Smart marketing

'E-mail, SMS and social media are basically excellent platforms for direct marketing campaigns. But the marketer who haphazardly sends thousands of e-mails is quickly branded a spammer. Fortunately, it can also be done smarter, more personal and better targeted,' says Ardan Bousché, one of the founders of e-mail marketing agency Oddly.nl in Amsterdam.

Information funnel
Oddly.nl has devised a system through which recipients receive personalised messages via e-mail, SMS or social media in all cases; entirely tailored to their situation and interests. The basis is formed by a huge 'information funnel', a self-learning database containing thousands of personal profiles of customers and prospects. These profiles are continuously updated. Basically on the basis of completed online forms, but also by recording how people respond to e-mails and which pages of which websites they are currently visiting. Thus, the profiles become increasingly detailed. In some cases up to 400 characteristics per person.

Better conversion
Bousché is enthusiastic about the first results achieved for some large organisations in the Netherlands. 'But we are only at the beginning. I predict that within a few years, no marketer will have to shoot with hail. Because just imagine how much you gain if you know exactly what is currently on your customers' minds. Take the holiday market.

For example, people who want to go to America and travel around in a camper van, or everyone who is going to Spain by car. In one case, you can then send information about motorhome rentals, airline tickets and insurance. In the other case, you can send out a mailing about alcohol testers that are mandatory to have on board in France. This way, of course, you get a much better conversion rate.'

Fewer opt-outs
An additional advantage is that recipients appreciate the mailings better because they address exactly the topics that people find important at that moment. The sender can count on more interaction and fewer opt-outs. The system is user-friendly and fully automated. When people have indicated that they belong to a certain profile, marketing actions are started automatically. And if there are several profiles, the system automatically chooses the one that generates the highest yield.