Simple Solutions for Building Dealership Email Lists

Presented by: Doug McCrea – CBG, Board of Directors AcquireWeb, Inc.

Lisa Cull – Product Manager of Reynolds and Reynolds

Moderated by: Mike Bowers – Executive Editor, DealersEdge

Douglas P. McCrea - Board of Directors, AcquireWeb, Inc.

Douglas McCrea is a marketing industry veteran and a direct marketing expert. With more than 25 years of direct marketing experience, he has developed and managed multiple online and offline media lead and sales direct marketing programs for such companies as Citicorp., Dun & Bradstreet, Southwestern Bell, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, The Associated Press, Jiffy Lube, Sears, the state of Maryland, and many others.

Doug has been instrumental in developing many new products and services, including the “Free Credit Report” offer and data subscription programs. Over the past two and a half decades, Doug was the chief marketing officer for two direct marketing companies, Credit Card Service Bureau and Credentials Services International, founded and served as president of a large national direct marketing agency, MacDantz Direct, and founded and was president of NeuristicsCorporation, an artificial intelligence-based predictive modeling company.

Doug has served as a frequent speaker at events hosted by the Direct Marketing Association, and has presented seminars at such premier educational establishments as Johns Hopkins University and University of Maryland. He is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia.

Introductions• Doug McCrea – CBG AcquireWeb, Inc.

(www.acquiremarketingservices.com),a leader in multi-channel marketing data – recognized for creating high-value customer connections. Doug can be reached at doug@acquireweb.com.

• Lisa Cull – Product Manager for e-Mail Append and Name File Services with Reynolds and Reynolds (www.reyrey.com), the leading provider of automobile dealership software, services, and forms that help dealerships improve business results. Lisa can be reached at Lisa_Cull@reyrey.com

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Some Fun• The first person to answer each question at

the end of this presentation gets…

• A prize…

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What you’ll learn today• Reality…real concerns• How to reach customers on a more timely and

accurate basis using effective e-mail marketing.• The importance of data quality and high value

customer connections.• New technology to accurately match existing

customer postal addresses with up-to-date e-mail records.

• How to calculate the value of online data.• Creative approaches to developing better

relationships with customers and prospects.5

We’ll will try not to do this to you….

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What are you really concerned about?• Is it communication with prospects and

customers?• Is it making sure your data are clean, accurate

or even up-to-date?• Or is it something else?

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How are you doing today?• Does the owner or your manager ask you …

– How are the data today?– How is the computer doing?– How’s your laptop?

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Do you know?They might be asking…• How many e-mails went out?• How many direct mail pieces went out?They will be asking…• How many ups did we have today?• How many leads did we get from online

sources?• How many leads from our mailings?• And the number one question….

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How many sales have we made today?

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Cost effective ways to reach more customers

• Lots of ways to get to a sale…• You know this, your owner or manager knows

this, and …• Data can help you get you there with

– Proper management – And use

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Let’s start with the basics• Data are supporting your marketing and sales

efforts and…• When your marketing message is delivered to

the right target, you can:– Strengthen your brand– Reinforce your message– Boost sales– Avoid marketing waste

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Be careful!• Direct communications can both Strengthen

or damage your brand.• Proper or improper

– Targeting– Messaging

• How about the direct mail pieces you receive at home for dating services and you’re Married?...– That’s damage!

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The Basics• Reinforce your message with

– Proper targeting– Good Creative– And good clean offers

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The BasicsBoost your sales

• Manage to your audience preferences• Know your audience• Avoid the “cry wolf” syndrome

– Too much too often• Understand frequency by individual

– How often you should communicate by:– Understanding your opt-out patterns and reasons– Responses

• If they fall off…you may be mailing too much– Complaints…a major effect of too much too often

• Less is more when testing– Twice a month unless tests show otherwise

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The Basics• Avoid marketing waste

– Proper targeting– Know who you are trying to reach– Have the ability to segment your audience

• Right message, creative, offer to the right audience– Use the segmentation tools

• Don’t just mail/e-mail everyone• UNDERSTAND IF YOUR AUDIENCE PREFERS TO

RECEIVE COMMUNICATION VIA E-MAIL, MAIL, PHONE…CRITICAL

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Traditional approaches• Data enables:

Traditional and direct communications to perform at a higher level …– Over 100 years ago John Wanamaker said “ Half the money

I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.”

