People Don’t Stay At the Ritz to Be Anonymous

The Ritz knows your name. From the front desk to the bell hop, they know who you are, what room you are in, what you like and dislike. All Ritz staff members are trained to observe and get as personal as possible. Why? Because it makes you feel unique, special, comfortable, confident, and want to keep coming back for more. It becomes a subtle addiction and all of a sudden the Ritz becomes your benchmark for any other hotel stay.

Getting personal is what it’s all about. Very few businesses are immune from the power of getting personal. It triggers a natural human response that cannot be equaled. When it comes to direct marketing the power of the PURL helps you put a little bit Ritz in everything you do.

A PURL is a unique URL (vip.golfgalaxy.com/JohnSmith/) that is built specific for a unique recipient. A Microsite is a 1 to 3 page website to which the user typing or clicking on the PURL is taken. These Microsites are also personalized giving the visitor confidence and comfort that the sender gave considerable thought and energy to learn what makes them tick.

The usual measuring sticks speak for themselves. Response rates double when PURLs are used in any interactive marketing campaign. When response rates double, so do more opportunities to increase the bottom line. PURLs and Microsites are not a new concept. They have been part of the direct marketing landscape for several years. Most marketers chalk it up as a solution only for big business. On the contrary, they have never been out of financial reach to add to your marketing war chest. They can be used with a variety of marketing channels one at a time, such as with a targeted email marketing campaign or a variable print campaign. Or, even better, mind boggling value is obtained when using the same PURL in an integrated fashion between email marketing, print marketing, and in some cases mobile marketing.

Regardless of the approach chosen, the ultimate goal is getting as personal as possible. Learning more about your customers and prospects along the way leaves no room for anonymity. No can you afford to take the easy way given the competitive landscape today. Your customers will show you with their wallets how much they love the personal touch.

For more information, please contact MediaDyme at 866-575-3771 ext 101 or visit their website at http://mediadyme.com.

The Power of Personalized Marketing

Direct mail and email marketing response rates are notoriously difficult to track and measure. However, a new option is now available - PURLs allow you to measure the effectiveness of your campaign – and also help increase the response rate at the same time.

What are PURLs’ you may ask???

Personalized URLs (PURLs) represent a novel way to track, test and even tweak your marketing for better results.

Benefits of PURLs

Engage prospects - Simple personalized web address gets more attention

Higher response rate – people are more likely to visit a web address which contains their name

Track web responses to direct mail campaign – you can see which prospects responded and when, what they clicked on and how much time they spent on the site

Personalize communications and follow up – you can set up automatic emails to let you know when a prospect clicks on their link so you can follow up in a timely manner

Build rapport and trust with clients - PURLs link to microsites which act as a dynamic online sales representative, allowing your prospects and clients more personal interaction helping to build more rapport and trust with your company

Targeted offer - PURLs allow testing of different offers to see which gets the best results and add or remove pages based on how long users stay on the site. Using PURLs to link to microsites is a highly flexible marketing approach. The microsite can be multi-purpose, allowing you to use it for branding, special pricing and offers, new launches and even client education.

Branding tool – PURLs and microsites create a great impression of your company for new prospects or existing clients by providing targeted content, improving value to the prospect and engaging them more actively

What is a PURL?

A Personalized URL is a unique, personalized web address created specifically for each individual on your list who will receive postal or email marketing communications.

Personalized URLs actually contain the recipient's name in the web address, creating a truly personal and engaging experience that inspires people to visit their Personalized website.

Personalized URLs are highly compelling, both for the marketer and the recipient, encouraging the beginning of a dialogue between the marketing company and the target market audience. When they see their name in the web address, they feel compelled to visit the site to see what it’s all about!

How do PURLs and microsites work?

PURLs are used in your print and email marketing campaigns. They link to a customized landing page or microsite that is separate from your main website and is designed with a specific purpose for your particular marketing campaign. Once the recipient visits their page, information from the database is used to tailor the web page to that person. They will be greeted by name and you can show different content to different members of your list, depending on the goals of your marketing campaign.

Reserved for each recipient, Personalized URLs serve as an excellent means to respond to, and interact with, your prospects and clients as a result of your marketing communications. Think of it as a concierge service for your prospects or customers.

In a world of mass marketing where your client receives thousands of marketing impressions every day, you can stand out using the power of PURLs and personalized marketing!

For more information, please contact MediaDyme at 866-575-3771 ext 101 or visit their website at http://MediaDyme.com.

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Served with Spaghetti or fed to the birds?

You've made it.

You´ve survived the economic crisis unscathed. Business is good, customers are up and revenue is getting back to pre-recession levels. Overall you are feeling good about how you are doing. That´s great. What got you here? If you are like any business, it was constantly reaching out to your customer in new and innovative ways. It was being cost-conscious about how you spent your marketing dollar to keep your foot in the door on prospects and existing customers coming back for more. It was getting creative on products and services that differentiated you, and keeping your audience informed, up-to-date, and engaged. AAHHH Yes. There is hope. Now complacency sets in…

The time and energy dedicated to getting the customer back in the door during tough times seems like such an overwhelming burden when the cash register is full. All the work and effort put into keeping your doors swinging and your website turning has a short shelf life and if you don´t maintain the momentum you risk becoming a stale loaf of bread fed to the birds at the end of the day rather than being served with a fresh bowl of spaghetti. Now is not the time to back off. Keeping your brand and overall existence at the forefront of your target market is never seasonal.

Case and point, I called one of my customers the other day. She hadn´t sent out any direct marketing campaigns in a couple of months so I wanted to make sure everything was ok. Assuming the worst that she was shut down, I was actually pleasantly surprised. She said she had been busier than ever. Business was really good. In fact, business was so good she let me know that she didn´t plan on doing any more direct marketing campaigns. After all, her store was packed full of customers. I knew that no less than six month prior she was struggling to keep the doors open. MediaDyme worked with her on a direct marketing strategy and assisted in executing a series of email marketing campaigns and text message offers. Return rates were good and business started to pick up for her. What a great success story, right? Wrong!

The good times have allowed the proverbial immune system to weaken because of the absence of no longer feeling attacked. Complacency sets in. All of the survival practices that drove the customers back to your door no longer leveraged. It´s like adopting a rigorous diet and exercise routine to get healthy only to halt the very regime that got you there once achieved. What happens? You get unhealthy again.

Key message here is to keep it coming. Don´t back off just because you think business is good enough that you don´t need constant marketing anymore. You could not be more wrong. In fact, good times are times to turn up the heat. Try different approaches. Use different medias or direct marketing channels to talk with your customers and prospects. Apply even more focus on personalization and relevance than ever before by getting very selective in marketing plans and messages. By doing so raises the bar for you and potentially springboards your business into another playing field.

www.MediaDyme.com