The term “multichannel” is tossed around in direct response as a casual new buzzword that everyone claims to provide. However, there’s a difference between using multiple channels and truly having an integrated multichannel approach. The strength of a true multichannel approach is in the results that add up to more than just a sum of the various elements.

While you work with partners on different aspects of a campaign—creative, media, response/order take and fulfillment—you need to focus on the complete picture (and work with partners who allow you to do that!). Many marketers stick with what they know works and use traditional metrics to evaluate success. As media is expensive, it is understandable why that’s the case.

But, what happens when your customer sees that spot on TV and decides to purchase via mobile phone or web days after the airing? What about the customer who saw the ad, visited the site and did not buy? Or, what about the client who did not see the spot, but is a potential buyer because of his or her past history? Unless you have a plan to catch all of these opportunities you may not be using a big enough net—and you may not have the data you need to make decisions about how effective the media truly was. Take the multichannel integration test!

Consistency and Coordination
· Do you coordinate advertising events so all channels launch with the same message at the same time?

· Are changes to your DRTV offer or creative simultaneously reflected in online and mobile activities?

Analysis and Media ROI
· Do you view key metrics for all channels together to assess the full impact of your media, as well as the contribution from each channel?

· Do you know how buying patterns differ for customer purchasing via phone, online and mobile (upsell take rates, cross-sell success, etc.)?

· Can you identify how customers who purchase via the phone differ from those who purchase online or through mobile channels?

Revenue Opportunities
· Do you include a call-in option with online and mobile activities? (For example: We see lift of 10-30 percent in online conversion when we allow visitors the option to place orders by phone.)

· Do you tailor upsells to channel?

If you’re not answering YES to the above, you’re leaving sales on the table for someone else to pick up. So get a bigger net to capture ALL the sales generated by your advertising activities!

Mike Ferzacca is CEO of Advanced Interactive Sciences

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After talking with clients and mobile advertising firms over the past year, I wasn’t surprised to see that, in addition to its mobile website, Amazon will now offer a more interactive buying experience. In the new TextBuyIt program, customers text Amazon (262966) with the item name, UPC or ISBN code of a product they want to buy and Amazon replies with product information and prices.

What really caught my eye about Amazon’s new program is the method used for order completion—a phone call. While mobile is all the buzz, the challenge for direct marketers has been how to translate that buzz into real sales activity. Amazon’s approach is similar to one AIS uses with its mobile marketing partners and clients, which blends the ease of the mobile’s “click to call” with our IVR platform to allow prospective customers to complete their transaction quickly and easily via a phone call. (Please note that mobile Click-to-Call is NOT the same as online CTC.)

Research shows that customers are already using mobile as a way to respond to ads they see on TV and that number is growing. For certain age groups, mobile texting far surpasses traditional phone and e-mail as the primary method of communication. But when prospective customers try to buy, they are often directed back to the online website or to a mobile website transferred directly over from an online site, with little consideration to the size limitations of the mobile screen. And almost always, there’s no clear and easy way to buy.

Amazon’s introduction of a phone component to its mobile offering and feedback we’ve received indicate that the nascent mobile e-commerce component is still a work in progress. That’s where the direct response industry can take the lead—bringing clarity and years of acquisition experience—to help mobile marketing deliver sales, not just buzz. With higher click-through rates than online and a captive audience, mobile has great potential to capture customers at the moment they want to buy.

Mike Ferzacca is CEO of Advanced Interactive Sciences

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