The Transpromo Train : Getting the Most Out of Your Ticket
To some in the industry, transpromo (the marriage of transactional print and proactive marketing) has been around for a long time (we just never called it by a special name) and others believe it is the 'Googlization of Print' on the cusp of a new frontier. But regardless of which view you take, transpromo is here to stay. Therefore, it’s time to start looking at its challenges and turn them into successes. Joining me at AIIM/On Demand 2008 for a roundtable discussion on the topic were Noel Ward, WhatTheyThink.com; Mike Zeis, Blackstone Research; Stephen Poe, Crawford Technologies; Allison Lloyd, Document Magazine; Kemal Carr, Madison Advisors and Pete Basiliere, Gartner. Our dialogue provided great insight into how companies can not only utilize transpromo communications, but do it in a way that really resonates with their target audience. Here’s what we found:
Enterprises appear to lack a holistic document strategy approach to all of their mission critical customer communications. They think of customer communications as an obligation. The fact is, customer communications are and should be viewed as, an important opportunity that deserves a strategic plan and execution. Here are some strategies to help you embrace this trend.
• C-Suite Support – With all of the silos (Marketing, Sales, Operations, Customer Service, Legal, etc) you will need someone at the executive level to sponsor the initiative. This sponsor also needs to be an agent of change. A well connected executive willing to accept the old tried and true way is not going to breakdown the barriers that exist within companies to get this initiative moving.
• Educate – Every department needs to know what the benefits of transpromo can be. Put them in business terms that excites the CFO, the CMO, the LOB VP - increased response rates and conversion rates, decreased overall costs, and improved customer loyalty.
• Cross Functional Teams - Because transpromo crosses so many responsibilities, the core team needs to be cross-functional. Having this done solely by Operations or solely by Marketing will result in failure. A good cross-functional team is essential.
• Set Realistic Goals - Don't shoot for the stars to start out. Set aside pilot applications, offers, and execute in limited scale. Upon successful execution and measurement, then migrate to a broader application and continue to build on past experiences and learnings.
To hear more from our AIIM roundtable discussion, click here. To learn more about customer communications and engineering them for success, visit my Thought Leadership website.
Paul J. Lundy
Managing Director
Xerox Global Services