May 5 Cinco de Mayo…funny my last post was March 26^th and I was on my way to Mexico.  It took me a month to catch up and find the time to blog again.  Now that I am ready to roll I look at the calendar and would you believe it is Cinco de Mayo.  Hmmm…. I apologize for the side bar ranting but the irony did cross my mind and I felt like sharing.  (If I had planned better I would have decided to blog about the Compass Hispanic Owned Businesses – seems a little too obvious now but if you want to check it out browse our data solutions page at www.cmsdm.com)

After I awoke from my Mexico slumber and unburied my desk from being gone I noticed a funny thing happening.  It appears, ever so slightly, that the economy may in fact be starting to turn around.  I say this with caution and yes I did knock on wood as well as spit on the ground (which wards off curses).   Once all cylinders of the economy are moving there will be an influx of marketing again and the need for data will increase – all good news.  But what the last few years have done is leave a wake of businesses that have closed their doors.   Compass has a way to help marketers remove these businesses from their list of potential customers.

A business closes its doors every 3 minutes and a business moves locations every 5 minutes. Businesses move and change their addresses every day. As marketers it can be difficult to keep up. Compass now offers a solution for removing businesses that will not or cannot respond. The Compass Out of Business Suppression process can flag businesses that have closed their doors making your marketing efforts more targeted and improving your results. Compass Marketing, along with our data partners, have been compiling business data for over twenty years. Our databases are updated monthly resulting in approximately 1-2 million businesses being removed through phone verification/disconnects, opt-outs, verified closings and non-deliverable business records.

The Compass Out of Business Suppression file contains business dropped from our file for the following reasons: Phone disconnects – which make up approximately 70% of the suppressions file, move no forwards, opt-outs/please remove me from your database, vacant NCOA code returns, etc. Through the verification process Compass drops/suppresses approximately 1-2 million records a month. These dropped records make up our business suppression file.

Want more info…call or email us!

Happy Cinco de Mayo! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSazsX9EOCM

Financial Institutions Losing Revenue by Not Capitalizing on Mobile Marketing, Javelin Reports

March 17, 2010 — In 2009, wireless companies, retailers and ISPs took the lead in marketing directly to consumers through their cell phones while financial institutions lost ground.  In a new report issued this week, Javelin Strategy & Research states that financial institutions are losing revenue opportunities due to their lack of mobile marketing and advertising to a captive and willing audience.

“Our study found that mobile bankers are open to receiving mobile marketing and that twice as many mobile bankers received mobile marketing messages compared to all consumers with mobile phones.  Mobile bankers are also 25 percent more likely than typical consumers to take action on a mobile marketing or advertising message.  Financial institutions need to get on board and reach out to on-the-go, technology-savvy consumers,” said James Van Dyke, President and Founder.

According to the 2010 Mobile Marketing and Advertising report, only 23 percent of consumers have received mobile marketing in the past 90 days.  The report defines and gives examples of mobile marketing and advertising and advises financial institutions how to introduce a mobile marketing program.

The Javelin report also defines which consumers act on mobile messaging and how they respond, characterizes the mobile marketing ecosystem, identifies the effects of location-based marketing, and gives insight into mobile purchasing behaviors.

Key Report Findings - 2010 Mobile Marketing and Advertising

• A huge market exists for mobile marketing and advertising because 86 percent of U.S.  adults – 172 million in 2009 and growing – own a mobile phone.
• Mobile bankers are more open to receiving mobile messages, are three times more likely to make a mobile purchase and spend more on each mobile purchase than consumers in general.
• Younger consumers are more likely to make mobile purchases, but 75 percent of those 65 years and older are highly unlikely to take action on a mobile marketing message.
• Mobile marketing campaigns experience higher conversion rates than traditional campaigns because mobile messages encourage immediate action and interactivity.
• While text messaging is the most common form of mobile marketing, the growing use of smartphones with unlimited data plans opens the door for multimedia marketing such as banner ads, MMS, interactive videos, and location-based social media and games.

"Financial institutions can be most effective with mobile marketing when they make it part of an overall multi-channel marketing campaign.” said Mark Schwanhausser, Senior Analyst “By correlating spending patterns with mobile numbers, they can then personalize offers to individuals.  Banks and credit unions must focus on how they can best position themselves to adjust their marketing efforts to this new medium.”

