Solving the Multi-channel Mystery

(Part I of 2)

The term "multi-channel marketing campaign" can give even seasoned marketers the cold sweats. Print advertising ... direct mail ... e-mail ... web sites ... in-store signage ... catalogs ... kiosks — where do you begin?

Start by taking a deep breath. Multi-channel marketing has been with us since Sears started moving merchandise with direct mail, catalogs, and retail locations. Until recently, it was known as the “integrated marketing,” and most of us have had some experience with it.

What’s changed, of course, is the addition of the Internet. Online marketing, e-mail campaigns, customized web sites and e-commerce are now part of the mix. These very powerful new tools make integrated marketing a lot more challenging, but they don’t change the fundamentals.

Customers Want Multi-channel Marketing

Today your customers want to be involved with you via more than one channel. Consider a few facts:

Store shoppers who also bought online from the same retailer spend an average of $600 more annually in-store than in-store-only shoppers, according to the 2001 Multi-Channel Report.

Customers want a choice in how they deal with companies, for example targeting a specific item for an online purchase one day, and then browsing through the store the next weekend. And of course the more involved they are with your brand, the more they’re likely to buy from you. According to the 2002 Customer Focus Report (Vertis), 39% of U.S. adults research a product online before they use it.

And that number is only going up. More and more older adults are becoming Web-savvy, and of course kids have grown up on the Internet. Whether you’re selling cars, software, or college courses, chances are your prospects have investigated your web site before you ever hear from them.

“8-10% of our in-store sales volume is actually processed through on-site intranets.”

Gordon Cooke, CEO, J Jill

Staying On Message, and Sane

Of course, multi-channel marketing is hard. Each channel has its own technical requirements, price structures, schedules, and rules. They operate in different time frames, from the immediacy of a radio spot or an e-mail blast to the staying power of a billboard. The channels can interfere with each other ... or you can work hard to make sure they reinforce each other.

As you multiply your communication channels, you multiply the number of people you need to coordinate. Vendors, senior managers, the creative team, IT staff, project managers, and front-line personnel all need to understand the overall goal of the campaign, and their place in it.

Throughout, everybody has to stay on brand. Multi-channel campaigns are large and many-faceted, with a lot of people eager to contribute good ideas. You have to choose those that reinforce what you are trying to do, and save the others for another time.

To achieve this, rely on the basics: Plan. Execute. Analyze. We’ll discuss planning in this newsletter, and executing and analyzing in the next one.

Plan, or Fail

As the old saying has it, "Those who fail to plan, plan to fail." In multi-channel marketing, the difference between success and failure is determined before the first piece ever hits the street.

To begin with, you need to answer four questions: What’s the goal of your campaign? What’s the message? Who’s your audience? And which channels can deliver the audience? Make sure that the answers to these questions are clearly communicated to everybody on the team, and that the team remains focused on them.

Maintain focus by getting buy-in early, especially from senior members of the team; if they own it early, they won’t be interrupting you later on. Make sure your Corporate Style Guide is in place, and remind everybody to refer to it. Allow enough time to create a campaign that can succeed. Of course, there isn’t enough time — there never is. So it’s up to you to question unreasonable timetables. Marketers, the creative team, and production personnel all need enough time to do their jobs well. If they don’t have it, the campaign will suffer.

Finally, before the campaign begins, compare all the elements. Do they look like they’re from the same campaign? If so, you’re ready to execute.

Next Issue: Executing and Analyzing your Multi-channel campaign.

This newsletter and the next one are adapted from a presentation by Pam Sullivan, President of Sullivan Creative, for the Direct Marketing Association 85th Annual Conference and Exhibition, held in October in San Francisco.

© 2002 Sullivan Creative

Channel Planning

The Four Questions

What is(are) the goal(s) of the campaign?

Setting clear goals is the first step in keeping the campaign integrated. Do you want to generate new sales leads? Win back old customers? Drive traffic to the stores? The more precisely you define your goals, the more focused your team will be.

What is the message?

Over-messaging, a common problem in marketing campaigns, can become a downright hazard because of the proliferation of media in a multi-channel campaign. Skip the secondary points and additional benefits. Keep your message simple, straighforward, and clear.

Who is the audience?

Are you communicating with existing customers? Reaching for new ones? Are you going after a particular demographic? The better you know your audience, the more precisely you can tailor the campaign and choose the media.

What are the channels?

The choice of channels is determined by which customers you target, the message, the goal, and the time frame (not to mention the budget!). In the best campaigns, these are very conscious choices, based on deep knowledge of how each medium works and what it can deliver.

The Conference Table Test

This is a simple and brutally honest test. Spread materials from all of your campaign media across a conference table, and give them a good hard look.

• Is the concept consistent across all media?

• Do all media look like they’re from the same campaign?

• Are the logos and company identity immediately apparent?

• Are the look and feel the same?

• Are the messages and offers cohesive?

If the answer to any of these is ‘No,’ take the time to fix the problem before beginning the campaign.

team @ sullivancr.com
www.sullivancreative.com

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