new opportunity for more intimate and direct communication with consumers. Not so long ago, families gathered around the TV; now individuals surf the web and watch video on personal, handheld devices. Consumers have grown comfortable with–and even come to expect–a one-on-one dialogue with marketers. And personalized marketing messages are a smart way to get customers’ attention and deliver communications that increase sales.
As a small-business owner, you’re in the enviable position of interacting with customers you know on a first-name basis. You can more easily maintain a database with in-depth customer information than larger businesses. The key is to use this important data to ensure your communications strike a personal chord with customers.
Personalization is a powerful marketing tactic that’s easy to incorporate. Here are three ways to create messages that personally appeal to customers.

1. Transform mass e-mail into one-to-one.
E-mail is an exceptional tool for small businesses thanks to its low cost of implementation and high return on investment when sent to an in-house, permission-based customer or prospect list. While e-mails range from product promotions to soft-sell e-newsletters, in some instances, a one-to-one approach can have a more powerful impact.

For example, a coaching client of mine, Porro & Associates in Washington, DC is headed by Jeffrey Porro, Ph.D., a talented and experienced writer who specializes in crafting op-ed pieces and speeches for organizations and top executives. His prospect list consists of public relations and grassroots advocacy groups as well as major associations. Not only does Porro send them a monthly e-newsletter, but he also regularly sends personalized e-mails with examples of successes he has achieved for clients. Each e-mailing of this kind generates Porro & Associates several meetings and continues to bring in high-level work.

When Porro landed an op-ed piece in the Chicago Tribune for one of his advocacy clients, he e-mailed copies of it to his prospect database, personally addressing each individual by name. The e-mail had a simple lead-in introducing the article as something of interest, followed by a suggestion that the prospect meet with him to talk about doing similar work for their organization, and closed with Porro’s e-mail signature.

For this e-mail tactic to work, the simpler, more direct and less “crafted” your message appears, the better. Avoid graphics and other advertising design elements–including photos–which you might use in less personal forms of e-mail solicitations.

2. Personalize your offers.
Whether you’re a retailer, e-commerce merchant or direct-mail marketer, if you sell merchandise, you need to know your customers’ purchases, how much they spend per sale, and when or how often they buy. Knowledge of past behavior is a valuable tool for predicting future purchases. Not only can this information guide your business and merchandising decisions, but it’s also critical for creating personalized marketing messages that increase sales. For instance, suppose a customer purchased jogging pants out of a wide range of clothing from your website or catalog. By customizing an e-mail or direct-mail follow-up based on this purchase history, you could successfully sell this customer additional exercise attire and related products.
The key is to look at how Jane Doe shops and then personalize your offers to her based on her past purchases and preferences. Make your marketing follow the customer–not the other way around–and truly customize it to her needs. If you address your customer by name and make relevant product offers, the one-to-one relationship you develop will keep her coming back for additional purchases.

3. Put it in writing.
What better way to make your message stand out than to express it in a handwritten note? After all, with fast online and mobile communications the norm, a handwritten note emphasizes that you’ve taken the time and thought to communicate something in a special way.
Entrepreneurs nationwide swear by the effectiveness of personal, handwritten notes for making a strong, positive impression. Send anything from thank you notes to meeting confirmations, depending on the type of business you operate and what you market. A financial management company in Norcross, Georgia, for example, markets primarily via networking, and its president follows up every contact with a handwritten note. It’s a tactic that pays off, as the company boasts revenue growth of 25 percent year after year.
If you’re in an industry where it’s critical to build one-on-one relationships with prospects, it’s a good idea to print fold-over notecards with your company logo to follow up with customers. Hand address the envelopes and apply real stamps–rather than run your cards through a postage meter–for a personal look that will get past screeners. If the first task of effective marketing is to get noticed and stand out from the clamor of competing advertisers, then handwritten notecards and other personalized messages will achieve the goal.

