Feature: Supporting Software
The sales promotion industry is currently evolving and the driving force behind this can often be attributed to the wider mix of media at the industry’s disposal. Digital in particular has affected how we work and not just by supplying new media. There is another way in which technology is supporting the progress of sales promotion and that is the software that’s available to brands and agencies to help manage the more complex tasks.
Long gone are the days when investing in the right software was considered a luxury and any marketer who cuts costs by not investing in the right products is short-sighted.
We’ve decided to take a look at two of pieces of software that are helping improve the way we work in very different areas. Firstly - managing your customer data. Many promotions are delivered to consumers through direct mail and the ability to ensure that the right people are targeted is an efficient way of saving money and improving response. Secondly we look at how to manage the workflow of larger campaigns from creative to improving the client/agency communication.
Data Management
Investing in the right software to help the efficiency of your direct mail doesn’t have to cost the earth and you don’t have to be a computer whiz to use it. Whether you’re sending out promotional material a few times a year or managing larger mailing for international clients there is something on the market for you that will not break the bank.
A useful place to start is www.royalmail.com. If the amount of mail you send out really doesn’t justify extra spend on software then take a closer look at Cleanmail. For a really cost effective solution see the ListCleaner facility. This will enable you to clean a database of up to 10,000 customers for less than £50.
If you take the next step and require your own software to manage your data, the kind of features you will benefit from include the ability to segment data into predefined groups and de-duplication. The cleaner your mailing data and the less work required by Royal Mail, the higher the discounts available. Therefore purchasing software from an approved supplier is a good idea.
In 2007, Pitney Bowes will be changing the pricing structure for their AddressRight Pro solution. This will enable purchases at two levels once the licence fee has been paid. The software package is suitable for any company that sends out mailings from 1000 items per month pro rata. With this amount of mail distributed, the discounts available will make the software pay for itself. In addition to this there are savings from ensuring clean data is used and the higher ratio of your mail reaching its targeted audience.
We expressed an interest in the software on the Pitney Bowes website and within a day a representative was on the phone offering to pop in and take us through the whole solution. For around £1200 you will get a package that is highly likely to be compatible with whatever format your data is in at the moment, making the move seamless. It will be very user friendly with step by step guides to creating the list and segmenting it through to printing and designing your own envelopes. It will even split it into the right bundles and bags for you. On a mailing of under 5000 a saving of nearly £200 was evident straight away on discounts.
Following your £1200 licence fee you can either pay £495 per annum for the software support or invest further and pay around £1300 for quarterly PAF updates from Royal Mail ensuring your data is cleaned regularly. You will be surprised at how advanced the software is at the price. For example, if most of a customer’s information looks to be correct with the exception of one digit in the post code, it will automatically be corrected. After verifying the data it will give a percentage and actual figure on what does not match the PAF files from Royal Mail. It will then explain where the problems are, how they can be corrected and whether you still wish to include them.
The one slight concern is that it is more effective for standard mail and when using promotional items in bespoke sizes the discounts may not be as attractive.
Managing the workflow
Software is also ensuring a more effective workflow in other areas and there are solutions on the market that bring benefits to both the clients and agencies. Large scale campaigns will have to manage a huge amount of information that is constantly subject to amendments and different creative demands. Take a campaign for a major brand with involvement from the agency including an Account Executive, Manager, Director and Creative Manager all on a daily basis. Then there’s the Brand Manager, Marketing Director, not to mention the Procurement Manager. All with separate responsibilities across TV advertising, press, direct mail and on pack promotions. Managing something of this scale requires excellent communication and organisation.
Mtivity provide software solutions for marketing departments in large organisations, their agencies and their print suppliers. The web based product means that there’s no expensive hardware or software required and it is more accessible to everybody involved in the project on any web based PC or Mac. The solution is made up of various applications including a job bag for each role that can also be viewed by other selected people.
Many of the different software packages we looked at did not offer groundbreaking solutions but do offer a far more effective way of communications and organising. While improving these areas it is also creativity that is a major benefactor. Freeing up time is an obvious advantage but creative has to be approved by many people and also tailored to factors such as geographical areas and different languages.
One such solution is the Storefront software offered by Mtivity. David Lloyd Leisure took advantage in the following case study:
David Lloyd Leisure operates 57 health and fitness clubs across the UK & Ireland and is now expanding into continental Europe.
The marketing team at the head office highlighted that each Sales Manager should be spending more time on directly selling club memberships rather than producing marketing material such as direct mail, posters and brochures.
This meant that the design was not always consistent from club to club and production costs were high due to print buying independently.
Each David Lloyd Leisure club has its own sales manager, responsible for local marketing and sales activity. This includes the production of posters, brochures, class timetables and direct mail pieces.
The Storefront solution from Mtivity was introduced and allowed marketing material to be produced from templates and customised by local areas, all to comply within the design rules and ensuring consistency in the branding. In addition to this, an online catalogue was created for all marketing material available. The problem of increased costs from individual outlets purchasing their own print was then addressed. A national purchasing agreement was agreed with print provider Kall Kwik. The costs were loaded into the software and all print was bought from a standard list regardless of which Kall Kwik outlet was used.
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