Using Triggered Marketing to Boost Your ROI

A marketers' ability to immediately respond to a customer's behavior can be the difference between revenue generation and missed opportunities. Here's three tips to make micro-targeted, high ROI trigger programs a bigger, more profitable portion of your marketing budget.

1. Build an engaging preference center.
A preference center addresses two issues: demonstrating value and easing customers' concerns about their data. A preference center gives customers control over the data they provide, and in some cases enables them to "tune" the use of behavioral response data.

When it comes to preference center data, honesty is the best policy. Don't be afraid to tell customers what the information is for and how you plan to use it. Customers are more concerned than ever about privacy and the security of their information online—but, they also want relevant marketing and with a little work will understand they need to share information in order to get it.

2. Establish a loyalty program.
Loyalty programs are the most tangible example to consumers of their data being put to honest, constructive and beneficial use. Through them, retailers can build an emotional connection between the consumer and the brand, which acts a strong motivational factor when it comes to long-term behavior and loyalty.

There are a vast array of loyalty program tactics you can implement in order to sustain and even improve these pivotal relationships, including reward points, customer service reminders, and members-only specials. The key is strengthening the emotional connection through concurrent and right-message-at-the-right-time email communications.

3. Take a break from selling.
Rather than always pushing your products and services, consider using customer data to illustrate just how much you care. For example, create messages that follow up on a recent product purchase or service and ask for the consumer's feedback, or offer additional information that might help them make the most of a recent product purchase. Apple is a master of this practice, providing a series of messages to recent iPad purchasers expressly for the purpose of ensuring they are taking advantage of all the features and benefits these products have to offer. It helps to continue the customer experience.

Many online travel companies also make good use of these kinds of messages, following up travel bookings with a series of emails containing weather updates, tourist attraction information, tips on what to pack and other helpful travel information. This content transcends the normal vendor relationship and puts a warm and friendly face on the brand providing it.

Phil Hussey is president of 89 Degrees.