Information that you feel comfortable offering

What data is too personal?

Web history and mobile phone numbers are the least likely to be shared, according to a new Aimia report.

Tanya Kostiw

Most marketers will tell you a balance must be struck when it comes to collecting consumers’ information and then providing them with some benefit in return.

But research from Aimia’s Global Loyalty Lens suggests that while more than a quarter of Canadian consumers (26%) are open to giving up personal information in exchange for better services and benefits, only 8% feel the latter has been fulfilled. And globally, only 23% of consumers consider the communications they receive from businesses to be highly relevant.

In exchange for personalization, relevance and rewards, Canadian consumers are typically open to sharing seven to eight of 13 pieces of information – the top being their name (82%, on par with global stats), email address (81%, compared to 83% globally), nationality (73%, compared to 82% globally), as well as their date of birth and hobbies and interests (both ranking at 68% and below global figures).

And what kind of data are the fewest number of Canadians willing to share? Web history came in at 22% (compared to 27% globally), followed by their mobile phone number (31%) and online purchases (36%). And according to the research, consumers can’t be incentivized to give up information they’re not interested in revealing. Moreover, consumers manage the data they reveal, with the research pointing to how one in five Canadians have closed an account or subscription due to a concern around their personal data.

While in most cases Canadian figures were lower than global averages, consumers here are more willing to share their household information (63% compared to 59% globally) and income level (48% versus 43%).

Globally, 68% of consumers believe their data to be valuable, with 31% calling it highly valuable. Moreover, millennials and Gen Z consumers are the most likely cohorts to offer up their mobile phone numbers.

The global study surveyed more than 20,000 consumers in 11 countries.

Marketron Interactive bringing together Direct Marketing and Broadcast

Marketers have always been in love with the reach and mainstream appeal of broadcast radio and tv. But the lack of follow through makes it a high risk reward proposition. If the radio ads didn't pay off, there wasn't really anything left but to complain and ignore your account manager. Marketron Interactive has given radio stations the ability to track users and listeners, while building psychographic information to each contact. After the contest, program or loyalty effort, marketers can then use the information to gage success or follow up with an offer based on the result. This is not available for all broadcasters, but it is something that will become more and more present. US Broadcasters have a lot fewer limitations than Canadian advertisers, they also can do 3rd party email drops without requiring the same processes as Canadian broadcasters. Your ability to understand your listener as a program progresses is another key strength of Marketron's database tools. In a tradition directmail or email drop, you can only 1 or 2 offers usually called A/B testing. The radio program can serve up new contest announcements and gage the success of responses from day to day. This takes a very engaged creative department. More important, this is where marketing is heading. Direct marketers need to be better to match the challenge broadcasters are offering. Remember, small is the new big. If you only need 8 people for your program to be a success, why are you trying to get everyone to respond to your ad? Bid an engaging offer that gets them to add information for next steps. Make it easy for your target audience to respond.

Learning from Medical Direct Marketing

Direct Marketers have been struggling to understand how to best reach people. With all the craze of the digital age, direct mail has been left to the waster side.  After chatting with Paul Richard from MedicalDirect,  we started to talk about the incredible results he was having with direct mail?  Yes, that is correct, Direct Mail was way outperforming his Fax and Email efforts.  Even with the increased cost of DM, email and fax marketing just don't measure up.  Now I am not suggesting this will work for all programs and target audiences, but its definitely something to think about. Here is a summary of the thoughts he shared about this recent trial.

Have you compared response to email, fax and mail?  Our client did.

            He tested all three using similar copy in a single campaign to target physicians.  Here’s how they responded.  

                        Email:                   9 of 3,000 responded (0.003%)

                        Fax:                    42 of 5,000 responded (0.008%)

                        Mail:                506 of 4,600 responded (11.0%)

            Why did so many respond to mail?  Three reasons.

1. Physicians still trust information delivered in a stamped envelope more than they trust information delivered digitally or by fax.

2. The kind of mail tested was more potent than everyday advertising mail.  A personal letter invited physicians to respond to a series of informative questions on the relevance of the product to their practice.  By walking the physician through the product story, this mail effectively duplicated personal detailing.

3. This mail gave physicians who don’t see reps a way to learn about the product.

If you reach these not called on physicians the way they prefer, you will gain sales and market share you would otherwise forgo.  We explore this further, enclosed.*

DoctorsDialog is a unique method of personalization and generating a quality relationship with doctors.  We can all learn from their methods to ensure we cut through the noise and provide impactful programs.

Data Mining - Path to Riches

Are you maximizing your data? Do you know what your data is worth to you and your operations?? Most business have spent the last few years, diligently compiling data and unfortunately this is where it ends. I am not going to recommend a particular software or provider as I sometimes. What I am going to do is suggest that you look at your list of past customers and start asking questions like> What commonalities do these groups have? Are there other services that we offer that may make sense for this group? What more can give them that we are not currently.

This is such a huge part of my business - I am confident that any time you put into this will come back to you 10 fold.