On occasion, I might classify myself as “old school,” or even old-fashioned. Those terms would pertain to my taste in movies, music, clothing. . . and to some extent how I’ve viewed the ever-dynamic discipline of Marketing. As we enter a new year, I’ve been thinking about my own professional journey, and in particular how the broader marketing services industry has changed.
My very first job was at a print and letter shop in Hayward, California, working with marketers to create and launch direct mail campaigns like postcards and self-mailers. We would drop a postcard in a mailbox and just see what happened – and a lot of the time, not much happened. Maybe we would get some calls to the dedicated 800 number, but otherwise, most of that effort just disappeared into a black hole of mystery. Was the list bad? Could we have improved the offer? Did the text confuse the reader? Was the headline not compelling? With our rudimentary tools, we had no way of knowing what went wrong. On the plus side, though, Marketing wasn’t being held very accountable for revenue or pipeline!
Fast-forward to today. I’m amazed at times seeing where the industry is: this swell of change from nuts-and-bolts tactics (that now seem archaic) to sophisticated marketing automation technology that allows us to know the moment someone clicks on a link, and to take action. New ways of thinking and new technological resources enable DemandGen to help our clients reach customers in an extremely timely, efficient, and effective manner, compared to what we had to do to get out a direct mail piece. It’s been an evolution at lightspeed!
At DemandGen Campaign Execution Services (CES), we use the analogy of “digital direct mail” because a lot of similarities still exist. For example, with direct mail, you had to do the postal markings, segment your lists, and sometimes even hand-sort mail pieces by zip code. All those things still happen: they’re just digital, and at the push of a button!
+, driving conversations and revenues, and putting marketers into the limelight with major, measurable, impact on the business. DemandGen’s CES consultants help marketers harmonize the processes they use to reach customers, and guide them to make the most of the powerful tools they have.
One thing about evolution: it never ends. From the days of print-and-mail to today’s Marketing Cloud, DemandGen has been at the forefront of change over the past decade-plus, and we continue to help marketers stay ahead of that curve. Whatever comes next, you’ll be able to call on DemandGen to help you wrap it in strategically with your other marketing tactics. And as marketers, even the old-school thinkers like me can continue on this evolving journey.
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Derek Cooper, a DemandGen Account Executive, has been in various business development capacities for over ten years helping marketers solve business problems while driving growth and meaningful results.
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