How can you get very personal, but not too personal? How do you super-customize marketing campaigns for your customers without looking like a stalker?
As convoluted as this seems, it can be done.
There are two kinds of direct marketing that a company can carry out – Shallow Engagement campaigns and Deep Engagement campaigns.
A Shallow Engagement campaign is a regular marketing campaign where the only information available about the customer is name, address and other easily available data.
A Deep Engagement campaign is one where the marketers – owing to the nature of the business they are in – have detailed information about the target audience. Examples are insurance companies, banks, and other financial services companies. These guys are sitting on a treasure of information about their customers’ health and money habits, which if, (BIG IF), used intelligently, can help them retain customers and grow their businesses.
While these companies have been entrusted with intimate information, and have a responsibility to protect (and not abuse) it; there are ways they can use the information to accelerate a marketing campaign, without violating the customers’ rights.
For example, if an insurance company sends out a direct mail piece to a customer with specific information about diabetes, it’s a violation of his privacy. But, if the company uses the information to customize a landing page for the customer, that is an effective marketing campaign.
There is a thin line between an effective message, and abuse of information. But once you master the art of walking that line, you master your target audience.
img:Chettimar
