Direct Marketing Assessment

Introduction

This assessment is a comprehensive audit to see how well your organization is doing in developing and executing its direct marketing plans, programs and operations....from lead generation to eCommerce. The assessment addresses key aspects of direct marketing both on and offline for B2B and B2C businesses. It will help you determine the current state of your direct marketing planning, practices and processes. Your answers will indicate specific areas where you may benefit from improvements. And, it will also help guide your decisions about your future direct marketing needs and investments. You will be given a score for each section and overall upon completion, which you will find at the bottom of this page of the assessment. The assessment covers the following areas:

Areas Covered:

Research

Strategy & Planning

Offer Development

Messaging / Creative Strategy

Media / Circulation Strategy & Plan

Data & List Management

CRM

Fulfillment & Operations Strategy & Plan

Analytics, Testing & Budgeting

Lead Generation

Digital Direct Marketing

Catalog Marketing & eCommerce

If a section is not applicable to your business, then ignore the section and leave the scoring set at "0" for all the questions in that section. The same applies to questions / statements within a section, if it's not applicable to your business situation, then leave the answer set at "0."

You may save a local copy of the assessment to your browser so that you can take your time completing it. Just save it, then reopen the URL the next time you want to access it. Press the PRINT button at either the top or bottom to print the page or all pages in the assessment. Press the RESET button, also located at the top or bottom of the assessment to reset your answers to "0" for all questions/statements.

Your overall scores are presented in the table below.

Score Card

Category

# of Questions

# of Questions Applicable & Answered

Total Possible Score

Total Actual Score

% Score

Research

Strategy & Planning

Offer Development

Messaging / Creative Strategy

Media / Circulation Strategy & Plan

Data & List Management

CRM

Fulfillment & Operations Strategy & Plan

Analytics, Testing & Budgeting

Lead Generation

Digital Direct Marketing

Catalog Marketing / eCommerce / eTail

Totals

Direct Marketing Assessment

Select your level of agreement with the statements below made regarding catalog marketing processes and practices in your organization. If the statement does not apply to your industry or business model, select "0" which is the default value from the drop down list, so that it is not counted in your overall score. To close a section, check the box at the right of the Score for that section.

Scoring System

0 - NA (Non applicable)

1 - Strongly Disagree

2 - Disagree

3 - Neutral

4 - Agree

5 - Strongly Agree

1. Research

Score ->

We have identified our target markets (audience, industry segments)

We know the size of our target markets (# of individuals / organizations)

We have determined the market opportunity (potential revenue) for each target market.

We know the demographics, psychographics, firmographics, and life styles characteristics of our target markets.

We have developed personas for our target markets / audiences.

We have identified our primary and secondary competitors.

We have conducted a competitive analysis of our competitors.

We have conducted a SWOT analysis for each of our competitors.

We track our competitor's direct marketing programs / activities.

2. Strategy & Planning

Score ->

10)

We have direct marketing plan in place.

11)

Our direct marketing plan is part of our overall marketing communications (marcom) plan.

12)

Our marcom plan is part of our marketing plan.

13)

Our direct marketing activities are coordinated with other promotional activities, creative, etc.

14)

Our direct marketing objectives are very specific.

15)

Our direct marketing goals are quantifiable and measurable.

16)

Our direct marketing plan includes both online and offline (traditional media) programs / activities.

17)

Our direct marketing plan incorporates media, circulation, data, distribution, fulfillment strategies and plans

18)

Our direct marketing plan includes a front-end (new customer acquisition) plan and programs.

19)

Our direct marketing plan includes a back end (current customer) plan and programs.

20)

Our direct marketing plan includes a reactivation (inactive customer) plan and programs.

21)

Our direct marketing plan includes prospect/customer journey map.

22)

We have a three to five year business and name (customer) flow plan.

23)

We are satisfied with the results of our direct marketing program(s).

3. Offer Development

Score ->

24)

We have a thorough understanding of direct marketing offer development.

25)

We do an excellent job of developing offers for our various programs and activities.

26)

We do an excellent job of matching direct marketing offers with our various markets.

27)

We are very happy with the offers we develop for direct response marketing programs.

4. Messaging / Creative Strategy

Score ->

28)

We have developed the ideal format for all of our advertisements: direct mail, email, print, broadcast, digital, etc..

29)

Our advertisements are in character with our products and/or services and the markets we reach.

30)

Our direct marketing creative is synergistic with our overall creative.

31)

We are satisfied with our outside agency's direct marketing staff.

32)

We are satisfied with our outside agency's direct marketing work.

33)

We develop different messages to different segments of customers and prospects.

34)

We mail new prospects different versions of mailings and offers of those that we send to our existing customer base.

35)

We use personalization for all of our mailings (postal or digital).

36)

We personalize all mailings (postal or digital) with customer specific personalized messages.

37)

We use suggestive selling to upsell a customer based on product selection.

38)

We solicit customer testimonials.

39)

We use 3rd party influencers to promote our products/services/business.

40)

We use testimonials and / or customer reviews to boost credibility and make catalogs and/or email offers more human and approachable.

