Building an Integrated Marketing Plan

(Multichannel Merchant) Not long ago, marketers thought it sufficient to plan catalog mailings and e-mail campaigns in concert with one another, acknowledging that the e-efforts would support and bolster the printed and mailed catalog. This approach is fine as far as it goes, but it's limited. Now it's critical to think beyond the integrated mail plan to the integrated marketing plan.

The list of challenges that catalog marketers face is long, and getting longer, what with astronomical postal increases and an ever-present cadre of Web competitors chipping away at catalogers' profitability. Statements like “Perhaps we shouldn't mail as often to prospects in order to keep costs down” and “Well, most of our customers are buying online, maybe we should focus primarily on e-mail to support the business” are being heard everywhere. These may be common thoughts, but they aren't necessarily the solutions.

Catalogers are concerned because the heart of their business model is being eroded away and it's becoming more and more difficult to start, grow, and maintain a successful venture. The idea of the catalog as a branding piece designed to drive traffic to the Web is becoming a reality. But there is still a place for the selling catalog, and for using the print catalog to profitably generate revenue.

A key is to stop planning “mailings” and to cease sending “e-mails.” Instead you need to start building marketing efforts — integrated marketing efforts — designed to get, keep, and escalate customers. Like any building project, this one starts with a foundation, and the foundation is your brand.

A brand isn't a swoosh. It isn't a set of arches. A brand is a set of promises you make to your customer each and every time he interacts with you — on the phone, on your Website, at your store, in your catalog, through e-mail. It can be boiled down to three simple questions: 1) Who are you?, 2) What do you sell?, and 3) Why does it matter?

What makes a good direct marketing product? A good product for a direct offer is one that cannot readily be purchased at retail. And what makes a good multichannel marketing business? A good multichannel company combines a unique product assortment (items that cannot readily be purchased at retail) with a unique and relevant brand promise. So before you plan another mailing or send out another e-mail, ask of your company: “Who are we? What do we sell? Why does it matter?”

Next page: Answering the three questions