Marketscan Latest News

Business data shows print-based ad spend declines

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A new survey shows that 41 per cent of marketers plan to reduce their expenditure on print media this year.

The study, conducted by ExactTarget and E-consultancy, found that while spending on print media such as direct mail is waning, online platforms are still performing well.

Two-thirds (66 per cent) of marketers intend to increase their spending on online marketing over the coming year, while 70 per cent of in-house marketers said they will boost their budgets for off-site social media campaigns.

The survey found that on average digital marketing currently accounts for a quarter (24 per cent) of all marketing expenditure.

Peter McCormick, general manager and co-founder of ExactTarget, said: "The shift from offline to online is in full swing as marketers look to measure direct increases in top-line sales, site traffic and improve overall marketing return on investment."

He added that brand reputation is also becoming an important driver of the migration to digital marketing - particularly when it comes to social media.

Posted by Julie Knight, Managing Director – General Marketing, Industry News

'Franking machines can be used to clean mailing lists'

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Franking machines can be used to improve business data hygiene and keep mailing lists clean, it has been suggested.

According to Neopost, franking machines can be used to print addresses on direct mail packages and those that are undeliverable can be returned free by Royal Mail, which allows firms to know which details need to be removed from data lists.

The firm also pointed out that franking machines also help cut costs of direct mail campaigns by almost a third (32 per cent).

"Today, every little helps when it comes to promoting brand," Neopost said.

"A franking machine allows a business to add sales messages to mail, helping to boost revenue and generate brand awareness."

The firm pointed out that franking systems also add an extra dimension to a marketing campaign and makes content look professional and business-like.

"By adding a company name and logo to outgoing mail, brand [image] can be reinforced with every item of post sent," Neopost added.

According to the recent Brand Keys 2010 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, consumers now place an ever increasing importance on good value for money.

Posted by Daryl Jay, Business Development Director – Sales, Industry News, General Marketing

'Email leads can be lured by good value for money'

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Marketers are most likely to capture email leads by offering them top value for money, new research suggests.

According to the Brand Keys 2010 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, consumers are becoming increasingly brand conscious and are looking to established brands that offer genuine value.

The index examined customers' relationships with 518 brands in 71 different categories and found clients are likely to be turned off by heavily publicised brands or products endorsed by celebrities.

Robert Passikoff, founder and presidents of Brand Keys, said there has been a significant shift in the qualities that consumers now look for.

"Given the levels of commoditisation we've witnessed in the past decade, it's no surprise that consumers are looking for brands to make a difference," he said.

"The undeniable fact is that consumers looking for value have been forced to look beyond mere primacy of product, price and service."

Mr Passikoff added that with decreased product differentiation, real brands now have an opportunity to serve up the value consumers expect.

Posted by Julie Knight, Managing Director – General Marketing, Industry News

'Dead email leads should be weeded out'

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An expert has highlighted the importance of weeding out email leads that least likely to take a company to the next level.

Kevin Clancy, chairman of Copernicus, said it is important for firms to identify and extract email leads and prospects that have no interest in their brand so they can avoid wasting time and effort trying to convert them into sales.

Writing in Marketing Profs, he explained that marketers should simply forget about trying to win such prospects over as it will be a dead cause.

"They're unlikely to ever consider, let alone use your brand no matter what you do," Mr Clancy stressed. "Why waste marketing [budgets] on them?"

Peter Krieg, chief executive of Copernicus, added that companies should think seriously about diversifying the range of products and services they offer, as this is likely to generate the type of organic growth that companies desire.

Marketing specialist Scott McKain recently urged marketers to divert the bulk of their attention to clients that are most likely to deliver a high return on investment.

Posted by Suzanne Stock – Communications Director, HR, Online Advertising, General Marketing

Firms urged to safeguard business data

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An expert has urged companies to implement best practice when it comes to safeguarding business data.

Andy Cordial, managing director of storage system integration specialists Origin, said it is essential for firms to adhere to industry standards when it comes to maintaining digital data lists.

He highlighted a recent survey conducted by Iron Mountain, which found that more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of companies currently have no established policies relating to their electronic data records.

Even though many companies have policies in place for their physical databases, they still neglected to maintain best practice for their digital business data and mailing lists.

"This is an appalling indictment of the state of corporate data protection," Mr Cordial said.

"The good news is researchers found that firms with the strongest records management practices employed the most formal programmes governed by multi-disciplinary teams across the organisation."

Mr Cordial warned that those who do not take business data protection seriously enough could face regulatory fines and legal action.

