USA is marrying the power of
the Internet and the in-store
retailer with what it calls “
Retailing 2.0.”
“We’re really an Internet-based company,” says Paul.
“There are so many things you
can do online that you can’t
do in retail. But, still only
2 percent of sales are done
through E-commerce, so we
combine the best of both
worlds.”
In this new project,
CompUSA is outfitting
all of its in-store products
with an Internet-ready
PC. So when a customer
approaches an in-store
item, with the click of a
mouse, he or she pulls up
the product’s information
page, which includes how-to videos and
views of the product from all angles.
Tweaking the Message
Although most CE companies are not
planning drastic drops in 2009 DR budgets, they are changing the messaging to
highlight lower-end products. How is Systemax adjusting its marketing for holiday
sales? One way is by pushing the sales of
components, which will be more popular
this season as people buy computer and
video-game system parts and build the
electronics themselves to save money.
“Consumers will look for value. They
will look for products that will ‘pay for
themselves,’” contends DuBravac. “They
will look to make trade-downs and substitutions that will save them money but
won’t drastically change the experience.
Marketers need to speak to this need.”
Even communications company
AT&T is making changes in its messaging. Instead of creating ads featuring
high-end devices, the ads are tailored
toward value components or “AT&T
advantages,” such as the company’s rollover minutes. In a recent campaign, the
company offered 1,000 free bonus rollover
minutes for mobile phone users as pro-tec tion on overage. The focus is less on
AT&T uses SMS texting
for customer upsell and
retention as part of its
“lifecycle” direct response
marketing campaigns.
devices, more on value and
retention.
Lifestyle Marketing
Stephen Boulton-Wallace,
AT&T’s vice president of
direct marketing and customer
lifecycle management (CLM),
refers to the model as “lifestyle
marketing” because it follows
customers from acquisition to
retention. “When I’m trying to
retain customers, the act of mar-
keting to them can actually cost
us more money sometimes than
leaving them alone,” he says.
The challenge to marketing wireless
devices is timing; it can make or break a
sale. Wait too long to tell subscribers that
their contracts are about to expire, they
may start shopping for other services or
devices. But if you remind them too soon,
you may cause them to go out shopping.
AT&T is careful to personalize its
marketing campaigns. “We move into
the upsell as we learn their behavior and
based on what we think they will find interesting,” says Boulton-Wallace. “We’ll
make sure they’re still feeling engaged
with the brand.”
Over the years, AT&T has found DR
quite successful in helping the brand find
and measure advertising. And recently,
the trend has been to shift away from DR
mail toward online and SMS messaging.
SMS has proved a successful channel for
AT&T’s cross-sell and upsell marketing.
“You have to be very careful when it
comes to SMS and handset-based media
to keep an eye out for managing customer
privacy,” says Boulton-Wallace. But when
it is relevant and highly targeted, an SMS
campaign can yield a 15- to 20-percent
return rate, as opposed to direct mail,
which generates 1- to 2-percent response.
“It’s personalized media to a personal
phone, so it’s got to be highly relevant,
and have careful timing,” he says.
Another fairly new and successful DR
channel for AT&T is called “Whack
pushes.” This marketing channel starts
with a message to a handset device and
then the customer is able to interact with
the message, using it to buy a service or
feature. For instance, if AT&T knows a
customer is browsing the Internet on a
handset and using it to text message, the
company can push the consumer onto a
link that will let he or she buy directly.
It’s a low-cost communication and fulfillment vehicle, since AT&T owns the network and it doesn’t require a sales person.
No matter what the marketing
channel, the best way to retain customers is to keep them happy. “If they’re
feeling engaged, good about their experience with AT&T, then the more
likely they are to stay with us and to
buy from us. So, we use DR to market
our support services initiatives,” says
Boulton-Wallace.
