Sometimes, you just don't have the time to devise an elaboratemarketing campaign: a dramatic current event shakes up the worldeconomy, the Fed makes a snap decision to adjust its interestrates, or a competitor unveils a new financial product thatrequires a quick response.

How do you go about creating a quick-start marketing campaign?The following are a pair of key strategies that will get yourmessage to the right people – simply and quickly.

Find the One Attribute

Our first strategy is powerful precisely because it's so simple:with one-attribute marketing, you identify the attribute thatseparates those who acquire a product from those who don't, andselect your target pool accordingly.

For example, say a financial institution determines thatindividuals with $2,500 or more in credit card debt are five timesas likely to take out a particular type of loan. Once the $2,500threshold has been identified as the critical parameter increasingthe loan's attractiveness, the FI can then easily target itsproduct marketing to the pool of prospects that meet thatrequirement.

An added benefit of the one-attribute strategy is that it canalso be applied to future data, something that is not the case withmore complicated models that rely on more variables. Withone-attribute marketing, simplicity truly is a virtue.

Choose an Effective Channel

When time is of the essence, you may only have one chance toreach your potential customer. When you have to deploy quickly,it's critical to use the channel that is the most effective forreaching your target. Let's look at the effectiveness of thevarious channels.

In the age of hyper-electronic communication, it's amazing thatdirect mail is still the most effective marketing channel. With ahit ratio of about 95%, the advantage of direct mail is itscoverage. The disadvantage, of course, is the time lag – a mailinggenerally takes from three to 14 days to reach its intendedrecipient. And if mailings are only sent out, say, once a month,marketers cannot respond to quick changes in the market or currentevents.

Email can be a highly effective channel if your account holderhas indicated it to be their preference. It arrives instantly andwith the ability to include graphics, links, and interactivefeatures. However, while over 60% of the direct mail population hasemail addresses, only 20% of them can actually be reached. Manyconsumers have chosen to block third-party emails, which may, moreoften than not, wind up in a spam folder or the trash bin.

For many years, telemarketing was the crown jewel of directmarketing. Then, with the advent of cell phones and “Do Not Call”lists, telemarketing's reachability plummeted from 80% to 18%. Thebest use for telemarketing is as a follow-up tool.

As the customer has already had contact with you, they do nottend to perceive the call as invasive. The only time telemarketingis recommended for a first contact is when you are certain that thecustomer is actively shopping. As they are close to pulling thetrigger, you don't have the luxury of sending a direct mailing,which takes days to arrive, or an email that might getre-routed.

Strike a Balance

A final note on choosing a channel. Even though you are tryingto get your message out fast, that is not an excuse for ignoringyour consumers needs. If your prospect put his or her home numberon the “Do Not Call” list, for example, it makes sense not to calltheir cell phone, either. Respect consumer wishes and don›t lettime be a reason to ignore customer-centric marketingprinciples.

While these two strategies are very effective when resources ortime are a concern, we are not advocating that you jettison themore sophisticated marketing models that bring multiple selectioncriteria into play.

Even with quick-start campaigns, you can incorporate your moresophisticated models after the fact, providing more finely honedresults when you redeploy. This combination of action andadjustment, responsiveness and precision, will pay dividends foryour financial institution over the long run.

Kesna Lawrence is SVP-client strategy at Datamyx. He can bereached at 561-405-4402 or [email protected].