A D I V I S I O N O F C L A R K C O M M U N I C AT I O N S
www.oneclearchoice.com
<–http://LeslieTighe.CCStrategicMarketing.com
<–http://BillGreen.CCStrategicMarketing.com
http://TomClark.CCStrategicMarketing.com –>
Personalized URLs (PURLS) are essential elements of any integrated marketing strategy. They
allow you to connect your direct marketing with web pages reserved for each individual in
your Target List – enabling you to build personal relationships with customers and prospects,
closely track engagement on the individual level, and help boost Campaign ROI. As
important as Integrated Marketing is for Direct Marketers, many fail to deliver personalized
cross-channel experiences – resulting in lost opportunities and a diminished return on their
Marketing investment.
To get you on the right path to Campaigns that boost response rates and returns, here
are 8 ways for you to make your Direct Marketing campaigns more successful by using
Personalized URLs (PURLs).
To build, execute, and maintain effective Integrated Marketing campaigns with
Personalized URLs (PURLS), you must pay close attention to your audience and personalize
your offer. Most importantly, try to avoid the common trap of blasting out impersonalized
mass communication. This only leads to more recipients ignoring your message.
8 WAYS TO USE PURLS
to Boost Direct Marketing Responses
1. PUT A PURL ON IT!
Add PURLs to your direct marketing message.
Many direct marketers follow the “spray and pray”
method of integrated marketing campaigns. This
achieves the objective of sending out communications
across channels, but it may not coherently unify
your marketing messages to create one-to-one
conversations with your audience.
With PURLs, you can display a customer’s name
alongside a domain that features your offer or brand
– offering positive reinforcement and increased
incentive to respond to the offer online.
THE RESULT: a dramatic increase in response rates.
2.CHOOSE A DOMAIN
Domains should reinforce your brand or message.
PURLs are important because they mention your
Target’s name alongside your brand – so evolve
beyond a generic domain. Choosing domains that are
relevant to your brand or offer causes your customers
and prospects to feel more informed about your
message – and as a result, they will be more willing to
respond.
Before you create your PURLs, choose a domain that
speaks to your message.
(i.e., www.collegestudentsrule.com or
www.mysaturnsite.com)
3.USE DATA WISELY!
It’s your customer data, make it work for you.
Remember, direct marketing campaigns send out
more than communication – they send out a message.
Tailor your messages according to your audience’s
profile information, stated preferences, and activity.
Also, consider varying some or all of your content to
cater to the different members of your Target list. And
if you don’t have the data? Consider launching a
Campaign that drives targets to a survey-page so you
can collect more!
4.MAKE IT PERSONAL
This is your chance to target your audience.
A landing page for your Direct Marketing campaign
allows your audience to learn more about your offer
and instantly respond, request additional information,
or even make a purchase – all without ever leaving the
page. To maximize the effectiveness of your landing
page experience, consider using the information you
have about your audience to customize the messaging
on the site. Have they expressed a preference for a
product in the past? Do you have any other customer or
prospect information, or data about their preferences?
By including this type of personalized content, your
audience is more apt to engage with your campaign.
The use of tablets and smartphones to access the
Internet is growing exponentially. To take advantage of
this emerging channel, consider including a QR code
on your printed piece that drives your audience to
their PURLs – as well as a mobile version of your Landing
Page for Targets who visit through their mobile devices.
By including the mobile option in your Campaign, you
are dramatically increasing opportunities for your
audience to engage with your message.
5.GO MOBILE
Remember your mobile audience
The use of tablets and smartphones
to access the Internet is growing
exponentially. To take advantage
of this emerging channel, consider
including a QR code on your printed
piece that drives your audience
to their PURLs – as well as a mobile
version of your Landing Page for
Targets who visit through their mobile
devices. By including the mobile
option in your Campaign, you are
dramatically increasing opportunities
for your audience to engage with your
message.
6.GET TRIGGER HAPPY
Campaign actions trigger follow up messaging.
Send out personalized messages to your targets for
follow-up – for example, thank them for visiting a page,
or invite them back to fill out a form – based on their
activity. Try to coax them personally to accept the offer...
or thank them by name for their interest. By using the
data you have about your customers to create dynamic,
personalized follow-up content, you encourage your
audience to connect emotionally with your message.
7. TEST & OPTIMIZE
Feedback allows for message optimization on the fly.
To achieve optimal results from your direct marketing
campaigns, you must test. Use the tools in your Campaign
Management software to perform multivariate and/or
A/B testing. Also, consider testing subject lines to ensure
the right message goes out – and that it gets delivered to
your prospects’ inboxes. You can also test other elements
including images, copy changes or other small revisions to
assess impact on conversion.
Also be sure to test your emails and landing pages prior to
delivery to make sure that the correct links, images, and
copy displays to the right targets – and that everything works
as intended.
8.MAKE IT MAKE SENSE
Intuitive analysis and reporting features available.
Analyzing your Direct Marketing results doesn’t necessarily
require large data dumps into Excel and hours of slicing, dicing,
and number crunching. Instead, leverage the reporting
dashboard in your marketing campaign management
solution to communicate details in a format that everyone
can understand. Use these campaign results to understand
the ways that your targets interact with your messaging – and
analyze them to improve future campaigns and boost future
campaign ROI.
We enable our clients to transform their Direct Marketing with
best-in-class digital marketing technology – including Personalized
URLs, Personalized QR codes, landing pages, email, intelligent mail
barcodes (IMB) and more.
Streamline your marketing processes, deliver more campaigns,
generate more conversions, and enhance campaign performance.
With best-in-class technology, proven turn-key campaign services
and expert customer service, we make integrated marketing easy.
A D I V I S I O N O F C L A R K C O M M U N I C AT I O N S
2 Westside Drive
Asheville, NC 28806
828/254.1432
www.oneclearchoice.com