It’s a personalised world, and according to a recent DMA study more than 42% of interested direct mail recipients prefer to respond online.This diagram best describes how an integrated campaign works.

In this scenario, customer communication begins by direct mail such as a letter, postcard, message on a statement or other transactional document. Through this communication, the marketer is presenting an offer or a call to action. The pitch should be to interest the recipient to buy something or provide information. It could be of an educational nature or an invitation to an event.

Typically, personalised URL is embedded in the communication. A personalised URL is a web address that usually includes the recipient’s name (www.johnsmith.domain.com) in the example above.

This personalised URL or web address takes the recipient to a personalised web microsite related to the offer or call to action included in the original piece. It often begins with a welcome and a personalised survey page. The purpose of the survey page can be to validate existing customer information and /or seek additional information about the recipient with a goal of making future communications even more customised and personalised.

This technique also links the print campaign to the web, where responses can be monitored and tracked in real time, In addition, it allows the marketer to take immediate action once a recipient responds. For example, exiting the personalised microsite might generate an automatic thank-you email or follow-on direct mailer. It can also spawn an email alert to a sales representative or call center, allowing them to respond immediately to the recipient’s interest in the call to action with a phone call, email or visit. Finally , any new information generated as a result of this transaction – including the fact of a response and any new information or data acquired about the recipient – can be folded back into the customer database to help in the marketer’s effort to build a 360-degree view of each individual customer.

Finally, an effective integrated marketing platform will provide the marketer with a customisable dashboard that allows response tracking, success measurements based on predefined metrics, and the ability to modify and refine campaigns based on results that are being achieved.