Make Strategic Marketing a Priority for 2010 Another decade has passed, I’m not sure how 2009 was for you, but I’m guessing if you are the average person, you have much to consider for the New Year. What resolutions did you make this year? Were any of the ones made last year successful? What about your business resolutions? Do those even exist, apart from the fact that you want to make more money? The great thing about a new year is that you have 12 fresh months to make things happen. Learn from the past and push forward to the future. Maybe ...

New Year’s Day – Friday, January 1st Birthday of Martin Luther King – Monday, January 18th George Washington’s Birthday (commonly known as President’s Day) – Monday, February 15th Memorial Day – Monday, May 31st Independence Day – Monday, July 5th Labor Day – Monday, September 6th Columbus Day – Monday, October 11th Veterans Day – Thursday, November 11th Thanksgiving Day – Thursday, November 25th Christmas Day – Friday, December 24th Are you planing your 2010 direct mail marketing calendar? Looking for new ways to improve the effectiveness of your direct mail marketing? OneIMS can assist you with creating a powerful and effective cross-media marketing campaign coupled with direct mail. We ...

"The lack of proper advertising and marketing is one of the top seven reasons cited by the SBA that lead businesses to failure."    - Alan Jackson, Global Cash Flow Network With the emergence of web and social media, mass advertising and marketing is no longer something only the fortune 500 companies can afford. With the power of online marketing, small and mid-size companies can reach to millions of people around the world cost-effectively. Not only can you reach them with powerful message and strategy, you also have the ability to track how people are responding to your marketing efforts and make ...

As most people have figured out, one of the golden rules of marketing is personalization.  The concept is simple; show that you care and know your audience.   Sounds simple, right?  Extensive research shows that personalized messages and marketing pieces show increased response rates leading to higher returns on investment (ROI).  Variable Data Printing (VDP) allows you to personalize each individual  marketing piece so that your reader receives something that is personal and relevant to their needs and wants.  On-demand VDP technology allows the personalization of just about anything on your marketing piece. This can be graphics, text or images.  The technology ...

As times change and technology advances, the needs and requirements of clients change.  To keep up with technology and the ever-increasingly sophisticated customer, businesses must constantly revise and update their marketing strategies.  Every marketing campaign has one common goal: obtain a response from the target audience.  Not too long ago, the preferred method for marketing campaigns was a mass marketing approach where a specific offer would be sent to as many prospects as possible.  While that may have increased visibility, conversion rates are very low.  Recently, sophisticated technology has made a case for the superiority of a one-to-one marketing approach. ...

Variable data printing (VDP) and digital printing technology allows business owners to target customers more specifically with the aid of specialty data and mailing lists.  With VDP, business owners can define a target market based on income, lifestyle choices, interests, marital status, gender, and an almost infinite number of categories.  Business owners are able to actually imagine the "perfect client," the customer most likely in need of their goods and services, and then systematically and specifically target individuals who fit that description in their direct mail marketing campaigns. These highly targeted direct mail marketing campaigns are even more effective when they ...

  OneIMS, a full-service marketing company in Chicago, IL, offers clients an innovative and revolutionary way to expand the success of direct mail campaigns using their Personalized URL solution. Chicago, IL (Vocus/PRWEB ) March 26, 2009 -- Old marketing meets new marketing. OneIMS, a full-service marketing company located in Chicago, offers clients a revolutionary way to get more out of direct mail campaigns by utilizing Variable Data Printing (VDP) and Personalized URLs (PURLs). Research shows that most people depend on the internet and are more likely to respond to a direct mail campaign if the internet is involved. Their solution, 4PURL, is ...

The emergence of variable data print technology has ushered in a new and improved highly personalized form of direct mail marketing.  Marketers can now opt to contact consumers through a cross-media marketing campaign, directing individuals to access a campaign specific website using a personalized URL (PURL).  An example of Personalized URL would be www.JohnSmith.CampaignName.com. Personalized URLs are gaining popularity in direct mail marketing for three main reasons. 1.     Personalized URLs allow marketers to track responses more accurately - Because each personalized URL is unique to the individual, marketers can track and measure the behavior of an individual client based on his activity on the ...

As modern marketing practices become increasingly high-tech and advanced with every innovation in communications technology, you might be surprised to learn that overwhelming research indicates that a standard of the industry, direct mail marketing, continues to be a strong and high-yielding option, especially in today's slowing economy.  Print in the Mix, a  clearinghouse on print media effectiveness, follows marketing data in all areas of print marketing, including direct mail, magazines and catalogs, newspapers, and custom publishing.  According to Print in the Mix, in 2008, direct mail marketing campaigns produced a ROMI (return on marketing investment) of over $15 for every ...

The natural tendency among small businesses during an economic slowdown is to conserve resources as much as possible.  Marketers who begin to see a decrease in sales as a result of troubled economic times may be tempted to cut their advertising budgets in order to make ends meet; however, relevant marketing data reveals that this is the wrong decision in light of research results. Research indicates that businesses that maintain or increase their advertising budgets during a recession experience positive sales growth.  During the 1981-1982 economic slowdown, businesses that maintained or increased their marketing campaigns actually averaged higher growth during the ...

One of the newest marketing strategies in the direct mail or email mail world is the use of PURLs.  While PURLs (Personalized URL) allow you to easily track the effectiveness of your campaign and even obtain new information about your prospective clients, a PURL isn't anything if you don't have a solid campaign behind it.  As with any type of campaign, you have to make sure that you remember the basic rules about what makes a successful campaign.  Going back to Marketing 101, make sure that you've covered the basics.   Make an Irresistible Offer:  For any type of campaign to work, you ...

Studies Show VDP & PURL Successfully Drive Up Response Rates & ROI Recently, we have been writing about the benefits of personalization in a marketing campaign.  Today we want to drill home the point further.  One of the main reasons some people may be hesitant to adopt VDP (Variable Data Printing) or PURL (Personalized URLs) solutions is a lack of numbers indicating probable success.  We want to erase any hesitancy you may have. James Mikes, Director of Technology for PODi, said last year that companies generally double their response rates when they switched from a static marketing campaign to a personalized one.  These rates ...