T H E O F F I C I A L K E S S L E R C R E AT I V E N E W S L E T T E R
Your 2023 marketi ng playbook
@kesslercreative
JAN UARY 2023
VOLUM E 15
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Marketing in Finance & Accounting
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A/B Testing Guide
3 Ways to Improve Your Marketing Strategy
Direct Mail Facts
i n th is issue AN INSIDE SCOOP
by Dina Kessler
To our dedicated clients and friends, happy 2023! With a new year comes new ideas, new goals, and new opportunities to grow together. We couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come and we look forward to another prosperous year with
A M essage from Th e Presi de nt PAGE 2
you by our side! In this issue of Hot Off the Press, we’ll look at marketing trends in finance and accounting, how to complete an A/B test, and ways to improve your marketing in 2023. We hope you enjoy Volume 15 of Hot Off the Press!
HOT OFF TH E PRESS
Marketi ng i n Fi nance & Accounti ng We are fresh into 2023, which means tax season is fast approaching,
I nclude a discount
and all the financial planning and accounting that comes with it. Now
People are flooded with information in today’s world. So, how do
makes for the perfect time to enhance your direct marketing strategy if you are in one of these industries to gain more clients for the season.
What to Prioritize •
Utilizing Variable Data
•
Including a Discount
•
Big Data
Variable data
you cut through the noise and get your message across effectively? A discount might be the perfect way to stand out amongst the competition. Do a little research and see what others are offering, and then take it a step further.
Big Data Data is what drives business decisions in the modern world. It’s everywhere, and accessing it is easier than ever with so much data available. Whether collecting first-party data or using a third-party
Variable data printing can personalize each individual postcard sent
provider, targeting the appropriate audience is possible with data.
out, depending on your goal for the campaign. Consider using
Data allows you to see what is working and gives you insights into
variable data printing to include recipients’ names on direct mail
the behavior of both current and prospective clients. If you want to
pieces. This adds a personal touch to your marketing efforts and has
stand out, use data to your advantage.
a larger impact on potential customers. In a mailbox filled with bills and ads, it’s important to make your mail piece stand out.
JAN UARY 2023
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A/B testi ng gui de A/B testing compares two versions of something to figure out which performs better. This testing method helps marketers with questions like, “What is most likely to make people visit my website? Or buy our product?” It’s used to evaluate everything from website design to email blast headlines. In A/B testing, A refers to the ‘control’ or the initial testing variable. B refers to the ‘variation’ or new version of the testing variable. This type of test lets you collect information about changes to your website and the impact of those changes.
How it Works In an A/B test example, you take a direct mail piece and modify it to create a second version, this time with a different look or offer. This change can be as simple as a single headline, coupon, or a complete redesign of the piece. Then, half of your audience receives the original version of the mailer (known as the control), and half sees the newly edited version of your mail (the variation). As recipients are given either the control or variation, their actions are measured to help you determine whether changing the elements had a positive, negative, or neutral effect on visitor behavior.
Why you should A/B test A/B testing allows you to make changes to existing content while gaining insight into how they impact your audience’s behavior. More than just answering a one-off question or settling a disagreement, A/B testing can be used to continually improve a given experience or meet a single goal, such as conversion rate over time.
A/B Testi ng Gui de The following is an A/B testing framework you can use to start running tests: •
Identify your control variable As you evaluate your direct mail campaigns, you might find a few variables you want to test. But to evaluate how effective a change is, you’ll want to isolate a single variable and measure its performance.
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Create variations Make the desired changes to an element of your mail piece. This might be changing the color, design, or swapping the offer. Run experiment: Kick off your experiment and wait for visitors to participate!
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Track the Results After creating variations and kicking off your experiment, you’ll want to track the performance of your A/B Test. One of the easiest ways to track the responses of each variation is through a unique phone number on each mail piece.
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Analyze results Once your experiment is complete, it’s time to analyze the results. The data, in the form of responses you collect show you the difference between how the two versions performed and whether there is a significant difference in engagement from your audience.
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HOT OFF TH E PRESS
3 Ways to i m prove your marketi ng strategy for 2023 To help you kick 2023 off with a bang, we’ve identified a few tactics to boost your marketing strategy. Explore Vi deo Video-based content has become a necessity when it comes
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to building your strategy. With the right concept and a touch of creativity, your video marketing strategy can do more than just support your audience’s awareness of your brand. It can educate your audience and guide them through the critical stages of their journey.
Hype r-Pe rsonalize Com m un ications With so many brand messages flooding customer inboxes and smartphones, it’s no wonder marketers are having a hard
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time connecting with audiences. Personalization emphasizes tailoring messages to specific individuals or segments of buyers. It uses real-time data and insights to deliver highly relevant messaging and offers, shifting away from a traditional one-size-fits-all approach.