• Are we doing any better today?• Are we replacing TV, Print, Radio, Newspaper?• The answers:

– Yes and No• Complimenting, helping measure and targeting with data• Data have a much larger role today

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Data driven solutions

• Where do we start with the data?...

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Data quality is King• Implementing a sound data hygiene strategy can:

– Help your sales strategy and reduce your acquisition costs– Create loyalty

• The only thing we can count on is change…– E-mail addresses change about 30% per year– Postal addresses change about 15% per year

• Securing and verifying correct e-mail and postal addresses for customers can be an overwhelming task for dealership personnel due to:– Costs

• Minimums– Dealership resources

• Lack of automation• Personnel to initiate and manage process 19

Managing change

• Work with a reputable Dealer Management System (DMS) provider or CRM company that:

• Provides the added data cleansing and updating service– Consider automating the process

Specific example of process later in presentation20

Why append data?• Increase the value of your house lists• Maximize response rates• Personalize your communication efforts• Reduce expenses• Reconnect with your valuable customers

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Permission & Privacy Matter

• Make sure that your data are compliant with state and national laws.• The privacy policy should be easily viewable during the registration

process.• Make sure that you (or your supplier) suppress your opt-out list prior to

deployment, and can automate opt-out throughout the course of the campaign.

• Fully traceable location and date of the opt-in should be recorded to establish where/when your customer gave initial permission.

• Make sure you have a double opt-in• 3rd party sources compliance paramount

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Go the extra mile with permissionRe-permission Periodically with an Opt-Out E-mail

Confirms deliverability

Reduces potential complaints

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Avoid e-mail append pitfalls• Make sure that your supplier appends e-mail addresses using algorithms

that identify the primary e-mail address.• The data should also be updated frequently with proven compilation

methods. – How often do your providers update their data?

• Make sure there is sufficient volume to work with. • Make sure your provider is “real”. Do your due diligence• Make sure the data you receive are permissioned in.• Make sure you have a recourse if the data are not deliverable.

Credit/refund• Cheap is not necessarily accurate or valuable• Accurate-Permissioned-Deliverable are the key components• And is your supplier providing data hygiene services that keep you safe?

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Why use e-mail marketing?• In 2009 the Direct Marketing

Association* reported, "...an investment of $1 in direct marketing advertising expenditures is predicted to return, on average, $11.65 in incremental revenue.“

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Dealership advertising expendituresNADA - by medium

1998 2008 And Now?TV 16.8% 18.8%Radio 15.2% 15.3%Newspaper 52% 23.2%Other 16.6% 15.1%Direct Mail NO stats 10.2%Internet NO stats 17.2%Source: NADA Data 2009

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Dealership ad dollars(average of all dealerships)

• Estimated advertising expenses per dealership, by # of new units sold (Source: NADA Industry Analysis Division)3– Newspapers, $79,615– Radio, $52,361– TV, $64,090– Direct Mail, $34,899– Internet, $58,677 <We all know what the pattern is.– Other, $51,643– TOTAL $341,285

• Total advertising as a % of total sales: 1.19%• Total advertising per new vehicle sold: $653

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Looks like you will be asked to do a lot more!

• Be prepared to lead and take off…• Or your competitor will…

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Audience survey• What % or your advertising budget is allocated

to internet advertising?1. 10%-15%2. 15%-20%3. 20%-25%4. 25%-30%5. 30% or greater

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How can you improve the process to improve your sales figures?

• Data and the use of data from a marketing standpoint.

• The “Devil is in the DETAILS”• Big ideas are easy…details make programs

work.

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What is the real value of your data?

• Does your direct mail package all of a sudden appear and go to the right prospects or customers

• Or does your e-mail program just go out in a mysterious way from you to your target

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Details create value• You want to reach your target customers and prospects via:

phone, e-mail and direct mail with personal messages and offers.– Sales and service opportunities

• What can happen without proper data hygiene and updating?– You can annoy your customers and prospects by calling, e-mailing or

direct mailing them when they have said they do not want to hear from you that way.