Posted by Matthew Collins, Technical Director – IT Data Cleaning, Hygiene, Analytics, Databases

Marketers urged to support promising email leads

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Marketers should support email leads that are in growth industries, an expert has said.

Marketing author and specialist Scott McKain said marketers should focus on those in their consumer lists that are rising up the ranks, because although they may not be delivering high return now, they will enhance the business as they expand.

Writing in Marketing Profs, he also urged marketers to support their "elite" clients, as these are most likely to deliver a high return on investment.

"Find a way to spend more time and resources with your most-profitable customers," Mr McKain said.

"In many cases, they could expand their current level of business with you if you give them a great reason, such as more attention."

He also advised marketers to focus as much attention as possible to "cool" customers who show signs of great future potential.

Mr McKain's sentiments are echoed by E-consultancy's Matthew Kelleher, who recently advised marketers to segment their mailing lists in order to separate active leads from dead ones.

Posted by Matthew Collins, Technical Director – IT Data Cleaning, Hygiene, Analytics, Databases

'Constant communication with email leads improves trust'

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Firms that communicate with their email leads on a regular basis are more likely to be viewed in a positive light, a new survey suggests.

According to the 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer from PR firm Edelman, three-quarters (75 per cent) of consumers consider frequent communication very important, while almost two-thirds (64 per cent) place importance on good corporate social responsibility.

Maintaining honest and transparent business practices was the most important factor among respondents, with 83 per cent saying it is crucial for them to be able to trust a firm.

Quality of communications was also found to have an important impact on how trustworthy a company is perceived to be.

The least popular factor was financial returns, which was chosen by less than half (45 per cent) of respondents.

Matthew Harrington, president and chief executive of Edelman, said: "Companies must realise that transparency via frequent communication and high-quality customer products and services are as essential to creating and maintaining investor trust as superior returns and five-star ratings."

Posted by Julie Knight, Managing Director – General Marketing, Industry News

CRM helps retain clients on email lists

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Customer relationship management (CRM) is an excellent way to keep clients on consumer lists, an expert has said.

Joshua Weinberger, managing editor of CRM Magazine, pointed out that CRM systems "truly shine" when it comes to customer retention and can offer businesses a wide range of benefits.

He explained that operationally, a full-on CRM strategy comprises every aspect of a company's activity, from front office customer interactions to back office systems.

"The more encompassing the strategy, the more able the CRM system is to knock down those dreaded departmental silos everyone claims they're ready to do away with," Mr Weinberger said.

He added that CRM can also help to maintain trained and capable staff that are ready to field customer complaints and sudden shifts in sales projections.

A recent survey released by Gartner found that CRM software revenues in Europe will witness a 0.7 percentage point growth between 2009 and 2010.

Posted by Matthew Collins, Technical Director – IT Data Cleaning, Hygiene, Analytics, Databases

Segmenting mailing lists separates engaged consumers from dead leads

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Marketers have been advised to segment their mailing lists in order to improve engagement.

According to E-consultancy's Matthew Kelleher, the vast majority of sales will come from engaged customers, so marketers should carry out thorough data cleaning to separate active email leads from dead ones.

Writing on the E-consultancy blog, he advised firms not to "batter" recipients into a state of disengagement with valueless and irrelevant email content.

"The goal is to make sure that when the customer is ready to buy, your emails are still getting into the inbox and haven't been consigned to junk or even blocked," Mr Kelleher said.

"If you think your customer will sort through their spam folder to find your email when they want to buy, think again."

He added that if customers begin to lapse or show a lack of interest, marketers should concentrate their efforts on keeping hold of them.

Expert Barry A Densa recently urged marketers to focus on improving value of their marketing communications if they want to successfully capture email leads.

Posted by Julie Knight, Managing Director – General Marketing, Industry News

New ICO figures reveal extent of business data security breaches

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

There have been more than 800 breaches of business data security over the past few years, new figures reveal.

According to statistics from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), since 2007, there have been over 800 business data security breaches, almost 200 of which were the results of mistakes.

The figures showed that 262 data beaches were due to criminal theft and in just two months, a further 100 organisations have reported data security breaches to the ICO.

Deputy Information Commissioner David Smith urged firms to prioritise business data security otherwise they could find themselves faced with hefty fines.

"Talking to us may result in regulatory action, however, organisations must act responsibly," he said.

"We are keen to work with organisations to prevent breaches occurring in the first place and to help put things right when things do go wrong."

A recent Credant Technology survey found that around 4,500 portable data storage devices have been misplaced over the past few months.

Posted by Suzanne Stock – Communications Director, HR, Online Advertising, General Marketing