TIPS FROM DMA’S NET.MARKETING CONFERENCE

After three info-packed days at the Direct Marketing Association’s Spring Conference in New York on March 9-11, I came away with the following tips, advice and insights to share with you from the sessions I attended.

1. IBM sends out abstracts of articles via e-mail to their customers; the full text can be found on the web site.
2. Time Vista, a site for small business owners, allows visitors to post messages at their site. Since many people do not remember where they posted what, Time sends reminders. In addition, when someone replies to a posting, an e-mail responder (automated reply) is sent to the original poster to lure him or her back to the web site.
3. Time Vista also created a Business Person of the Month Award. People are asked to submit their best business tips. This increases user participation and also provides fresh content to the web site.
4. The best e-mail lists are developed by opt-in relationships. Photodisc, a digital photo library company, offered a free image for demographic information supplied by respondents.
5. Hammacher-Schlemmer designed a contest that had people set up their wish lists of what they would buy from the site for items up to $300. The winner would be granted his wish list. This tactic made users comb through the site and articulate their choices. Hundreds of people entered the contest.
6. Hammacher-Schlemmer also learned that it’s easier to offer additional items during the ordering process than after the sale. The system on the web site suggests other products to the customer based on what he or she orders.
7. 1-800-FLOWERS has people sign up for gift reminders that are sent by e-mail five days before the specified occasion. The company found that customers who requested reminders spent $10 $15 a month more than shoppers who were not prompted. Overall, 1-800- FLOWERS finds that online shoppers have a 20% higher lifetime value than shoppers reached by direct mail.