Kim T. Gordon is the “Marketing” coach at Entrepreneur.com and a multifaceted marketing expert, speaker, author and media spokesperson. Over the past 26 years, she’s helped millions of small-business owners increase their success through her company,National Marketing Federation Inc. Her latest book,Maximum Marketing, Minimum Dollars, is now available.

I went to a networking event the other day and I asked 5 people a couple basic questions about Postcard marketing.

1) What day of the week do they receive the highest response rate?

2) Do they know the exact response rate they are receiving?

3)  How much revenue does each postcard campaign generate?

I am sure you know where I am going with this before I even tell you….not one person had a clue the answer to those 3 very basic question.

You need to know which day of the week you receive the highest response rate so you can plan all of your mailings.  With the PurlBlitz software we give you the ability to track exactly the time/day people visit their personal URL.  You can then export that to excel and create graphs, charts, etc.  There are people out there that say “Such and Such day is the best to mail..” - how can you put everyone in the same category.  If I am a casino I want my postcard delivered later in the week so people think “Yeah let’s go to the casino tonight..”  If I am a beauty salon I may want them delivered on a Tuesday because they know they receive the highest response rate on that day.

How can anyone do a marketing campaign and not know if it is working and how much revenue it generates?  I guess they think “Oh it costs me $500 and business is coming in the door so I guess it is working” - are you crazy?  What if that business is coming in from referrals - that means you are flushing $500 down the drain.

Track your results to help your Postcard Marketing become more effective.  The reporting aspect of the PurlBlitz software will make it easy for each business to know who is interested in their product.

Businesses try to get by cheap as possible when they get a list - that is the most important element for your campaign!

Interview your list provider and make sure they have what you need.  I would also ask for more data points so you can narrow down your target market.

Here is an example.  Let’s say I opened a new golf store and I want to market to the people in that area that I  am now open for business.  I buy a list of 10000 names of people in the area and it costs me $100.   90% of the 10000 people do not even golf so do they really care that I am opening a new store?   It cost me $3000 in postage/printing and $100 for the list or $3100 to mail to that 10000.  I better sell a lot of golf clubs to make that campaign be effective.  Since 9000 of the postcards were instantly thrown in the trash because of no interested in golf you are down to 1000 - if you get 2% response rate you will get 20 people that are interested.

Another approach is to buy a list of 1000 people that you know are interested in Golf (maybe subscribe to golf magazine, bought golf equipment online, etc).  Now we mail to 1000 people and it only costs us $400 and even if we still get the same 2% response rate that is 20 people like above with 1/7 of the costs.

With PurlBlitz software we will show you how to take those 1000 targeted people and increase that response rate to 5-10% by personalizing the marketing message.  It is very powerful to get a postcard in the mail that says “Jim, hopefully you are enjoying your Golf World Magazine.  I know you are interested in Golf and we are opening a store at 120th ST.  Visit your personal URL www.mygolf.com/jim.smith.html for a special offer”

Do you think that is powerful?

Referrals are a lifeline of a lot of businesses but like me be honest for a minute - majority of business are stupid when it comes to referrals.

You ask for a referral after you sell a product or complete a service and you never ask the client again. We are pounded with so many marketing messages everyday we forget the name/number of your business 5 minutes we walk out of your store. Here is a little tip to increase your referrals.

Create a buzz around your product. People will naturally spread the word about your product or service if it is “cool”. You will be able to create that buzz with our software PurlBlitz since everything is personalized. Your prospect will ask you “How did you do that?” when a personalized audio message automatically plays when they visit their personalized landing page. They will want to spread the word about your marketing message to their friends even if you don’t have a formalized referral program. As mentioned in other posts you need to personalize emails by having people fill out a survey and use that information in future emails. People are quick to forget that they filled out a survey and 60 days later when they receive an email from you that mentions something from that survey they will be very impressed you are able to remember so many things about the client. If you want to see what I am talking about go to this website

www.personalizemarketing.com/survey.html - notice how the information is personalized and I am “Smart” by instantly sending you a personalized email (I have people working night and day creating these emails….just kidding)