– even worse if they are on the DNC list and you do not have a relationship with them you have big problems…up to $16,000 per violation!

– Brand damage and loss of customers

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The More Work Each Channel Can Do… The Better

Reduces CostsIncreases Opportunities And

Efficiencies33

• If data, E-mail, and online communications do a lot of heavy lifting you can expect:– Costs savings – Increased efficiencies in other more expensive direct

media and approaches.• E-mail• Direct mail• Phone• In-person sales

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So…how can data hygiene and data appending contribute?

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Direct Mail Savings

Unit Package Cost $ 0.50 Annual # of Mailings 4File size 35,000Estimated Annual Append % 25%Estimated Annual Appended Records 8750Estimated Annual Savings $ 17,500.00 Estimated 2 year Savings $ 35,000.00 Incremental sales

12 months Number Sales 624 months Number of Sales 12Value of Sale $3,000 12 month Incremental Revenue $18,000 24 month Incremental Revenue $36,000 Incremental Service

12 Month Number of Service 12 24 Month Number of Service 24Value of Service $250.00 12 Month Incremental Revenue $300024 Month Incremental Revenue $6,000.00

Total Savings and Sales Estimate $ 77,000.00

Value For Auto DealersSales/Service and Savings Benefits

Direct Mail Savings-Incremental Sales-Incremental Service

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Questions?

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We may not agree on the specific value of your data but I’m sure we

agree..

It is of great value!

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Now what about specific data and data issues?

How to identify them and make the data work for you…

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The Data

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Data issuesand getting the

most out of this resource

• Data integrity:• Is your data really clean?• Do you CASS certify your data? How

often?• NCOA. How often?• Follow the best practice

recommendations using online data?41

Data issues and integrityNo one or company is perfect• Pristine files are very rare• Common data issues:

• Commercial mixed with residential data• Inaccurate records• Obsolete v. current active data points:

– Last 12 months? 12-24 months? Over 24 months? – Deceased

• Record all communications and actions:– E-mail, mail, phone in-person, survey, updating with

demographics, etc?Creates accuracy and value 42

Online and e-mail data issues and integrity

• E-mail: • Updated

– Delivery: what percentage? And where? Inbox or?– Are you having ISP issues?– Delivery rate under 85%...that’s a no no…………….

• Bounced– Soft: Other than hard bounce reasons…user over quota, filter

set at certain locations and restrictions; business or personal– Hard: Bad address or has been flagged as such and the ISP’s

will not deliver• Complaints of useRecommendation: Record all variables

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So…what will help you get to better data?

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Reynolds and Reynolds E-mail Append Solution

• Updated e-mail addresses automatically populate the name file in the Reynolds and Reynolds ERA® System and synchronize seamlessly with Contact Management, a customer relationship management tool for the ERA DMS.

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Flow Chart

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Data hygiene and appending (report example)

AppendCumulative

AppendCurrent Month

Hygiene Cumulative

Dealer Name # Rec'd

Total New Emails To Append

New Emails %

To Append

New Emails % To hyg Failed

New Emails eCOA % Passed match

Pass del'd %

Dealer 43,547 4,994 32,988 4,876 14.78% 33,528 552 1.65% 15,759 1,311 118 9.00% 14,448 1,623 1,154 71.10%

Total E-mails New and ECOA

With e-mail address

Less bad records andwith out e-mail address

Less bad records andwith out e-mail address

Safe , verified and permissioned in deliverable E-mails: 3611 Total

85% MinimumSafe ,verified and permissioned in deliverable

e-mail addresses: 511247

Questions?

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Advantages of using a reputable provider• Ability to:

– Search hundreds of millions of deliverable e-mail addresses– Provide technology to match your file with primary email addresses.

• Provide Opt-out /do-not –mail screens • Provide automated queried technology that queries the customers for

opt-in or opt-out of e-mail communications from the dealership.• Provide and work with ALL of your customer/prospect records.

– Automatically update current e-mail addresses – Provide any "Do Not E-mail" privacy flags on the records.

• Keeps you safe and creates value for you….see next slide

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Keys to success• The right names and valid contact info are critical for quality

connections.• Append

– ECOA – NCOA– Proper hygiene

• Manage e-mail change of address• Value of timely data.

