Should you be working with your clients to create multichannel campaigns? A recent study by PFL in partnership with Demand Metric says yes; don't put all your eggs in one basket. On average, the study found that campaigns that use between four and six distribution channels in marketing saw the best response rates among 77% of participants. Not only did multichannel campaigns result in stellar response rates for most participants, 50% also noted good return on investment.

Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket; Use Multichannel Campaigns

But what distribution channels in marketing should your clients be using during their next wave of multichannel campaigns? That depends on who they’re attempting to target.

Choosing a Target Audience

PFL found that the most targeted audience among their survey respondents were members of the c‑suite, or executives. Again, don't put all your eggs in one basket. The most effective distribution channels in marketing combination for c‑suite targeting multichannel campaigns includes direct mail (75% of respondents agree that this medium reaches the target audience well), events such as webinars and virtual events (71%) and email (56%). When using this media mix, advertisers should invest in messages that are triggered based on the target audience’s specific needs within a target account, agree 42% of respondents. This method proved to be the most effective when seeking responses from members of the c‑suite.

Another commonly-​targeted audience is the end user (the consumer who is actually going to be using your client’s product or service instead of purchasing it for someone else in their company). With end users, events such as webinars and virtual events proved to be the most effective method of outreach during multichannel campaigns, agreed 81% of respondents. This was followed by content syndication (79%) and direct mail (77%). Also, unlike when targeting the c‑suite, the most effective outreach to end users proved to be sending frequent messages on a regular basis (for example, daily, weekly or monthly, based on the particular company’s data).

Direct Mail

No matter which type of audience PFL’s respondents were trying to target with their multichannel campaigns, direct mail never dropped below a 59% effectiveness rate. According to 84% of respondents, direct mail improves ad campaign effectiveness. However, even when it comes to a specific type of media, don't put all your eggs in one basket. The most popular types of direct mail pieces used by the companies in PFL’s study include postcards (57%), letters (51%), dimensional or not flat (39%) and oversized postcards (35%). Around one third of participants also believe that direct mail’s effectiveness is continuing to grow year after year. Want to know how effective direct mail ads/​coupons have been on your client’s target audience recently? Check out their AudienceSCAN profile on AdMall by SalesFuel.

Return on Investment Success Factors

No matter which mix of media your client decides to utilize in future multichannel campaigns, there are a few factors that need to be addressed in order to assure the campaign’s success. The most important success factors for these types of campaigns include:

• Data accuracy: 73%
• Understanding/​addressing to audience’s needs: 70%
• Design and branding of the message: 58%
• Coordination between each channel used: 49%
• Personalization: 48%

A multichannel campaign with a high return on investment is just a phone call away from your client. What are you waiting for? Go!