I ncorporate N ew M e diums Marketing and promotion can take place on a variety of mediums or platforms. The traditional mediums include print, radio, television, direct mail, and telephone while digital mediums include email, social media, pay-per-click marketing, search engine marketing, and mobile marketing. If you’re focusing solely on social media marketing, try exploring direct mail tactics and vice versa. By incorporating
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more than one medium, you’ll add additional touchpoints to your strategy and connect with your audience more effectively. If you find that one medium works better than another, you can readjust your strategy to fit your audience’s preferences. PAGE 5
Vi deo Marketi ng 101 There’s no doubt about it - video has taken a big piece of the marketing pie in the last few years. Although video marketing has been around almost as long as our favorite social media channels, many businesses are still not familiar with how to put it to use. From your website, emails, and social media, you can use video in almost all your marketing channels. But that doesn’t mean you should go overboard and add videos to every piece of customer communication. Here are some ideas for how to use online videos in your marketing activities:
Product de monstration vi deos With 84% of people saying they’ve been convinced to make a purchase based on a brand’s video, it’s clear video marketing is the future with product demo videos being a no-brainer.
Q&A with a prospective custom e r or cli e nt Customer testimonial videos that add authenticity to your marketing efforts. A case study video is a piece of persuasive content that businesses use to illustrate the value of their products or services by telling real customer success stories.
"M e et th e team" vi deo ‘Meet the Team’ videos are great windows into your organization and help your audience get to know your brand better. Your clients want to see the passionate people behind the products they love to buy. Putting your employees in the spotlight will further humanize your brand and relate more to your customers.
Be h i n d-th e-sce n es tour vi deo Who doesn’t want a peak behind the curtain? By providing some behind-the-scenes content, you can tap into people’s curiosity and give your audience a sense of authenticity associated with your brand. Record the makings of a campaign or the making of your product.
Com pany Culture Vi deo Promoting a happy and healthy work environment will make your company more trustworthy, not just as a business to invest in, but also as a business to grow and learn from.
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HOT OFF TH E PRESS
Data Analytics 101 Companies of all sizes and industries are turning to analytics to make informed decisions not only for marketing but also for all other areas of business. If you want to get the most out of your hard-earned dollars, your strongest ally should be data. Why? Approximately 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are generated daily, meaning there is plenty of information to help identify trends and patterns in any given market that drive modern business decisions. Data clarifies what the market desires and what direction it’s headed. Let’s dive into data analytics for your business:
What are data analytics? Data analytics deals with the collection, organization, and interpretation of Big Data to extract insights that lead to action ultimately benefiting your business.
Ste ps i nvolve d i n data analytics There are 4 main steps: collection, processing, analysis, and interpretation. Data gets collected either through your CRM database, Google Analytics or similar software, or a thirdparty provider. That data then gets processed by cleaning unstructured data making it easy to analyze and group. After the data is cleaned, the analysis begins so the data is understood, and conclusions can be arrived at. Lastly, data gets interpreted. This final process involves the review of data to arrive at informed conclusions.
Now let’s go over some benefits data offers: Long-te rm decision maki ng The biggest benefit of utilizing data is better long-term decision-making when deciding what to put your money towards. Over time, the collection and analysis of data enable companies to create predictive models that are much more accurate than a simple knowledge hunch.
Pe rsonalize th e expe ri e nce Data gets collected from multiple channels including e-commerce, physical purchase sales, and marketing such as social media and email which allows companies to get to know their audiences better. More specifically, data gives companies valuable consumer behavior insights. This consumer data gives you the ability to personalize your offerings with products and deals tailored toward what they are already interested in. Personalizing the consumer journey has worked wonders for many companies, will you be next to reap the rewards?
De live ry of re levant products an d se rvices No matter how great your products or services are, there will inevitably be a change in consumer demands and needs you must adapt to over time. There are countless examples of businesses that no longer exist because they could not adapt to a changing market. Consumer and market data can tell you the direction it’s headed, allowing you to change direction and sell products and services that have demand in the future. JAN UARY 2023
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E m ploye e spotlight Kessle r Core Value:
Accountabi lity This month, we are highlighting those within our organization that embody our Accountability core value by taking ownership of their craft and their part in the job process.
12276 San Jose Blvd, Ste 111 Jacksonville, FL 32223
A huge thanks to Amanda, Darren and Ashley for showcasing your accountability every day! Amanda Medeiros
Ashley Tapanes
Darren Peterson
Di rect Mai l Facts • Direct mail has an average engagement rate of 95% and is interacted with at least 4 times at home (MarketReach) • 70% of people were driven toward an online activity by direct mail, with 35% making a purchase as a result (MarketReach) • Direct mail advertising is currently valued at 9.8 billion dollars in the U.S. (IBISWorld) • 66% of millennials bring marketing mail into retail stores (USPS) • 68% of Gen-Xers used coupons they received in the mail (Vericast Consumer Intel Report)