DCA Spring Conference

*Retailer only session – 1 per company – pre-booking essential

Ofcom has set out evidence that suggests the universal service needs to change to better align with the needs of consumers and to ensure it can continue to be affordable and sustainable into the future. They have identified that challenge to sustainability comes from the current obligations on letter delivery and have suggested that it is likely that changes which would materially impact on the current financial challenges are likely to be either reducing the frequency of household letter deliveries or options that mean that the large majority of letters to be delivered over a longer time frame to allow greater operational flexibility. This is a call for input without any detailed proposals for change at this stage but Ofcom is seeking input from all interested parties so there can be an informed public debate on how the specification should be modernised for the future.

There are many issues which will be openly discussed in this DCA forum.

*N.B. Places are limited to one delegate per client-side company so that no single company can dominate the conversation. We can potentially waitlist truly relevant suppliers should there be the capacity for them in the room – but again, it will need to be on a one-delegate per-company basis. Any suppliers wishing to get their views heard will be expected to name one or more of the retailer clients they work for if/when they are asked to introduce themselves prior to making a comment.

Join this session, which will combine a review of relevant industry trends as more UK businesses seek to expand into new international markets. Hear how a client that Neural Edge has been supporting has expanded its business overseas and consider if it is now time to seriously review your international aspirations.

With much change to embrace and a constant stream of new solutions and approaches to consider, the lives of the digital team, and those who depend on the digital team to deliver results, have never been more fraught.  In this overview, Jason will discuss some of the issues that are arising for most online and multichannel businesses in this tougher and more competitive trading environment. It is suggested by recent research that customer retention should be re-prioritised with personalisation a key element in this.  It is also a time for understanding, empathising and embracing wider consumer concerns about privacy and data security, as well as to generally improving the quality of all customer communication to provide clarity that builds greater brand trust. In this session, we’ll look at:

• What happens after cookies? What do we need to be doing?
• How can we better personalise our customer communications whilst fully observing privacy legislation?
• What are the best customer acquisition media channels to use?
• How can we be certain that the reporting we receive from our agencies is accurate?
• Where does/should social channels fit in our digital marketing mix?
• How can we leverage user generated content?
• What can be achieved by smaller businesses with lower budgets?

Whilst Jason cannot promise to answer all of your questions here and now, what he can do is provide clarity across a number of these burning issues and in a further session later in the programme, will cover the rise and impact of AI.

Continued

• Customer reviews: not all are equal and here’s how to out & oust the fakes
  • What truly works to reinforce & communicate brand strengths
  • What you can do to stand out in a crowded competitive market
  • Where does social fit and can it deliver for you
  • Why price alone is never the best customer acquisition tool
  • Is your digital ad budget achieving promised ROAS
  • How can we be certain of our digital agency’s reporting?

*Retailer only session – 1 per company – pre-booking essential

*N.B. Places are limited to one delegate per client-side company so that no single company can dominate the conversation. We can potentially waitlist truly relevant suppliers should there be the capacity for them in the room – but again, it will need to be on a one-delegate per-company basis. Any suppliers wishing to get their views heard will be expected to name one or more of the retailer clients they work for if/when they are asked to introduce themselves prior to making a comment.

The average piece of direct mail is looked at for 108 seconds over a month (Source: JICMAIL). And high engagement mailings such as catalogues are achieving over 5 minutes of attention. With that much consumer time available to your mailing, it is critical that you plan, target and craft your mailing to be seen and engaged with. Marketreach has scoured its library of over 500 mail case studies to look for attention grabbing ideas and strategies that have delivered powerful results because they grab, hold and make use of the attention they receive and deserve.

Where are our budgets best invested in the coming months? What is working, and where are we struggling? Are AOVs from our loyal customers holding up? Are we seeing more ‘one-off’ purchasing by our new customers? Without giving the entire game away, our panel will discuss what they have been doing to retain good customers through thick & thin & what they plan to do more of. Whether it is testing new demographics, developing new CRM programmes, forging new partnerships, or testing new media. How do they plan on holding their own as we begin to migrate from extremely difficult trading conditions to a slightly improved retail environment.

Live interview

In this insightful session, hear how Graham Winn is leading a major turnaround of online beauty products specialist allbeauty and integrating its stable mate Fragrance Direct. His vision for the brands and how it is coming to fruition. The challenges and the obstacles, the wins to date and the work in progress.

There are countless uses of AI – some of which are sufficient to confound all of us. But amidst this, there are some truly remarkable developments making inroads into our operations. In this session, our panel will offer up and discuss some of the applications which are already delivering positive ROI in the USA and closer to home. Naturally, there are negatives and potential pitfalls, too, which they will alert you to.

As the final piece in the jigsaw, our customers’ parcel delivery experience reflects back on us. We all need to ensure that we are alert to any delivery issues – whether that be falling service levels experienced by our customers or mass media reports on the performance of a specific carrier. Consumers are less willing to accept a single carrier/service option, with many abandoning baskets when they see the option is a carrier they mistrust. In this session, Andy will share his insights on what retailers can do to shore up their parcel delivery experience.

Because email is perceived to be:  a) easy (simple) and b) low cost (cheap), many businesses are simply not giving it the focus they could and should.

In this quick-fire session, US email copy and content pro Jay Schwedelson will share a treasure trove of tips, ideas and examples that will get you the best open rates ever. All whilst reinforcing your brand values and generating positive responses whilst reducing opt-outs. This is a session not to miss.

If you’ve been intrigued by any of the material covered today or would like to meet any of our speakers in person, then many of them will be around to see you. We’ll also have more information on how you can make a formal contribution to the Ofcom/Royal Mail study, suggest potential sessions or speakers for future DCA events, renew your membership or join the DCA.