Technology--Defining the Future of Marketing

by Lauren Norton, WordOne
 
For years technology was something marketers avoided. It was kept behind closed doors in the IT department. Today escaping technology isn’t an option for marketers, and instead they’re learning how many more doors technology-based marketing can open.

In the current marketing world, technology no longer serves marketing, it defines marketing.
 
Technology’s presence is most apparent in the increasing growth and sophistication of e-mail marketing. In the 1990s, when marketers began looking closer at using e-mail to communicate directly with constituents, they struggled with the basics—for instance, trying to understand what causes an e-mail to “bounce.” E-mail was part of the “Web” team, and its biggest value was providing real-time tracking.

By 2001 more organizations began adopting e-mail as a regular form of communicating to target audiences, and the question of where it belonged internally was debated. The focus shifted to developing strategies for list growth, and creating e-mail in HTML with personalized content became the norm.

Today e-mail is part of the established marketing mix and is owned by the marketing staff. In the nonprofit sector its main purpose is to target volunteers, members and donors.
 
According to the 2005 Direct Marketing Association’s ROI Index for response marketing in the United States, e-mail tops the list at 14.2. That means every dollar spent on an e-mail communication will return 14.2 times the investment, in comparison to an alternate media, such as television or direct mail.
 
What does this mean for your nonprofit?

If you’re not using e-mail to drive traffic to your Web site, raise awareness about the issues you support and affect the bottom line of your fund-raising efforts, you’re behind the times. The larger question now is whether you’re ready to move ahead and get with the future of technology-enabled marketing.
 
One of the main areas of focus over the next few years will be data--how to get it and how to use it. Nonprofits are realizing they need to be disciplined in the way they collect, store, access and use data. Instead of sending out mass e-mails to entire lists, organizations are using their data to target specific messages to a particular audience based on previous experience and behaviors.

Another area where nonprofits will see a shift is in the full alignment of technology across all parts of the organization. E-mail is critical to your entire organization and must be understood and maximized by everyone. If there are people in your organization who don’t believe the Web site or e-mail affects them, they need to learn otherwise.

What happens when nonprofits realize the importance of technology-enabled marketing?
 
In 1994, AARP Services Inc.  pioneered an effort to communicate valuable information at a low cost to their AOL, CompuServe and Prodigy members utilizing e-mail. They chose Mansell Group’s Enable-mail  to help them expand their online communication efforts and collect information regarding members’ needs and interests.
 
AARP constantly develops new products and services that reflect the changing needs and interests of AARP members. To give members the flexibility to decide what information they’d like to receive, AARP developed Webplace Newsletters, which keep members informed on topics ranging from technology to small business.

AARP integrated all online newsletter subscription requests, thus allowing Web site visitors to subscribe and unsubscribe to one or all of the 14 e-mail newsletters in one central, hassle-free online experience. AARP manages the delivery of each newsletter through a customized database giving them the ability to personalize and segment each list to send targeted e-mail campaigns.
 
Targeted e-mail marketing has helped AARP provide members the information they request and create membership loyalty. Since using Enable-mail, AARP sees an 8 percent to 10 percent growth of their member database every six months, resulting in approximately 250,000 Webplace Newsletter subscribers and thousands of dollars in cost savings per month over traditional direct mail. AARP is continuing to expand its Webplace offerings with an ultimate focus on membership retention.
 
E-mail will continue to be a valuable tool in strengthening your organization’s brand. Its ability to target immediate messages to specific audiences helps define the overall experience constituents have with your nonprofit.
 
The Southeastern Council on Foundations’  brand focuses on connecting its grantmaking membership. E-mail pushes that connection by providing immediate information that affects the entire group. SECF not only sends out a biweekly e-mail newsletter to members providing an update on the sector, it also e-mails Member Advisories for specific action.
 
“We’re able to send out updates on the status of federal legislation on the same day we learn about it, and members tell us how beneficial this is to them,” says Helen Ishii, SECF communications director. The organization also uses e-mail to target specific messages to community foundations, independent foundations and family foundations that make up their membership. “We track what members are reading so we can send information that’s pertinent to them and ultimately streamline our communications,” says Helen.
 
SECF also has learned how e-mail marketing can encourage other behaviors from target audiences. For instance, SECF uses e-mail to drive attendance and registration to its annual meeting and collect valuable data about membership in the meantime. “Members register for each section they’d like to attend, and we can determine room and meal needs immediately,” says Helen. “It allows SECF to provide a better meeting.”
 
For tomorrow’s philanthropic sector, a key focus of e-mail marketing will be on fund raising.
 
The bottom line, according to Forrester Research, is that marketing experts need to embrace technology, and employ it scientifically and strategically, rather than as gut reaction. Tomorrow’s marketers will use technology to know and understand their customers, deliver more relevant information and truly measure the impact of their campaigns.

Will you be ready?