Restaurants Increase Traffic by Influencing Dining Choices and Engaging Customers at Home

Posted on May 20, 2011 by PowerDirect Marketing

Front-Door Marketing Can Effectively Reach the Best Prospects in Range of Dining Categories

Whether launching a new menu item, promoting a signature dish, trying to reach a specific customer segment (e.g. Hispanics), or build traffic around a specific day or week part, front-door marketing is well-suited to help restaurant chains make the most of renewed consumer foodservice spending.  But while many restaurant operators anticipate increased consumer spending, they are still acutely aware of new long-term attitudes toward frugality. Capturing the consumer’s attention is essential to cornering these carefully spent dollars, as well as maintaining a brand identity that is meaningful to the customer – expectations all met through effective targeting of front-door campaigns.

Target heavy fast food users, also known as "HFFUs", with front-door marketing. (Image courtesy of The Consumerist, via flickr.com)

As restaurants have become more and more innovative – developing creative pricing strategies, locations and food concepts – they are taking care to connect these strategies with the right audience.  Thoughtful analysis enables development of target groups that consider not only the best prospects, but where they live and the likelihood that they will visit a particular restaurant chain. Data modeling extends targeting resources by further identifying “look alike” prospects whose demographic or behavioral profiles mimic those of best-performing customers.

These groups can be targeted in much smaller units, using “block groups” of about 400 households rather than entire zip codes, and include variables such as type of chain user, brand affinity, and usage occasion. Block groups can also be segmented according to visit frequency; in particular, heavy fast food users (known as “HFFUs”) can be reached readily. Leading restaurants such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Denny’s have leveraged this level of sophisticated data, along with high-quality physical media, eye-catching creative and an attractive offer.

Are you making the most of the opportunity to engage, deliver value and reach potential diners at home, where they consider options and plan their time and budgets?  Front-door marketing can reach the right customer with the right offer, making you more competitive in introducing new stores, boosting frequency of dining visits, party size or value of average checks.

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Getting Front-Door Media to the Front Door

Posted on May 6, 2011 by PowerDirect Marketing

Going the Extra Mile with Expert Delivery and Tracking

We’re often asked how we do it – that is, how do we ensure our clients’ branded front-door marketing pieces are being delivered to their pre-determined targets. Well, as far as PowerDirect is concerned, delivery is the mission-critical aspect of campaign deployment.  Execution is everything, and our clients reach their customers based on our sophisticated, technology-fueled approach.

PowerDirect's GPS delivery verfiication is tracked via "clicker" devices carried by our trained walkers.

The selection and education of distribution teams is something we take very seriously. We’ve taken great care to develop a network of skilled and reliable ‘walkers,’ carefully trained in PowerDirect’s systems and processes.  They carry identification and maintain a positive, homeowner-friendly image through their assigned neighborhoods.  Equipped with wireless handheld GPS devices, walkers record their travel paths and geo-tag homes as they distribute client materials.  Timing and exact distribution location can then be pinpointed via Google Earth map technology. This allows potential issues to be recognized in real time via GPS technology integrated on board PowerDirect’s branded delivery vehicles.

Beyond this, four levels of in-field auditors shadow distribution crews to verify accurate and complete delivery.   Our strict auditing standards are part of an advanced, proprietary monitoring system that not only raises industry guidelines, but also ensures superior distribution by compiling proof of delivery via computerized GPS maps, job logs, digital photos and field reports. Auditing staff monitors every job each day and uploads vital information in near real-time, keeping data flowing into PowerDirect’s own tracking systems.  

This layer of accountability distinguishes the expertise and resources of PowerDirect, and it’s one of many factors that make us unique in this industry. Does your front-door marketing partner take great care in developing your campaign but leave you guessing about actual delivery?  Can they show you proof that your offer made it to your customer’s door?

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Value Beats Ad Clutter Every Time

Posted on April 27, 2011 by PowerDirect Marketing

Front-Door Marketing Bypasses a Crowded Media Landscape to Meet Your Best Customers at Home 

With the onslaught of brand messages permeating nearly every facet of life, why do marketers think more of ‘the same old same old’ is a good idea? It’s misguided to say that the means to beat ad clutter is to just distribute more and more of it. 