• Don’t overlook permission and privacy.• Frequency counts.• Test: A/B splits • Make sure to measure what’s important:

– New customers– Sales

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Properly managed data creates additional value

• Clean and accurate data provide a chance to communicate with your customers and prospects more effectively and more profitably– Message-offers-creative

• Segment your files and approaches to achieve desired results:– 30 year old mother of two: creative in female related copy and art. Very

family and kids.• Try sending that to an 18 year old football player and see what kind of

response you get… ☺– 18 year old male: maybe a skateboard picture in the creative– 60 year old man ready to retire: maybe pictures of laying on the beach in

Florida

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You will also understand the value of your prospects and customers.

• Data enables you to:– Understand the acquisition costs at your desired

levels– Understand the value of your customers and

prospects– Understand the lifetime value of your customers

• Enables you to:– Forecast more accurately – Budget more accurately

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Now what?• OK…now you have the data in place and

– We understand the value of the data– It’s accurate and deliverable

• Are your responsibilities and budgets increasing? Are you now expected to deliver more?

• If so, you may have to show your value.

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Some unique and creative ways of measuring results more accurately

• Match-back analysis• E-mail creative

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Data driven programsCan you get more control of your programs?

– How much should they be allocating to data driven and online programs v. other types of media?

• Justification and value: – Measurement

• Survey• Direct tracking methods: phone, walk-ins, etc

• How do you really measure the effect of your programs?

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Surveys, redemption or is there a better way?

• Tracking and measuring results from most media forms is a difficult task at best.

• Inaccurate:– Have you ever asked someone where they saw your ad

and they said “on TV” and you didn’t run any TV ads. That is common place and creates false impressions and information

• Knowing what influences or moves your audience to action (lead or Sale) is the key to controlling budgets and programs as well as properly allocating budgets to the appropriate media forms.

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A new way of measuring the effectiveness of your DATA Driven

Programs… Match-Back

80 Incremental Sales

20,000 Marketed 20,000 Control

90 New Sales 10 New Sales

100,000 Universe

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Questions?

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E-Mail example

• Evaluating specific e-mail creative

• What else is important to get results?

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Creative Example

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1 e-mail1 e-mail1 e-mail1 e-mail1 e-mail1 e-mail

So…what else is important?Back to The Basics..

• Data hygiene and accuracy• Frequency• Offers• Creative

• And of course the constant attention to details and your data to guide you to success.

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What else is important?

Frequency• You would not run one

• Radio or TV Spot• Prospects and customers are:

• “In consideration” and “in market” buying stages at different times

Not just when we want to sell them

Offers and Creative• Multiple offers

– Test• Creative

– Test

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Retailer's Acquisition Email Open %

0.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

10.00%

12.00%

14.00%

1 2 3 4 5

Frequency

Ope

n %

Retailer's Acquisition Email Click %

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

1 2 3 4 5

Frequency

Clic

k %

Opens & clicks show frequency works(4 campaigns tracked over time)

Compared to direct mail it does not have the same curve!

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10 critical elements1. Appreciate the purpose of data: Increases Sales and Customer Loyalty2. Always manage your data integrity – Update, Standardize, Cleanse data,

and be Compliant!3. Seek reliable sources of data4. Obtain clean data frequently

– Automate your systems to acquire “just in time data”5. Monitor reporting related to the data you receive frequently6. Design tests properly and use A/B splits7. Use reputable providers or consultants8. Optimize your frequency of contact based on objective results9. Test using your e-mail to drive direct mail response rates up10. Understand customer value and lifetime value

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Resources1. Direct Marketing Association (October 2009) – DMA's

“Power of Direct Marketing” Report Finds Direct Marketing Ad Expenditures Climb to Over 54%.

2. Advertising Expenditures, by Medium (2008) – NADA Data 2009: Economic Impact of America’s New-Car and New-Truck Dealers, A Dealership and Industry Review.

3. Estimated Advertising Expenses Per Dealership (2008) –NADA Data 2009: Economic Impact of America’s New-Car and New-Truck Dealers, A Dealership and Industry Review.

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