What’s in store for marketers in 2012?
15/02/2012
Everything is pointing to another tough year in business for all of us. But what are the new challenges and opportunities facing direct marketers specifically in the coming 12 months? The Mail Media Centre asked leading experts from the fields of data, creative, mobile commerce and social media to make their predictions for 2012. Here’s a summary of some of the key changes they expect to see this year...
The war on waste begins
In November 2011, the DMA signed a historic agreement with Defra committing the DM industry to a series of tough targets to cut physical waste over the next three years. The commitment to cutting waste has been set out in a new Voluntary Producer Responsibility deal.
New rules on recycling and consumer opt-outs
By 2014, the DM industry will have to achieve a 25% increase in its’ current use of suppression files and keep to the established direct mail recycling rates. In addition, 40% of all direct mail produced will have to conform to the requirements of a new industry environmental standard that will replace PAS 2020. The first changes the direct marketing industry will notice will be the launch of a new website, scheduled for April 2012, that will bring all the consumer preference services together under one roof.
Unaddressed mail to be covered by opt-out scheme
The DMA will be extending the existing Mailing Preference Service for addressed mail to include the opt-out service for unaddressed mail. The year ahead will no doubt see difficult trading conditions for UK businesses with the environment understandably low on their list of priorities.
The DMA believes embracing these environmental measures should come at no additional cost to business and will be providing its members with the help and guidance they need to do better business.
The cookie is crumbling
New cookie rules, a tough new Data Protection Directive in draft and an enforcement focus on commercial use of data are all certainties for 2012. The industry needs to do more to explain the ‘data value exchange’ to customers who are increasingly sceptical about allowing their data to be used. Permission challenges won’t go away and opt-outs will continue to grow.
The rise and rise of m-commerce
2012 will see the smartphone explosion continue. Over half of the population will have one, and with it we will see a continued increase in m-commerce. 2011 was the year that mobile shopping established itself, with most high street retailers delivering mobile sites. They are already reaping the rewards, with many of them seeing up to 10% of their users purchasing through their phones.
Virtual shops will continue to grow
2012 will also see smartphones challenging the concept of what a shop even is. We have already seen virtual pop-up shops from Tesco in Korea, John Lewis, Net a Porter and eBay. That trend will continue with innovative new ways to engage consumers. Messaging will remain at the heart of mobile and the use of mobile vouchers will continue to grow with new types of these beginning to appear. Near Field Communication (NFC) or contactless will roll out in many handsets in 2012. Besides payment and ticketing, NFC will also be used for offers and vouchers.
Targeted, segmented texting will emerge
For text messaging, brands will need to target the technology according to their user demographic. For instance, to reach teenagers companies will need to find innovative new ways to use Blackberry's messaging system as these handsets are increasingly popular with this age group.
Print catalogues aren't dead
Thanks to online shopping, printed catalogues are coming back in a big way. Retailers are recognising once again the presence and status of a print publication, particularly in a world where anyone can launch a website. They’re seeing that the attention it can attract and the engagement it achieves, are ideal partners to the directness and immediacy of online shopping.
They're getting more personalised
Catalogues will use distinctive paper and design more and more to increase desire and retention. They'll be more personalised, drawing upon online shopping data to make content unique to a customer’s characteristics. Just look at Boden - a brand taking personalisation to new levels with their catalogues.
They're driving shoppers to rich digital content
There will be more use of QR codes, printed alongside catalogue items, to link to explanatory videos, or to take a shopper’s smartphone directly to the point of purchase online. Take a look at Marks & Spencer who are doing increasingly impressive things in the digital catalogue arena.
They're improving their sales per page
The skills developed in catalogue navigation and page layout will be enhanced by tracking purchases, through unique URLs, to discover exactly which pages work, and to refine the creative approach for subsequent issues. These techniques will be partnered with increasing creativity in tactile and visual design, to make catalogues enjoyable for the consumer, effective for marketers and essential for multi-platform retailers.
Customer service goes social
Many companies already realise that social CRM is a low-cost and effective way to engage with customers. Customer service teams specialising in social media will become more popular, especially as companies start to make use of the increasingly sophisticated social media measuring tools to monitor success rates and tweak activity.
Everything will be multichannel
QR has been around for a long time but has grown very slowly, which is why it is already looking fairly old compared to new services like Aurasma and Blippar. With these services, customers can scan over any image or logo and multimedia content will appear on their phones. Meanwhile, on the sales side of things, packaging that includes RFID tracking chips will be making further headway in the coming year.
Mail is still in the mix, but with new ingredients
Marketers will continue to move away from traditional media and will seek to explore social media better. However, they will need to remember that the good old marketing mix is still with us even if the mix has changed. Mail and social media, for instance, work brilliantly together as many government campaigns demonstrate, especially the Change4Life programme.
Brands get responsible
Brands will develop a conscience and increase their green credentials. Cause-related marketing will continue to grow as brands realise that in a world of over-supply, people want to buy into brands before they buy the products. Learning how to acquire and share values will be the name of the game, many brands doing it by supporting a cause.
Investment in people will bring results
This year, the winners will be those who now understand digital technology and are able to create new platforms for their clients rather than just the new campaign messages. In the UK, as always in a time of penny-pinching, training will be the first casualty. Those who do genuinely invest in their people will prosper.
If you’d like to discuss how we can help you can meet these challenges head on, contact David Thacker at Perspektiv on 0115 950 0510.