8020Info Capsule - Permission Marketing

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Permission Marketing

Permission marketing involves a long-term, interactive marketing campaign in which customers and prospects are rewarded in some way for paying attention to increasingly relevant messages sent by a company. Unlike the interruption marketing we are familiar with from television, radio and newspaper advertising, in permission marketing the consumer is offered an opportunity to volunteer to be marketed to.

"Dating" Your Customer

Permission marketing can be effective for small companies as well as large. A good way to think about permission marketing is as if you were dating a customer or prospect. It begins by offering the prospect an incentive to volunteer. After attention is gained, you teach the consumer over time about your product or service. Next, you need to reinforce the incentive to guarantee that the prospect maintains the permission and later offer additional incentives to get even more permission from the consumer. Finally, over time, you must leverage the permission to change the consumer behaviour towards profits.

In some cases, the initial incentive may be a prize. In other cases, it may simply be information that prospects or customers covet, such as a newsletter or notification of upgrades or accessories.

Ideal for the Internet

The Internet spawned permission marketing because of the ease of transmitting messages and the cost advantages of e-mail. But it's not a necessity. Permission marketing campaigns can be conducted online or offline. It's vital, however, to avoid spam, or unsolicited bulk e-mail. Ideally, the person should know what will be coming – it should be anticipated – and also have the opportunity to leave the list of recipients at any time. That's why the e-mail version of permission marketing is sometimes called opt-in e-mail.

Five Levels of Permission

There are five levels of permission marketing. As you move up the permission ladder, trust and profits grow.

At the top of the ladder is intravenous: The company can make buying decisions on behalf of the consumer, such as water suppliers who have permission to being in new jugs for office coolers. In purchase on approval, the most common form of this approach, a second level of authorization is required before the customer is actually billed, such as the book store that calls to say your favourite author has a new release.
In the points permission level, attention and interest is maintained through a points system, be it for an airline, railway, or coffee shop with its card that is stamped on every purchase.
In the personal relationship model, the relationship developed between a businessperson and his or her client opens the door to discussions about further sales, such as a dry cleaner that has your permission to recommend a new service it has introduced.
In brand trust, brands take advantage of the trust they have built -- and the permission it has engendered -- to offer new products, or brand extensions.
Finally, in what is called the situation level, permission arises out of the situation, such as the person at the fast food counter who asks: "Do you want fries with that?"

Consumer in Control

Permission is selfish: the marketer is not in control; the consumer is – and that consumer primarily cares about how you can help him or her. Permission can be cancelled at any time. It's also vital to remember that permission is a process, not a moment.

It's a Process

As a process, permission marketing takes the normal steps for planning and executing a program. You need to develop a strategy and objectives, and then develop tactics – a plan – for achieving your goal. That will include figuring out targets, the bait to get people interested in your program, the frequency of contact and the tone of your messages.

Throughout the process, since this is permission marketing, your communications must include a fairly-easy-to-find message advising how the recipient can stop receiving any more messages in your campaign. And it's also vital to freshen up stale permission periodically, checking in to ensure the recipient is still interested and how you can make the program even more satisfying.

If you would like more information or assistance with permission marketing for your organization, please contact us.