DIRECT MAIL MARKETING: A primer for personalized URLs
by Joan Romph
November 17, 2012
Here's a quick, basic overview of
personalized URLs, how they work, and how to apply them to your marketing
initiatives.
To start, a
personalized URL (PURL) is a unique web-based microsite or landing page that
will help support any type of marketing campaign. I will focus mainly on how
you can use PURLs in a direct mail capacity to increase response rates while
exchanging information with your customers in a very targeted manner.
Any type of
personalization on a mailer is an eye-catching feature. Add to that
personalization in the form of a URL to cater to the recipient’s ego. He/she
will want to visit their URL to see what is waiting for them. (“Wow—my name is
on this URL—it must be a special offer just for me!”) Plus, since casino guests
usually talk to each other, PURL campaigns have the potential to spread by
word-of-mouth. (“Hey, did you get that cool free buffet offer from Winning
Casino?”) Also, studies show that over 40 percent of direct mail recipients
prefer to respond online—personalized URLs provide an appealing response
option.
Here is an example:
Let’s say you need information from your customers. You want to know what they
think about a new section of slot machines you just installed or you want their
thoughts on a new restaurant. You want to conduct an online survey, but need to
ensure solid participation.
The solution—you can
send out a postcard with a PURL to each recipient in your database. You can
automatically generate a PURL for each name in your database—simply create the
name of the URL and insert recipient’s name somewhere within that URL name. The
front of your postcard in this example might say “FREE BUFFET OFFER! Just click
on your personalized URL at www.JohnSmith.WinningCasinoFREEOffer.com!” So the
hook is the free buffet.
Once the guest goes to
their URL, what they do at that point is entirely up to you. In this case, the
survey customer’s URL leads them to a landing page that contains 10 questions.
Once they answer all 10 questions, they’re directed to a FREE BUFFET voucher
page that they can print and bring in. Or you can e-mail them a voucher once
answers are submitted.
The customer’s data
would be collected and stored in a custom personal URL database for your
campaign. On the back end, you would receive an e-mail alert notifying you
every time someone filled out the online information and the contents of what
they filled out—along with their information. This can be provided to you in a
report format as well.
Another example of how
to use a PURL campaign: perhaps you have a large database, but you are lacking
in e-mail addresses. By having more e-mail addresses, you can start sending
e-blasts or making your current e-mail campaigns more effective by reaching a
larger audience. Use a PURL campaign to obtain e-mail addresses. Send target
customers postcards featuring on the front side a “free” offer redeemable just
by going to a personalized URL. Once
they arrive at their landing pages, they’ll have to provide their e-mail
addresses in order to move on to the next page, which would be the offer.
Also, you could run
this same campaign over and over again—start with a large audience, then every
week or month send it to the non-responders from the previous mailing period.
And you can even incorporate PURLs into referral and prospecting campaigns.
Keep filling the funnel when it comes to adding new patrons to your database.
To recap:
With a PURL campaign, your team will…
• Integrate personalized
URLs with current marketing collateral/tools such as direct mail or e-blasts.
• Create strategies to
reach each customer group.
• Have a plan in place
to follow-up with each “lead” or “response.”
With a PURL campaign, your team will know…
• Who responded and how
they responded.
With a PURL campaign, your team can…
• Send a follow-up
email or call when a guest opens/clicks.
• Trigger a
personalized mail or e-mail offer when someone clicks a link/selects a
particular answer to a survey question.
• Trigger a reminder
e-mail message if someone hasn’t visited their personalized URL in a certain
number of days.
The options are endless
when it comes to incorporating PURL campaigns into your overall marketing
strategy. At the end of the day, it’s all about increasing response rates and
engaging your audience and PURLs are a great tool to have in your marketing
arsenal.
Joan Romph
joan@paragonpress.net
is
director of casino marketing services for Paragon Press, a Shreveport,
La.-based provider of printing, direct mail and design services. She has 15
years of experience as a marketer in the gaming industry, working for operators
such as Caesars Entertainment and Horseshoe, and three years working in the
printing industry. She can be reached at joan@paragonpress.net.
Did you enjoy this article? Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
