This is the sixth article in an ongoing series on database marketing strategy, which outlines an approach to understanding the details of building a world-class database marketing system — regardless of whether you are an expert in analytics or technology.
One of the fundamental components of any database marketing effort is campaign management. During the past 10 years, a major focus in database marketing has been on software campaign management tools. The complexities of today’s integrated, cross-channel marketing efforts, however, require more than just tools to enable marketers to realize full ROI on their campaigns.
And so the emphasis has shifted away from tools to approach. That’s because the most important piece of campaign management is the ability to define and execute a marketing strategy in conjunction with specific data, analytics, and decision criteria.
Successful campaign management involves three steps:
1) Precampaign preparation. In this step, you determine your overall goals and approach for the campaign. This step also includes production management, in which you identify any campaign execution issues, such as hiring a call center or letter shop.
2) The campaign itself. This step consists of your campaign approach, in which you develop your strategy and recognize the practical considerations of campaign execution; campaign planning, which involves all aspects of program management, such as budgeting, creating execution timelines, assigning duties, and developing marketing collateral and creative; and campaign execution, which covers everything from creating and delivering lists to sending marketing collateral across channels.
3) Postcampaign analysis includes gathering and evaluating campaign results, and also includes post-execution activities. It’s not enough to simply get a campaign out the door and into the hands of customers and prospects; you must also evaluate and understand your results in order to use past marketing results to drive future marketing decisions.
Scott Cone is vice president/client leader at Merkle, a Lanham, MD-based database marketing services provider.