Instead, why not increase the effectiveness of underused, grassroots channels to deliver value? Savvy marketers—and savvy customers—are becoming well aware of the front door as valuable real estate in this effort. No barriers remain at the front door, and newfound abilities to target effectively have evolved this channel into a conduit for brands to deliver VIP treatment that equates to value and drives response. A recent PowerDirect article in Marketing News, an online publication of the American Marketing Association, details this phenomenon and highlights the targeting strategies that are fueling highly effective front-door marketing today.

More than ever before, being heard has to do with delivering value. And achieving this demands an understanding of what makes an audience tick, and ultimately acknowledges that relevance and value are what fuel long-term customer relationships with specific products and services. Do your campaigns focus on delivering value as a priority?  What are you doing to demonstrate an understanding of what your best customers need and expect from their favorite brands?

 

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Hitting the Target Requires Careful Aim

Posted on April 25, 2011 by PowerDirect Marketing

Reaching the Right Prospect Where They Live

High-quality physical media, eye-catching creative and an attractive offer are essential factors in the world of direct marketing; however reaching the most appropriate targets is the key to success – and perhaps the most tangible advantage of front-door marketing.  After all, a great offer presented skillfully means little if it doesn’t get into the right hands…

Proper data research, analysis and application are essential factors in direct marketing, representing a proven analytical approach that dramatically impacts success rates. Thoughtful analysis enables development of target groups that consider not only who your prospects are, but where they live and the likelihood that they will purchase a particular product or service. 

PowerDirect's targeting and distribution starts at the block group level.

With PowerDirect, this deeper level of analysis goes into every front-door marketing campaign, identifying the best prospects for a client’s product or service and then using that information to develop the best distribution strategy.  Geo-demographic clustering information along with other sophisticated data is used to identify and segment the best prospects.  These groups can be targeted in much smaller units, using “block groups” of about 400 households rather than entire zip codes.  Further, advanced mapping technologies enable detailed visualization of the delivery area, supported by GPS technology that verifies the when and where of delivery execution. 

Are you taking advantage of sophisticated targeting tools – and reaching the best prospects with the right messages delivered directly to their front door?

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Deal of the Day?

Posted on April 4, 2011 by PowerDirect Marketing

Random Deals Have Their Place – But Targeted Offers are Often the Better Deal, Both for Consumers and Major Brands

Groupon's deep-discount model is enticing, but offers are not always relevant.

The appeal of a deal that is just too good to pass up can be, well, difficult to pass up. And a new one every day may sound great in theory – but that sweet price break is not always a highly relevant offer. More accurately, it is rarely relevant.  Daily deal websites such as Groupon, Living Social and Gilt may entice the saver in all of us, but as they fill up email boxes, text messages and Facebook pages, the subscriber may begin wondering what they really signed up for.

From the marketer’s perspective, Groupon charges a comparatively high percentage of the pre-paid coupon’s face value.  This model is only ideal when the marketer’s product has a very high margin (like services such as spas) or needs brand awareness that is too costly to develop through other channels (e.g. small, unknown, local businesses). Larger retailers such as restaurant chains, major retailers and brand manufacturers have slimmer margins, are better known and just don’t need to widely offer such deep discounts.

Are there better options? While daily deal sites are still proving their usefulness, there are alternatives that are highly targeted, provide significant value and cost the consumer nothing up front.  One such method is front-door media – used by major brands like McDonalds, Kohl’s, Home Depot and Best Buy to bypass the mailbox and get the right message of value directly into the hands of their target shoppers. Similar to the daily deal sites, the discounts are significant – often in the neighborhood of 50 percent off or more – but unlike those sites, the offers are highly targeted and meant for the recipient based on a variety of factors such as demographics, lifestyle segmentation, consumer behavior, ethnicity and consumer buying power. Front-door marketing is not a new tactic, however it’s more sophisticated than ever, and effectively poised to drive traffic and purchase decisions as part of an overall marketing program.

Are you considering new, untargeted and unproven methods to increase sales? Will the end result warrant the investment? Shouldn’t a major brand like yours be speaking directly to your customers with branded offers delivered directly to the front door?

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Are QR Codes the Next Big Thing in Shopper Marketing?