41)

We treat copy as the most important aspect of our mailings and website design.

42)

Our copy differentiates our offers form those of our competitors.

43)

Our direct response advertisements (traditional media or digital) communicate our unique selling concept at every customer touch point.

44)

The look and feel of our advertisements (traditional media or digital) are consistent with the look and feel of our website.

45)

The photography in our advertisements (traditional media or digital) does an excellent job of showcasing the products.

46)

The copy in our advertisements (traditional media or digital) is very strong. It has strong headlines, subheads and powerful descriptive copy.

47)

The copy in our advertisements (traditional media or digital) is emotional and creates an emotional desire that drives customers to purchase.

48)

We are satisfied with the design and content on our web properties.

49)

We have prepared our websites and apps to accommodate devices based on Apple, Android, Windows and other common commercial platforms.

50)

All of our web properties are enhanced for search engines.

51)

All our web properties are optimized for mobile.

5. Media / Circulation Strategy & Plan

Score ->

52)

We have a media / circulation strategy and plan.

53)

We develop media and circulation plans for each campaign.

54)

Our media / circulation plans are part of our overall direct marketing plan.

55)

We use media with good direct response track records.

56)

We have determined how often we can successfully use each media type to reach customers.

57)

We have determined how often we can successfully use each media type to reach prospects.

58)

We have determined how frequently we can profitably contact our customers.

59)

We use direct mail effectively to generate leads.

60)

We use direct mail effectively to generate direct orders (sales).

61)

We use co-op mailings (e.g., statement stuffers, package insert programs, card decks, etc) effectively to generate leads.

62)

We use co-op mailings (e.g., statement stuffers, package insert programs, card decks, etc) effectively to generate direct orders (sales).

63)

We use email effectively to generate leads.

64)

We use email effectively to generate direct orders (sales).

65)

We use direct response TV effectively to generate leads.

66)

We use direct response TV effectively to generate direct orders (sales).

67)

We use direct response radio effectively to generate leads.

68)

We use direct response radio effectively to generate direct orders (sales).

69)

We use direct response print advertising effectively to generate leads.

70)

We use direct response print advertising effectively to generate direct orders (sales).

71)

We use outdoor/transit advertising effectively to generate leads.

72)

We use outdoor/transit advertising effectively to generate direct orders (sales).

73)

We use outbound telemarketing effectively to generate leads.

74)

We use outbound telemarketing effectively to generate direct orders (sales).

75)

We use inbound telemarketing effectively to generate leads.

76)

We use inbound telemarketing effectively to generate direct orders (sales).

77)

We use internet banner ads effectively to generate leads.

78)

We use internet banner ads effectively to generate direct sales.

79)

We use SMS and text messaging effectively to generate leads.

80)

We use SMS and text messaging effectively to generate direct orders (sales).

81)

We use social media effectively to generate leads.

82)

We use social media effectively to generate direct orders (sales).

83)

We use social video effectively to generate leads.

84)

We use social video effectively to generate direct orders (sales).

85)

We rent compiled email list for new customer prospecting.

86)

We rent compiled postal mailing list for new customer prospecting.

87)

We rent postal mailing lists from our competitors.

88)

We rent email lists from our competitors.

89)

We rent our email (customer) list to competitive marketers.

90)

We rent our postal mailing (customer) list to competitive marketers.

91)

We rent our email mailing (customer) list to noncompetitive marketers.

92)

We rent our postal mailing (customer) list to noncompetitive marketers.

93)

We are satisfied with the results we are getting from rented / purchased mailing lists.

94)

We offer noncompetitive mailers (postal or digital) a discount on list rental.

95)

We exchange our mailing list to reduce our cost of acquiring a customer.

96)

We have a reactivation plan and program for dormant (inactive) customers.

97)

Before we mail dormant (inactive) customers, we validate that their demographic information is up-to-date (e.g., current address, current life / marital status, etc.)

98)

Our cost per inquiry (unqualified lead) is decreasing.

99)

Our cost per inquiry (unqualified lead) is below industry average.

100)

Our cost per marketing qualified lead is decreasing.

101)

Our cost per marketing qualified lead is below industry averages.

102)

Our cost per sales qualified lead is decreasing.

103)

Our cost per sales qualified lead is below industry averages.

104)

Our cost per acquisition (customer makes first purchase) is decreasing.

105)

Our cost per acquisition (customer makes first purchase) is below industry averages.

106)

The net revenue generated per postal mailing to new customer prospects is increasing.

107)

The net revenue per email mailing to new customer prospects is increasing.

108)

The net revenue per postal mailing to customers is increasing.

109)

The net revenue per email mailing to customers is increasing.

110)

The net revenue per postal mailing to our customer file is increasing.

111)

The net revenue per email mailing to our customer file is increasing.

112)

The average revenue of a customer transaction is increasing.

113)

The average revenue of a 1st time buyer transaction is increasing.

114)

The average transaction value for a 1st time buyer acquired through direct mail is increasing.

115)

The average transaction value for a 1st time buyer acquired through email is increasing.

116)

The average transaction value for a 1st time buyer acquired through print media is increasing.

