From June to November Xplor hosted 10 XDU On the Road meetings and the topic of Transpromo and multi-media marketing encompassed the discussions.
At a couple meetings we had comments from people that “they were tired of hearing the word Transpromo”. When challenged to come up with a better word, the banter was interesting and fun but the conclusion was “Transpromo” was the best description.
(more…)
Over the last 12-24 months in presentations, articles and blogs I have participated regarding Transpromo I have chimed in about the “relevance” of information, which certainly seems to draw concurrence from those who have responded.
But, Heidi brings up a good point with regards to the “attitude” towards the statement by the recipient based on content and timing. The data within a document sets the attitude whether it be credit card or 401 statement.
If the credit card balance is zero, maybe happiness and time to spend. If the balance is close to the credit line, maybe stress. If payment was late and there are late fees maybe frustration or even anger. 401K goes up or goes down, happiness or frustration.
Even the most sophisticated Transpromo application is relevance based on assumptions. Not emotion, nor state of mind. It would be interesting to quantify different Transpromo ads against the content.
How powerful would it be if we could create a “personal virtual relationship” with customers we most likely will never meet by providing timely, relevant “what’s in it for them” information. Not a “day to day” relationship but one that reflects their interests, hobbies, future plans, from their eyes, not our assumptions. Kind of an ongoing “opt-in” dialogue. A relationship based on trust and boundaries that they establish.
Web and print technology along with trends in human behavior enable this and it will come …. but that will be the next buzzword.
Hint to my cell phone company …. send me a discount coupon for my birthday! (You know when it is.) I need a new phone, mine is two years old. (you know that too). I will be in a good mood. (because I just told you) Don’t tell anyone else. (I don’t want to receive 1,000 emails !)
I have had the opportunity to speak with over 50 companies about the obstacles in Transpromo communications. Some who have implemented Transpromo, others who are considering. Interesting is the fact that there are some common denominators:
A champion — someone who sees the value, understands the opportunty and views it as a “revenue opportunity” as opposed to just a operational savings.
Compelling evidence — as mentioned earlier in the blog, the lack of documented success due in part to people not wanting to lose their competitive edge by sharing too much.
Internal politics — Transpromo is an organizational committment. The larger the organization, the tougher it is to get the support. All of the parties involved within the company must be involved to be successful. Therefore, success is driven tops down.
Assuming there is a champion who gets senior management support a phased plan that outlines objectives, applies metrics and that can effectively take a company from where they are to where they want to be. Important is the “phasing” and not trying to do everything at once.
Many of the issues that have been brought up would be part of the plan … data, marketing messaging, procurement procedures, etc.
Accomplishing items 1-4 — and seeing it through including measurement.
Also found that service bureaus viewed Transpromo as a major opportunity — Some corporations do, but many view as a competitive pressure.
Skip Henk is President/CEO at Xplor International. He can be reached at
