ENEWS > SPRING 2007 > YOUR BUSINESS POWERED BY ACT!

YOUR BUSINESS POWERED BY ACT!
USING ACT! IN A DRIP MARKETING CAMPAIGN - READ IT AND REAP

Everyone who’s ever tried their hand at gardening knows that too little water will cause the plants to whither and die but, too much water can kill your plants as well. Farmers have figured out that the most effective way to ensure a healthy garden is to deliver a steady, consistent drip of water to each individual plant using a process called “drip-irrigation.”

You can apply this same concept to marketing communication. Think about your business and your contacts as a garden that requires ongoing care and attention, in measured doses, over time.

“Drip marketing” is a direct marketing strategy that involves sending multiple personalized communications to a subset of customers and prospects. The idea of drip marketing is to maintain mindshare among your customers so that even if they aren’t going to purchase immediately,when they do need a product or service you provide, your company’s name is the first one that comes to mind. Most marketing experts advise that you contact your prospects and customers at least once every month.

Plan of action
The first step for a successful drip marketing campaign is to plan it out in advance. This can help ensure you stay on track and achieve a balance of communication frequency and content.

Step 1 – Identify and Categorize your Target Market
One great way to segment your contacts in ACT! is by using groups. (ACT! Tip: See the section on Creating and Managing Groups.) For example, you may have one group for customers who purchase a specific product or service and another group for prospects who are looking for products or services you sell. Each group will require a different set of marketing communications that makes sense for them.

Step 2 – Develop a Drip Marketing Strategy
Develop a marketing strategy and budget that includes a communication to your customers and prospects every month. You can use the ACT! activity feature to place a recurring monthly activity on your ACT! calendar to keep you on track month to month. (ACT! Tip: To schedule an Activity Series, choose Schedule, Activity Series, choose the activity series from the drop-down list, select the Anchor Date, and click Schedule to activate.) Be sure to associate the activity with a group you created in Step 1 so, you’ll remember which list of contacts you want to communicated with.  Different methods of drip marketing communication could include:

• Personalized e-mail containing an interesting article
• Personalized letter with a special offer 
• E-mail Newsletter
• Sales brochure
• Product Catalog
• Follow-up phone call

Note: To improve recognition, be sure to create a consistent look-and-feel to everything sent to your contacts by developing your logo, slogan, and company colors.  Use those elements in every communication.

Step 3 – Execute your plan
Use the ACT! Word Processor or Microsoft® Word to create ACT! letter and e-mail mail merge templates for your drip marketing strategy. Track the history of these communications to your contacts. (ACT! Tip: You can edit pre-formatted templates in ACT! by choosing Write, Edit Template. Or check out one of many solutions for e-mail and direct mail marketing offered by our add-on partners at www.act.com/products/solutions/.) When performing the mail merge, use the groups you created in Step 1 to identify the contacts that will receive the communication.

Creating and implementing a drip marketing plan is a low-cost effective method to keep your name in front of the customers and prospects you serve, increasing the chances that they’ll call you when they need a product or service you offer.  This method will help ensure a healthy and bountiful harvest, year after year, for your business.

Brandon Balsley
Product Management, ACT!
Sage Software, Small Business Division