InsightIQ Blog

Meaningful Personalization Gone Wrong

Jun 17 2009

Those of us involved in the business of direct marketing understand the importance of meaningful personalization and targeted messaging. Unfortunately, that personalization and targeting can have negative consequences due to poor data hygiene, bad list choices and errors in programming. Some of these consequences include poor ROI, damage to customer relationships and a tremendous waste of marketing dollars.

Here are some examples of what I am talking about.

The post-menopausal woman who received multiple mailings of free samples of powdered baby formula. Multiply that times the other 30,000 individuals who didn't fit the target market.
The kind and loyal charitable donor, Mrs. Fishpool, who had the last letter of her name left off of her address and salutation. Mrs. Fishpool wasn't very happy when she reported the error to the charity and is no longer a loyal donor.
The thousands of men named Chris (myself included!) who, thanks to list rental mistakes, receive communications targeted at females. I frequently receive direct mail solicitations to Ms. Chris Kertson for products I do not intend to purchase and magazines that don't quite fit my demographic. These errors, although thought-provoking and sometimes funny, can ultimately be devastating to the results, relationships and ROI of a direct marketing plan. The reality is that these errors can be minimized with proper data management and the right direct marketing partner.

Have you received mailings or emails relating to this topic that our audience would enjoy hearing about?

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Chris Kertson
Direct Mail Consultant

Chris has been in the printing and direct marketing business for the past 20 years. For the past 13 years he has been with CSG DataProse as a direct mail marketing consultant. CSG is the 8th largest mailer in the U.S. …