When asked about his extensive reliance on metrics and benchmarks in the campaign to reduce crime in New York City, former Mayor Rudy Guiliani explained, "If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it."

Trackable metrics that allow you to measure the effectiveness of strategies and tactics are also necessary for managing your marketing program successfully. First Marketing’s new proprietary program, Next Generation^TM Direct Marketing, can help by providing trackable metrics across multiple communication channels with easy access to online reporting of results.

Next Generation Direct Marketing is an integrated system that utilizes data analytics, psychographics and attitudinal research to drive the creation of personalized consumer sales messages with multichannel delivery and response options, as well as metrics to measure both effectiveness and return on investment. With Next Generation Direct Marketing, you can create and deliver sales messages with maximum relevance for individual customers and know which messages are producing results.

Don’t market in the dark
You’ve researched your target market to know what products or services they want most and what delivery channel is most likely to be effective. You’ve created and distributed a high-impact direct marketing piece. Now what? In most cases, you wait — sometimes for weeks — to find out how successful your promotion will be. However, with today’s technology, results can be measured and reported much more quickly. Response to e-mail and Web-based promotions can be tracked in real time, and online reporting provides up-to-the-minute numbers and feedback on all your marketing channels.

Keep what works — fix what doesn't
Getting timely feedback on the effectiveness of each element of your promotion lets you continually refine and improve your efforts for better results. Testing different messages, delivery channels and response options with small groups of a particular segment of your target audience can help you gauge the effectiveness of your promotion before you spend significant resources. Just be sure to test only one variable at a time, so you'll know exactly what works and what doesn't. With testing and online results reporting, you can change tactics mid-promotion rather than waiting for results to come in when the promotion is complete.

What's next?
Want more information about how Next Generation Direct Marketing can help you measure and manage your marketing success?

Call Glenn Hetzel, President, Bank Marketing, at 800.736.0145 or e-mail ghetzel@first-marketing.com Go online and visit www.nextgenerationdm.com/info to take a virtual tour of the Next Generation program from start to finish