117)

The average transaction value for a 1st time buyer acquired through direct response TV is increasing.

118)

The average transaction value for a 1st time buyer acquired through direct response radio is increasing.

119)

The average transaction value for a 1st time buyer acquired through outdoor/transit advertising is increasing.

120)

The average transaction value for a 1st time buyer acquired through co-op mailings is increasing.

121)

The average transaction value for a 1st time buyer acquired through Internet banner ads is increasing.

122)

The average transaction value for a 1st time buyer acquired through social media ads is increasing.

123)

The average transaction value for a 1st time buyer acquired through SMS and test messaging is increasing.

124)

The average transaction value for a 1st time buyer acquired through social media video is increasing.

125)

The promotional cost per customer transaction is decreasing.

126)

Our promotional costs per postal mailing are decreasing.

127)

Our promotional costs per email mailing are decreasing.

6. Data & List Management

Score ->

128)

We have a centralized marketing database that provides one source of information for marketing, sales and service.

129)

We are satisfied with the quality of our marketing data.

130)

We are satisfied with our ability to capture and maintain data on customers and prospects in our database.

131)

We leverage data for use in retention and acquisition programs.

132)

We purge and update our customer/prospect marketing data at least every quarter.

133)

We purge and update our customer/prospect marketing data in real time.

134)

All of our customers are maintained in our marketing database.

135)

All of our prospects are maintained in our marketing database.

136)

We segment our customers and prospects in our marketing database.

137)

We assign source codes to every marketing program/activity.

138)

We track source codes for all customer and prospect activity.

139)

We track customers/prospects by their original source code.

140)

We track all contact activity with the customers / prospects in our database.

141)

We track complete transaction history by customer by source.

142)

We track promotional activities sent to customers / prospects and comment data in our database.

143)

We track all digital promotional activity using dedicated URLs for each promotion and offer within each promotion.

144)

We maintain mode of payment as part of our customer file information.

145)

We maintain geographics on our customers and correlate that with recency, frequency and monetary value.

146)

We maintain product and product category purchase information on our customer file.

147)

We maintain length of time information on our customer file.

148)

We maintain transaction data on customer file, including: payment information, change of address, correspondence, renewal, etc..

149)

We're able to interact with our customers and prospects on an individual basis.

150)

We use our database to generate personalized marketing communications to promote our products (services).

151)

We can produce triggered messages to customers and prospects through the year based on data we maintain on these names.

152)

Our customer list is cleaned on a regular basis.

153)

Our prospect list is cleaned on a regular basis.

154)

We regularly scrub the database for erroneous or outdated information.

155)

Our list is NCOA'd or CASS certified at least once a year.

156)

Our list is de-duped and address standardized at least once a year.

157)

We use our mailing list profiles to develop personas (profiles) which we use to acquire new customers.

158)

We append demographic (firmographic) and other demo, socio-economic overlay data in our database.

159)

We include customer purchase history (sales, returns, etc.) in our database.

160)

Our partners and/or vendors supply us with data that we append to our customer and prospect database.

161)

We rent or purchase names from outside list sources for new customer prospecting.

162)

When renting/purchasing outside list sources, we use merge / purge effectively to optimize the combined list before launching a campaign.

163)

We make very effective use of database marketing processes and practices.

164)

We code our customer list by recency, frequency, and monetary value of purchases.

165)

We conduct segmentation or cluster analysis of our database.

166)

We use RFM (recency, frequency, and monetary value) analysis for segmentation of our customer database.

167)

We use FRAT (frequency, recency, amount, and type segmentation analysis of our customer database.

168)

We use demographic segmentation and modeling of our database for our mailing strategies.

169)

We use psychographic / life style segmentation and modeling of our database for our mailing strategies.

170)

We use geographic segmentation and modeling of our database for our mailing strategies.

171)

We use statistical techniques to develop models of customer behavior.

172)

We use retention, renewal and acquisition models.

173)

We maintain data tables that identify the different types of campaigns and frequency of the campaigns.

174)

Based on data, we are able to test offers, creative, etc. to our customers and prospects.

175)

We collect online data from all web activity.

176)

We maintain data schemas, data dictionaries for the different data sources.

177)

Data is frequency updated.

178)

We have experienced and knowledgeable in-house database marketing analysts.

179)

We do an excellent job of tracking and measuring the results of all of our marketing programs and activities.

180)

Standard campaign reports are produced for acquisition, renewal and retention campaigns on a regular basis.

181)

We have a group of standard metrics that are being reported on regularly.

182)

Standardized metrics and measurements are reported to management in a dashboard format.

183)

We examine the return on investment for campaigns.

184)

We have models which are routinely used to score prospect lists.

185)

Customer profiles have been done to understand the different customer segments.

186)

We share the results of analyses from renewal, reactivation and acquisition between departments.

187)

We are able to make customer / prospect data available in a timely manner across all of our channels to customer-serving employees.

188)

We collect multi-channel information to build customer profiles.

7. CRM

Score ->

189)

We have a customer relationship management system that works.

190)

We are satisfied with our programs and processes for converting one-time buyers into multi-buyers.