Beep! You Have (Direct) Mail.

• Author: Gama, Michael
• Position: Brief Article

Figuring out how to effectively integrate direct mail and online marketing is no easy job.

Here are lessons learned from one campaign.

How much do we have to pay to keep from going through all these things twice?" I doubt Bob Dylan, '60s singer/songwriter, had bank marketing in mind when he wrote these lyrics. Nor was the anonymous author of this epigram: "The more things change, the more they remain the same."

Even so, both truisms have a lot of meaning if you're today's typical bank marketer whose list of challenges includes: having too little time, too few resources, tough competition and the need to chose from a seemingly infinite number of strategies.

Sound familiar? If so, you're not alone, and you might wish to add to your list: "How do I integrate online marketing with my traditional marketing and communications strategy?" Already there? I thought so!

Many bank-marketing professionals have asked me the same questions.

* How should I integrate the Internet into our overall communications plans?

* How do I integrate my direct mail with e-mail?

* Which technologies should we use?

* Is now a good time to move forward?

* Should we wait until the dot-com dust settles and then decide?"

I'll try to answer these question, but, first, a little background. Let's admit that we Americans love our technology. And for good reason. For instance--for those of us old enough to remember it--witnessing Neil Armstrong step tentatively onto the moon's surface was pretty cool.

And while there may be times when we harbor slight misgivings about technology, nonetheless, our "default" generally goes something like this: "If there's a problem, technology can fix it!"

On the downside--and lunar footprints not withstanding--our faith in technology, has also yielded mixed results. DDT as a "cure" against all sorts of pestilence? Sure, but the resultant widespread pollution is frightening. Or how about the comical early '60s predictions as to how the "modern" kitchens of the late 20th Century would look--with robots doing the heavy lifting, and the typical human workweek imploding to a measly 30 hours! Does this sound like your workweek?

Now, back to Dylan and your job as the harried bank marketer. So, your bank has recognized the need to integrate online marketing into its overall strategy? That's great! But now you need to beware the seduction of repeating the all-too-common mistake of simply throwing technology at a problem and expecting a magical "fix." The result of this mistake (at worst) could...