Email campaign management without CRM systems

Sridutt — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 03:38:54 +0000

In case you don’t have an expensive CRM solution, and run your campaign using a database (or Excel or Access, as the case usually is), you can have a look at the image. It is a sort of a calendar to use while handling mailer campaigns.

In general, it is a good practice to create procedures visually, so that there are no boring documents one needs to refer to. Although it’s not very expansive, it’s a sort of a general guideline on how to handle email campaigns.

I use it in reminders that I have set up according to the schedule, so that every time my outlook throws up a reminder, this is attached for easy reference.

I hope it helps. Also, thanks to all the people who made the super amazing icons I have used. They are straight off free icon galleries. Brilliant job guys.

Database segregation? Email marketing?

Sridutt — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:49:10 +0000

I recently read an article on Right and left brain recognition patterns available here. The article explains how people think. Everyone thinks with both sides of the brain one time or the other but the first impression is created by one dominant part of the brain – the one which functions more.

How can this be applied to e-Marketing?

Well. We can actually see how a persons job can be used to gauge the best visual style for a mailer/banner/communique. A person would be most likely to chose a job in which he/she would be comfortable. Examining the job along with the other regular considerations (bearing in mind the Brain orientation required for such a job) will lead to an increase accuracy by sending the right message to the right target audience, at the same time eliciting a favorable response. Lets see how this translates into segregation.

The following is a list of Left and Right brain functions –

Left Brain functions

Logical
Detail seeking
Decisions based on Facts
Language and syntax Comprehension
Calculation
Scientific Thinking
Quick Comprehension
Pattern Recognition
Associates Objects and Names
Strategic
Practical
Careful and Cautious

Right Brain functions

Feeling/Emotions
Pieces together Overall details into one picture
Imagination
Shape recognition
Philosophy
Faith
Spatial Recognition
Fantasy
Planning on the fly
Impulsive
Risks

What does this tell us about a person?

A person with a dominant right brain makes decisions intuitively, as a reflex, rather than take a few minutes off and think about pros and cons. This does not mean that this person is incapable of taking logical decisions, he is simply more prone to be impulsive. Also, a major part of what we call intuition is actually learned behavior – so what would seem an instinctive response may actually have a basis in a rational decision in the past.

On the other hand, a person with a dominant left brain will understand things sequentially. Remember your teacher in school who always used to tell you to sit straight, or that your answer has no beginning or end? that’s the left brain person. These people prefer to figure things out alone, the ones who would rather look at numbers than experience.

Simply put, the friend you have who insists that car X has more power, acceleration and mileage, and reels off the figures, is the left brain person. The right brain one would begin something like – ‘I was driving a friends car yesterday, car X, and man, is it good…’

The left brained one will actually read through any communication, and then respond, whereas a right brained one will skip through, see the salient parts, and make up the big picture without actually reading each word. The left brained one is the one who will respond to text as well as the mailers design – if you have designed it for him to register things sequentially.

The right brained one will respond to visual cues – crisper text and a call to action that is clearly visible in a mailer that uses pictures to convey what is being communicated.

Now, how could we use this?

Suppose you have a database with the following types of profiles:

Ages – 25 – 65

Sex – Both Male and Female

Income – Students to High income brackets

Job Description –

Lab scientists

Bankers

Judges

Lawyers

Mathematicians

Bacteriologists

Librarians

Accountants

VP-Finance or anyone from a Finance background

Middle to upper level Management

Graphic Designers

Entrepreneurs

People who have chosen Extreme sports as a hobby

Programmers

People in Marketing

The regular method is to create various brackets, check against the product, and send off mailers. But, are we actually bearing in mind the thought orientation of our Target Audience? what this means is, suppose you are trying to sell a car – besides the regular filters of Income etc. you should also look at job profiles.

A standard assumption is that women would respond better to visuals and Men to comparisons or a list of benefits. But when you check the Jobs the Target Audience have, you will realize that (coupled with the above information) a woman who is an accountant may actually respond better to a list of benefits, and a man who is a designer may better respond to to visuals. So when we go about our marketing functions, are we actually keeping this in mind?

GenerallyCurious.. » Email marketing

Email campaign management without CRM systems

Database segregation? Email marketing?