It's easier and cheaper to sell more to current customers than to convert prospects into new customers. None of this is as easy to do as it is to say it. Avenue A thinks it has discovered a better mousetrap when it comes to analyzing data on Web site visitors in ways that can drive more sales. Combining data mining with media planning and buying, the company claims its closed-loop system yields competitive advantages of speed, synchronization and insight. This leads the company to generalize that newbies click more often, and that savvy surfers experience greater delays between message exposure and click-through.
Surfers have finer filters and are more selective in reading and acting upon online messages.
The quest is ultimately to make statistically significant decisions that drive sales. Like all good direct marketers, it tests its way into greatness by making an initial first guess and then continually refining the campaign based on performance. And Avenue A is not afraid of a big challenge. The company placed 20 banners on 100 sites for one client. Like a DRTV manager, Avenue A revises buys daily and weekly.