About Javelin Strategy & Research

Javelin provides superior direction on key facts and forces that materially determine the success of customer-facing financial services, payments and security initiatives.  Our advantages are rigorous process, independent position, and expert people.  For more information about this or other Javelin reports, please visit www.javelinstrategy.com/research.

-Michelle Brown

Partner

Teamwork is important regardless of the organization. And although “team” does mean a group of people working toward the same goal it is important to stress that every individual’s role is crucial and important.  If one person decides to leave because the encore has gone too long the team suffers and so does the product. 

At some point I should make this blog relevant to Compass Marketing…so here is my point:  Compass Marketing is a team of strong, dedicated members who take pride in the work they do and are committed to playing until the house lights come up.    

Being a client of Compass Marketing is the ultimate fan experience because we bring you on stage and make you a member of the band.   Working together we find the right solutions to meet your marketing goals and expectations.   Contact us for tour dates!

-Michelle Brown

Partner

The process doctors follow to diagnose a patient’s illness isn’t much different than the steps all of us should go through when assisting our clients with their data needs.  There are five questions we should always ask when working with clients regardless of the size and scope of the project.  

1. What is the client trying to achieve OR what is the offer?
2. Who is the client’s target audience?
3. Is the campaign local, regional, or national?
4. Does the campaign consist of direct mail, telemarketing or email?
5. What has worked/not worked for the client in the past?

These questions may seem obvious but I am amazed how often they are not asked.  The only way to provide treatment, or in this case, a recommendation is to conduct a “client history”.  Clients will self diagnose and come to you with what they believe they need.  In some cases they will be right on and other times you will offer a solution they had not thought of.  The more you know the more you can offer.

A missing piece of the puzzle could cause a misdiagnosis leading to an unsuccessful campaign.  

-Michelle Brown

Partner

Your receptionist has just returned from her chiropractor and he has informed her that her office chair is causing pain in her lower lumbar region.  The only fix is an orthopedic approved chair.   Okay – how hard can it be to buy a new chair?  It ends up being fairly difficult because you buy three different chairs and not one of them quite fits the bill.  In order to obtain the perfect chair your receptionist’s chiropractor makes an office visit armed with a list of acceptable options.   Very nice of him…who knew chiropractors made office calls?  

Off you go to the local office supply store to buy the ergonomic chair of all ergonomic chairs.  The folks at the store are more than helpful.  The chair is in stock and assembled!   You move to the checkout line and the cashier pulls up a computer screen. Before you can say hello she launches into a litany of questions.  “What is your company’s standardized classification code?”  “Huh?” you respond.  Without pause she asks, “Who is the decision maker for your IT needs?”  “IT needs?” you ask.  “How many employees do you currently employ?”  “Listen, I just want to buy this chair,” you reply.  “What is your annual sales volume?”  The door is just a few feet away and you really need to get this chair back to the office.  An employee with a painful lower lumbar can be, well a pain in the lower lumbar.  The blood is rushing to your head and you respond, “You are asking questions I do not believe are any of your business.  Are you going to tell me I cannot buy the chair if my sales volume is not to your liking?”   The questions keep coming until you cannot take it anymore.  You throw the money on the counter, strap yourself into the chair and roll with lightening speed to your car without looking back.

Can you imagine if this were the way companies determined the make up of their customer base? 

Determining who your customers are can be a difficult task if all you know about them are their company name and address.  But this is an important task and one worth taking on.  Your current customer database is an asset you should be utilizing to increase and improve your marketing efforts.  The good news is you do not have to be the nosey cashier.  Compass has done all of the work for you and we can tell you what you need to know through a business data append. 

Compass can provide you with a complete customer profile highlighting the “sweet” spots within your client base.   Where do your clients come from?  How large are the companies who buy your products and services?  Do they have hundreds of employees or a handful of employees?  All of these questions and more are answered with a Compass business profile and they teach you how to make the most of your marketing efforts.

Contact us today for a complete listing of available elements and pricing options.  We promise it will be easier than finding the perfect ergonomic chair!

