Get Personal with Customers: Xerox CMO

Author:

Amy Tierney

Source:

June 16, 2010
 
No matter what industry marketers are in, they all face one common challenge—cutting through the clutter in a world of information overload. With the rise of new media and the availability of technology at consumers’ disposal, people are inundated with marketing information.
 
To break through that clutter, marketers need to deliver relevant communications, Christa Carone, Chief Marketing Officer, Xerox Corp., told attendees of the Direct Marketing Association's Digital Marketing Days conference and expo on Tuesday. During her keynote address, Carone likened the need for personal relationships to what consumers experienced in the 1950s at corner grocery stores.
 
“Marketers should try to understand the unique aspects of each customer and then turn that into a relevant conversation based on that specific customer,” Carone said.
 
Today, marketers struggle to compete for consumers’ attention. For example, Carone said customers see nearly 3,000 media messages a day and pay attention to about 52 and remember only four. To make communications meaningful and memorable, companies need to embrace the concept of “cross-media one-to-one marketing.”
 
“It’s about more than addressing someone by name,” Carone said. “This is about a conversation about value. You need to incorporate meaningful and subtle relevance.”
 
Xerox, for example, sent a personalized video to boost sales leads and help fuel attendance at an industry event. The humorous video was designed to show how information overload impacts office workers. The video was personalized to include the customer’s name on an office door, in an email inbox and on a Post-It note. Xerox used the video to show that its products can help handle the “overload.”
 
The company sent the video to 370,000 customers and prospects and had view rates as high as 76% and a pass along rate of 50%.
 
“It’s really important to never take your eye off the ultimate prize - creating value through exceptional brand experiences,” Carone said.
 
In another example, Elixia, a fitness center based in northern Europe, created a personalized campaign to spur new memberships. The company offered existing members six months of free membership if they recruited new members. Elixia mailed a postcard followed by an email message using gender and age-specific photos appropriate to recipients. It also customized the messages with the recipient’s name in graffiti.
 
As a result, the company recruited 2,500 new members and revenue was up $1.8 million, Carone said. The criterion for successful one-to-one cross media campaign includes monitoring data, making a compelling offer, having great creative, offering timely follow up and tracking and reviewing feedback.
 
Carone offered marketers the following best practice tips:

• Use all of your channels with the right balance. Each touch point matters and every impression creates part of your brand experience.
• Make messages clear and the experience positive.
• Be sensitive to how you use your customer base.
• Avoid the creepy factor when it comes to customization