Bills, bills, bills. Even marketers can think of them as so mundane as to be ignored as possible advertising vehicles. But that’s a mistake, says Lee Gallagher, manager of global solutions for InfoPrint Solutions Co. of Boulder, Colo.
There are three trends emerging in transpromo, or the growing marketing method of placing promotions on transaction statements, illustrated by the rewards statement work InfoPrint recently performed for Phoenix-based Best Western International.
Trend 1: Data Analytics
“Data analytics is understanding the way your buyer is behaving in [his] environment,” Gallagher says. “So at Best Western, we actually went out and we looked at the customer profiles, and then we built these analytics, or buying models.”
First, Best Western collected data from its multichannel fall promotional campaign on Gold Crown Club members who opted in to receive rewards, including points for booking rooms online and paying with BWI’s branded credit card. Second, those who responded to the promotion were evaluated for elevation to a higher tier of customer marketing, what Gallagher characterizes as the “platinum” level. These customers then may see specialized transpromo for high-end vacations and cross-marketing for, as an example, Nascar—as Best Western is its “official hotel.”
Trend 2: Integrating Transpromo
Bills, rewards statements and other transactional documents can reinforce brand messaging and provide opportunities to cross-sell, upsell and cross-market. But only if transpromo marketing is fully integrated into a company’s marketing mix, Gallagher explains. Keep branding consistent across all channels, he also emphasizes.
Trend 3: PURLs
A personalized URL linking statements with e-mail and direct mail campaigns, as well as the brand Web site, helps marketers speak directly to individuals, Gallagher says. Customer interaction then can hinge on specific interest areas that are highlighted when visitors spend extra time on a certain page, which can trigger targeted e-mail and direct mail follow-ups.
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To point 2 I believe that Transpromo should be an element of a consistent and contextually relevant dialogue across time and channel. Whilst this is perhaps beyond Phase 1 of a Transpromo implementation, getting the positioning and the ongoing , evolving dialogue is in my view going to be what is demonstrated by leading exponents of Transpromo.