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personalise mailings have transformed
direct mail, which remains a vibrant and
effective means of generating business
and deepening customer relationships.
New techniques for linking physical
documents to websites and other digital
content offer new possibilities by adding
intelligence to the printed page.
Many businesses have fully embraced
these developments and transformed
their customer communications by
making use of both online and offline
channels to communicate with target
customers. Others are just starting down
this road and taking their first steps
towards true multi-channel customer
communications encompassing direct
mail, email, telephone, SMS & mobile,
web and social media.
A necessary journey
To help businesses on this necessary
journey, Neopost, in association with the
DMA, the professional body for the one-
to-one marketing industry, has produced
a free guide explaining the rationale,
benefits and pitfalls of a multi-channel
customer communications strategy.
How to Really Connect with Your
Customers – Smart Ways to Manage
Multi-Channel Communication
s covers:
n
The factors driving the uptake
of multi-channel customer
communications;
n
The benefits of such a strategy,
including enhanced customer contact,
better response levels and lower costs;
n
The different channels, and what
combinations of media are most
effective;
n
What’s required for successful multi-
channel communications;
n
Advice on how to construct a
campaign;
n
Examples of best practice; and
n
A useful checklist to refer to when
creating a campaign.
Neopost marketing manager Phil
Winfield said: “Customer service is no
longer just a question of delivering
what’s been ordered within the agreed
time-frame.With the emergence of new
communication channels, the nature of
the customer contact has become just
as important. Mobile, social media, email,
the web, direct mail and the telephone
are all very effective methods of
communication – when used in the right
way and in the right combination.
“However, businesses need to be
careful how they use these tools. A
telephone call is more intrusive than a
letter – especially if made in the evening
– and a social media interaction might
not be appropriate for communicating
sensitive material. Each medium has
its own qualities and strengths and
businesses need to think carefully
about when to use them. That includes
taking into consideration individual
customers’ own preferences, which might
change depending on the nature of
the communication or the time of day.
Making the right contact with customers
will strengthen relationships, but getting
it wrong could be damaging.”
The importance of choice
The trap that many organisations
fall into is to force customers to
communicate in a certain way, usually
to further a corporate cost-cutting
agenda. A company might fail to publish
81% of adults
want to
choose how
they receive
information
and 84% don’t
like it when
that choice is
taken away.
01732 759725
its phone number online so that
customers have to communicate by
email or web chat, or it might charge
for paper bills in an attempt to migrate
customers to electronic billing.
Such tactics are high risk. According
to a survey by the Keep Me Posted
campaign, which lobbies service
providers and the Government to give
consumers choice in how they receive
bills, statements and other information,
81% of adults want to choose how
they receive their information and 84%
don’t like it when that choice is taken
away.
A consistent experience
The decision to implement multi-
channel customer communications
presents its own challenges:
Is the quality of your data up-to-
scratch?
The
Experian Global Data
Report 2014
suggests that wasted
marketing spend and lost productivity
due to bad data costs the average
organisation 12% of its income: and
28% of those who have had problems
delivering email because of bad data
say that customer service has suffered
as a result;
How do you ensure a consistent
brand identity?
If you communicate
with the same person using a variety
of methods, it is important to have a
consistent image, for reasons of brand
integrity and customer reassurance,
especially when communicating or
transacting online;
How do you maintain
communications integrity?
When
communicating via multiple channels,
how do you make sure that everyone
receives the right communications via
the right medium? And can you prove
it if challenged?
As a customer contact specialist,
Neopost has been helping businesses
both large and small to answer these
questions and implement successful
multi-channel communications
strategies. To find out how it can help
you to develop more profitable and
enduring customer relationships, please
download a free copy of
How to Really
Connect with Your Customers
– Smart Ways to Manage Multi-
Channel Communications
from
or call 0800 731 1334.
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HOW TO REALLY CONNECT
WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS
SMART WAYS TO MANAGE
MULTI-CHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS
INVOICE
REMITTANCE
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