12 Steps to Integrated Communications Management

Information
A sale, an enquiry, a registration for a prize draw - any of these events and more can provide information. It can come from within the organisation or externally.
Information needs to be accurate, clean and comply with current legislation so you need to apply suppression and data optimisation techniques.

Database
Information must be stored and managed in ways that let you extract actionable meaning from it. That applies to both marketing and transactional information.

Insight
Analysing the data with tools like an Insight Manager analytics platform can provide insights into behaviour and attitudes, driving segmentation, targeting and channel selection.

Strategy
Combining those insights with expertise creates effective strategies across whichever channel (or channels) are most relevant and appropriate. They can be strategies either for marketing communications or operational communications such as billing or statements. By optimising your channel mix you can maximise your campaign response and enjoy significant cost savings.

Creative
Strategy drives creative, which must be appropriate to the channels you choose. An automated trigger marketing management solution can assist with deploying your creative.

Prospects and customers
Internal or external databases or prospect pools designed for your requirements can help you target or source the best customers and prospects for your marketing communications. The operational communications that you send can be used as opportunities to cross-sell and up-sell using transpromotional techniques.

Marketing Resource Management
This stage involves managing outputs both offline and online. It includes aspects of brand management including marketing collateral production, digital asset management, print management and campaign management. A good marketing resource management system can make it easy.

Online channels
This could involve email, mobile, web, contact centre or combinations. Ask : can your bills or statements be presented online allowing for greater tracking of your communication messages?

Offline channels
Print, direct mail, inserts, POS, contact centre, off the page advertising. Ask: could you use your bills or statements as an opportunity for transpromotional communications?

Responses
The whole process generates action from your customers and prospects. You need to ensure that action provides useful data for future campaigns. Collecting responses can be automatic from online or call center interaction or it can be paper-based in addition to integrating with your back office systems.

Fulfilment
Involves storage and distribution, mailing and contact centre.

Business Process Outsourcing
Offsite or in-house back-office solutions for managing customer communications, operational print and in-house communications. Includes statements, bills and compliance campaigns.