-Michelle Brown

Partner

Out of the cold and darkness, every four years, arises a savior.  The Winter Olympics! Hosted by our friends to the North the 2010 Winter Olympics began on Friday, February 12^th.   Ice Hockey will be able to ease me through the withdrawals I’m sure to experience from my lack of football viewing. Snowboarding is just cool and I’ll admit I do enjoy figure skating on occasion.  And who doesn’t get into cheering on athletes from their home country? 

Vancouver is going to be a wonderful host city.  It is picturesque and the Canadian people are in my experience one of the nicest groups of people on the planet.  How do I know this you ask?  Compass has been compiling Canadian data for over five years.  During this time we have come to know our neighbors north of the border pretty well.  Compiling 12 million consumers and almost 2 million businesses will teach you a thing or two about the population you are focusing your efforts on.

 If you are lucky enough to attend the Olympics here are a few tidbits you should know about Vancouver.   You would think a host city for the Winter Olympics must be cold and snowy.  But the weather in Vancouver is mild year round.  Highs are in the 70s during the summers and mid 40s during the winter.  It rarely snows with the exception of the local ski hills.  Language will not be a barrier for you.  The Federal government departments provide services in English and French, but most of the population speaks English as either a first or second language.  The population for the great Vancouver area is 2.1 million with a wide variety of culturally diverse neighborhoods. 

While you are in Vancouver don’t forget to send your friends back home post-cards featuring one of their gorgeous scenic views.  Favorites include False Creek, Stanley Park, English Bay Beach or Lighthouse Park.  Keep in mind the Canada Post is anticipating increased security and road restrictions, which may affect the delivery of mail to the and from the greater Vancouver area during the Olympics.  Even the Canada Post has embraced the Olympic spirit despite their fear of delivery delays.  They have issued Olympic themed stamps that are pretty cool. 

All of this talk about Vancouver is making me think…. watching sporting events in person is always MORE fun than on TV anyway.  Is anyone up for taking off to the great white north, eh?  

-Michelle Brown

Partner

I think it is fair to say our first year can be compared to a baby’s first year.  I’m not implying we spent our first year sucking our fingers or finding our belly buttons – although I’m pretty sure some of us did.  But from the start we were eager to explore our new data world and explore other data worlds around us.  Our sensory capabilities provided us with a clear distinction in our vision.  The vision – to create quality data products applicable to not just creating lists but creating content.  Content that could work in concert with new and exciting marketing strategies and technologies.   The sky was the limit!  Then the realization hit us that we first had to learn how to crawl, then pull ourselves upright on the couch and finally after many boo boos walk.  The first year was exciting and at times the boo boos were painful. 

Years 2-3 our vocabulary increased and stuttering, short sentences soon followed.  Compass increased its product offering (The Pre Mover File was mastered in our second year), added experienced staff, and branched out beyond domestic products to Canada.  We made many new friends at the data playground and even lived through a bully or two.  Compass showed pride and pleasure in our new accomplishments much like an actual 3 year old. At the end of our toddler phase we grew into a company that began self-evaluation and developed the skills to determine what was good data, bad data, attractive data, etc.  We learned to focus on core data products and stopped trying to be the “data provider to the stars”.  Our business file in particular soared during this time of self –evaluation.  According to the baby book we did have a temper tantrum or two…but all indications reflect we made it through the terrible twos without any lingering trauma.

Before we knew it we were well into our 4^th year.  Compass began to compare itself to others and asked why to all of the universes unknowns.  Why, why, why?  Why are business emails such a hot commodity and how can we compile them?  Why does Canada change thousands of postal codes on a yearly basis?  How can we continue to grow and expand?   With the answers we outgrew our shoes and it was time again to expand our staff and product offering.  Compass added sources, new compilation methodologies and began diversifying our client base.  

Compass is ready to blow out five candles and we are excited about the new adventures we will encounter in our new big boy and girl school.  Our backpacks are filled to the brim with new school supplies, a water bottle and a snack for nourishment.  We are on our way to learning new lessons and applying those new lessons to the world of data!  Hope to see you on the playground!

-Michelle Brown

Partner

Check back later for new posts from Compass. 

You can also subscribe to the RSS feed and keep up to date with Compass.