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Picturing Segmentation at Work
August 1, 2008

We’ve been talking about segmentation of your marketing program for greater effectiveness. It’s one thing to say it. It’s another thing to actually be able to picture it at work. Let’s look at an example.

One 1:1 solutions provider, Digital Dimensions 3, specializes in three-dimensional “lumpy” mail. If the recipient is a woman, it prints her name on a set of die-cut butterflies inside the direct marketing package. If the recipient is a man, it prints his name on a set of die-cut piranhas inside a clear envelope shaped like a fish tank. The marketing copy matches the die cut, either using the theme of “fluttering” around the competition or “taking a bite” out of the market.

This is the first and most basic level of segmentation. Next is segmentation by market. This will be done by the unique needs and offerings of the client.

Say the client is a sales training company. If the target audience is real estate company owners, the interior copy might entice them with techniques to get more listings and referrals from satisfied buyers. If it is manufacturing companies, the copy might focus on how to boost profits by using multi-channel marketing strategies. Every vertical market has its own hot buttons that can be used to increase response.

The point is, this can—and should—all be done within the same campaign. Imagine that you are a clothing retailer receiving a direct mailer from this sales training company. Which would motivate you more? The generic “Our highly motivated trainers can help you smash the competition and make more profits!” Or the more vertical-market-specific “Did you know? Retailers who use multi-channel marketing strategies generate 30% more sales! Let us show you how!”

(I’m making up the 30% figure, but it’s probably not that far off.)

This level of segmentation can be done in two ways. It can be done manually by separating the database by vertical market and matching up these now-separate databases to each of separate designs. Or it can be done using a single design output on a digital press and populated using variable fields that are driven by rules. If it’s being driven by the database, this means that you can personalize by name, as well. “John, did you know that other retailers are boosting their sales by 30% using multi-channel marketing? Let us show you how!”

It’s the mailing list you already have. Why not just use it more effectively?

Have questions? Comments? I'd love to hear from you. You can email me at htollvr@aol.com. For more information on primers for marketers and small businesses on digital, 1:1, and Web-to-print technologies, visit www.digitalprintingreports.com.

Posted by Heidi Tolliver Nigro on August 1, 2008 | Comments (0)