Marketing Commentary from interlinkONE
Multi-channel marketing communications - all in one!
interlinkONE Lunch & Learn: CRM/Sales
Posted by 
on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 
at 1:18 PM 
in On Wednesday, March 17th, from 2:00pm – 3:00pm Eastern Time, interlinkONE will be hosting a Lunch & Learn webinar for its customers on the subject of CRM/Sales.
During this webinar, interlinkONE will demonstrate some of the latest enhancements to its ilinkONE Version 8 Marketing Software. Specially, we will walk through our CRM/Sales functionality.
Please join us as we walk through items such as:
- New features for adding and editing Contacts
-Options for the List Management tool
-Using User-Defined Contact Fields
-and more…
There is no charge to attend the webinar. interlinkONE customers — simply click here to register.
Tags Three Tips for Your Next Direct Mail Piece
Recently I attended a webinar that featured Trish Witkowski from foldfactory.com. In the webinar Trish shared many direct mailer ideas and examples
I wanted to share a few of the tips that I thought you might find helpful as well.
The Money is in the Details
Size, weight and shape are very important to think about when you are creating a mailer. Make sure to check out http://ilnk.me/1e83 for size and pricing options from the USPS. A quick tip that Trish gave was a non-machine able piece automatically increases the cost .20 cents. If cost is a factor for you, following the guidelines is one way to insure that you are not spending any money where it is not necessary.
Be Creative When it Comes to Folds
During the examples section of the webinar, I was very impressed with the many different folding options that were presented. Of course, wafer seals can play a big part in the mailing process and the costs. If you were to fold the mailer on the right side, you have 3 open areas that must be closed with a sticker. Your best bet may be to place the fold on the bottom and then you only have to seal the tip opening with a wafer. However, being creative with your folding can have a positive impact on the success of your piece.
Stand Out
What are some ways that you can make your mailer stand out? One suggestion might be to use variable data pieces. Use the data you have about the recipient to personalize the piece – and try to go beyond Dear [FirstName]. Other options might pop-up cards and light-up cards.
In conclusion, Trish left the audience with this quote: “A person is shown 6,000 media messages a day; they will roughly pay attention to 50 of them and positively remember 4 of them.”
Will your next direct mail piece be remembered?
Benefits of Integrated Marketing
A recent article in DMNews helped put the spotlight on the benefits of integrated marketing.
The article, which is a great read, focused on non-profits. However, the challenges they face are quite similar to those of businesses both large and small.
Does this sound familiar to you at all? —- “…databases can be cumbersome, and accessing constituent information in real time isn’t something many organizations can do, Regen adds, noting that many nonprofits also aren’t organized for integrated marketing, with their structures, cultures and communications inhibiting cohesion“.
While some of those challenges may seem daunting to overcome, an integrated marketing approach can absolutely help. Here are 3 of the main benefits listed in the article that come from integrating marketing activities:
- Access Data in Real-Time
- Wisely Invest Your Money & Resources
- Produce a Higher ROI
Do those types of benefits sound familiar? Are they, perhaps, on your wish-list?
If so, an article like the one in DMNews may be just the inspiration you need to start integrating your marketing activities — from direct mail to e-mail to SMS to QR Codes and more.
Using QR Codes in your Marketing
On March 11, 2010, Mobile Commerce Daily featured an article on QR Codes from interlinkONE’s President/CEO John Foley, Jr.
The article was entitled “Tips for using QR codes in Marketing”. In the article, John provides a few basic strategies for companies that are looking to push the usage of QR Codes forward.
Here is a link to the full article: http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/tips-for-using-qr-codes-in-marketing/
What Social Media is To Me
I am certainly a huge fan of Social Media. Over the past few years, it has helped increase awareness of our company, its employees, and our products. I recently commented on a post in PrintJunkie.net, and I wanted to share those sentiments here as well:
The core to Social Media for me is this: Trust is earned, and relationships are built over time. So in this sphere of marketing I try and use the tools to gain trust and build a relationship. I try my hardest to put information out there to help others grow their business.
I’m a marketer and a business fanatic. I greatly enjoy the prospect and opportunity of helping others as well.
I’m posting and sharing information that is not always about me or my company, (99% not) but rather information that may be relevant to people that matter. Even the 1% or so is about sharing information that I still think is relevant even though another employee wrote it on behalf of the company. I’m hoping the information I share exposes my knowledge, and also our employees knowledge which can be picked up over time. If folks want to learn more about my company so be it. But they do know firsthand my thoughts on the subject matter, who is behind the company, what our employees do, the inner workings of who we are, and yes, interested folks can go find out what we do.
So it is myself and these folks… The employees in our company are empowered to use Social Media. NO policies either! This is not a leap of faith, this is part of today’s business. Iit is not discretionary in my mind. The funny part is we have been doing this all along in other marketing channels and using different medias. Yes before these tools came along, it was never sell – sell – sell for us. The difference is this environment allows us to possibly build more relationships in a broader and more meaningful way.
So — use social media to build relationships trust. And as @chrisbrogan put it, “Stop talking about yourself!”
Have a great, productive day folks!
If you wish – follow me on twitter
http://www.twitter.com/johnfoleyjr or @johnfoleyjr