Posted on March 24, 2011 by PowerDirect Marketing

Still in its infancy here in the States; major brands see the potential of the technology

In this week’s issue of AdAge, reporter Natalie Zmuda writes about QR Codes Gaining Prominence, with the likes of Target, Best Buy, Macy’s and Post Cereals embracing the technology.  A pretty impressive group to be sure – but just the tip of the iceberg as the technology gains greater acceptance through a concerted effort to educate the consumer.

PowerDirect's own QR code points prospects to our website.

Originally used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR (or quick-response) codes are becoming more widely used in marketing for a broad range of brand initiatives that provide mobile access not only to special offers and discounts, but also to more informative content such as product ratings and reviews, How-To guides and product-specific videos.  These two dimensional barcodes are appearing anywhere and everywhere – on billboards, in-store displays, event ticketing and tracking, business cards, print ads,  direct mail campaigns, websites, email marketing, and couponing. Marketers are realizing that the possibilities are endless.

Front-door media is yet another ideal medium for QR code implementation – providing a way to influence shoppers early on their path to purchase, supporting shopping decisions and lists made in the home with high-value offers delivered directly to the front porch.  For example, imagine bypassing the mailbox and the other clutter of a prospect’s daily life and delivering a branded message along with a product sample or a special offer to the front doors of a targeted group of prospects.  On this marketing piece is a QR code that takes the customer to a website where they can quickly view the product in action, learn more about it and even purchase it online. Perhaps the QR code takes the customer to an added incentive meant to drive traffic to a brick and mortar retail location.  Working with other pieces of the marketing program, this delivery method adds a personal touch and incentive the consumer’s brand experience.

Have you been eager to test QR codes as part of your overall strategy? Are you looking for the ability to measure response rates with a high level of accuracy? Are you ready for a simple, inexpensive way to explore the potential of QR codes?  Front-door marketing may be just the ticket.

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Today’s Media Onslaught Causes Consumers to Tune Out

Posted on March 17, 2011 by PowerDirect Marketing

Use the ‘Less is More’ Philosophy to Break through Media Overload

Howard Gossage, one of the earliest innovators in advertising, once said that people don’t read ads. They read what interests them and sometimes it’s an ad.  The point is that people don’t inherently hate ads; they just hate bad ads that don’t bring value or otherwise matter to them.  Today that phenomenon has evolved even further, as the average consumer has become highly skilled at tuning out messages that are neither of interest nor intended specifically for them.

Image source: creativecouples.net

This increasing ability to shut down messages means that marketers need to refine their efforts rather than simply expand them.  Less is more, and more of the same simply won’t do the trick. Channels, messages and targeting all must come together to effectively reach the right audience with pertinent communication.

The ability to deliver a succinct message, respecting the intelligence and value of the audience in the process, is highly prized by marketers.  An innate characteristic of front door marketing, this singular, uncluttered channel is in line with the evolution of the ‘consumer brain.’   In fact, according to a now well-cited study by Stanford University researchers, the human brain is just not well-suited to media multi-tasking and being bombarded with multiple streams of electronic information.

Are you considering the ‘how, when and where’ factors in reaching your target audience? Using the front door may help your message stand out with value and meaning, and break through on a much more personal level.

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Consumers are in Control When it Comes to Insurance Decisions

Posted on March 4, 2011 by PowerDirect Marketing

Insurance marketers are expanding their direct response arsenal; methods appealing to individual needs lead to increased conversions

Insurance used to be a bit more mysterious, with agency support and interaction required for gathering even basic information or price quotes.  But that process would be foreign to many people today – in fact, a large group of young adults are routinely inclined to turn to the web and seek out the most competitive prices and services on their own.  They’re taking insurance research and ultimately policy decisions into their own hands, confident that they have the resources to make choices that are best for them.

Insurance-Marketing-with-Front-Door-Media

Sell more insurance policies with front-door marketing.

The insurance industry is capitalizing on this trend, allocating marketing resources to reach these customers at home, where they are researching and making many of their insurance shopping decisions. Insurance advertising spending is indeed at an all-time high – according to a J.D. Power & Associates report confirming $4.15 billion spent in 2009, or more than double industry figures for 2000.  But in addition to marketing through agents, insurance companies are adding personal appeals to consumers through the uncluttered, grassroots channel represented by the front door. This shift is targeted in large part toward ‘millennials,’ or the 76 million individuals born between 1977 and 1982, and is focused on directly engaging and converting customer prospects.

Leading insurance firms such as Allstate, Anthem Blue Cross, Nationwide Insurance and Safeway Insurance have utilized front door marketing to generate powerful results in new policy sales.  Further, new drive-to-web options including QR (Quick Response) codes and real-time personalization web applications (which ID responders based on their name and zip code) are effectively reducing abandonment of quote forms with personalized content served up as recipients respond.  Front door marketing tactics like these are also stimulating additional 1-800 agent calls and email inquiries, as well as creating a qualified-responders list for future remarketing programs.

Do your insurance marketing efforts reflect a direct appeal that resonates with your audience? For more, visit PowerDirect executives at the 8th Advanced Insurance Direct Marketing Forum 2011 on March 7th and 8th at Loews Annapolis Hotel, Annapolis, Maryland. To schedule an appointment at the show, please contact Jack Nemeth at (949) 253-3455.

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Shopper Marketing Starts at Home

Posted on February 23, 2011 by PowerDirect Marketing

Shopping behaviors and priorities may be far more complex than once thought, developing and evolving over time and inspired by any number of needs and wants

Shopper marketing was once thought of as a purely in-store experience, with specific outreach to consumers as they browsed aisles in an effort to close the deal.  But marketers today are recognizing that shoppers arriving in the store are not completely blank slates waiting for the right marketing message to move their purchasing decisions.  Much of their motivation to purchase starts at home and for any number of reasons – from needing to feed a picky child, planning a party, redecorating a home, or simply restocking a thinning pantry with familiar items.

Cause and effect is at the core of shopper marketing, and this includes both in-store and out-of-store motivations.  The right channels and messages are essential, and turn shopper marketing into a science for delivering value to the right customer at the right time. This in turn has renewed a focus on the path to purchase, a circuitous route to shopping decisions. Many more opportunities exist than meeting a shopper in a grocery or retail store aisle.

copyright © 2010 sean dreilinger

For example, children may open their favorite toy at home to find a promotional pamphlet introducing a new character… ‘We know you love Thomas the Tank, so meet Emily the Engine.’  Since they watch Thomas on satellite television or Netflix, they may start to seek out Emily or even ask for her as the next toy resident in their version of Thomas’ fictional Island of Sodor. Mom or Dad puts this on their list and it becomes a priority shopping trip, largely based on events that took place in the comfort of their own home. Add to that a front-door delivered coupon from a major toy retailer or mass merchandiser with savings off of any Thomas the Train toy, and Mom or Dad is effectively incentivized to visit that retailer.

Front door media is uniquely suited to influence shoppers at this early stage on their path to purchase, supporting shopping decisions and lists made in the home with high-value offers delivered to the front door. Are you reaching your best customers at home, layering front door tactics onto your overall shopper marketing strategies?  And if not, what are you doing to reach your target audience as they are forming lifetime associations with products and behaviors?

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Retailers Ride Holiday Growth Wave into 2011

Posted on February 17, 2011 by PowerDirect Marketing

Retail momentum continues, as consumers’ desire for discounts is fueling promotions and shopper incentives

Retailers were generally pleased with the 2010 holiday season, seeing 5.7 percent growth over 2009 and handily beating initial projections by the National Retail Federation.  In fact, the NRF further says that January marks seven straight months of retail gains, demonstrating that many consumers are ready to spend after a long and difficult economic slump. It’s a winning situation for consumers – retailers are anxious to maximize this upswing and are upping their game with continued promotions and discounts. 

Good news for shoppers who have come to expect some level of competition for their spending power. Their expectation of value is rock solid and increasing the pressure on retailers to deliver.  For retailers it is a bit trickier though, and marketing efforts must break through the barrage of promotional activity to really get the consumers’ attention as they travel the path to purchase. Shoppers have become savvier about sifting through their options – comparing prices and demanding value as they prioritize their spendable income.

In turn, marketers are layering additional tactics onto established and successful retail marketing strategies.  Capitalizing on what they already do well – such as developing incentives that demonstrate real customer understanding – marketers are raising the bar by adding underused channels such as front door marketing into the mix.  Bypassing a crowded field of messages, retail marketers are in some cases exceeding a 20 percent response rate.

Are your retail marketing initiatives generating the results you need, especially as Americans seem to be stepping out of their years-long spending slump? And if not, what are you doing to expand on your campaign strategies?

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