News
 Mind
the Gaps
Happy New Year! With 2008 budgets in place and sales
goals set, Pat Friesen, president of Pat Friesen &
Co., recommends eight retooling ideas designed to
increase response and strengthen customer
relationships, whether you use direct mail to sell
direct, generate leads, or drive Web site or retail
store traffic.
How many times have we all heard the dreaded
comment, “We tried that before, and it didn’t work”?
However, that doesn’t mean it won’t work now and
won’t be a breakthrough in 2008.
Caution: Don’t try something just because it’s new
or clever or your printing salesperson says it’s a
great idea. Always have a strategically sound reason
for what you do and test against your control to
confirm. With this in mind, here are eight retooling
ideas to consider in the New Year:
1. Prospect within your house list. It never ceases
to amaze me how many organizations do not have
systematic referral programs. Customer-referred
prospects convert at a higher rate with a higher
average order than most first-time “triers.”
Referral programs are a must for B-to-B, B-to-C, and
nonprofit mailers. If you don’t have one, put this
on your to-do list for 2008. Along the same line,
it’s also cheaper to reactivate inactive customers
than to prospect for new ones. And how about those
leads that didn’t convert? Test formats, offers, and
benefit messages to see what it takes to turn them
into customers.
2. Never send a mailing that doesn’t ask for a
response. This is a key difference between direct
marketers and those who “do mailings.” Direct
marketers ask for and expect a response. My favorite
example is an insurance company that does an annual
mailing disclosing the company’s privacy policy.
True to form for many insurance mailings, this one
looks so boring and impersonal that there’s no
reason to read it. Yet, the company spends money on
postage to mail it. If I were on its marketing
staff, I’d find a way to include an eye-catching
insert—one that engages readership and generates
policyholder involvement by requesting opinions,
referrals, or something else that creates a dialogue
and produces response.
3. Check out pe.usps.com. This USPS Web site is a
great time-saver for uncovering USPS information
about mail piece addressing, design, ZIP codes, zone
charts, and more. For example, you can click on the
“Mailpiece Design” link to access contact
information for mail piece design analysts in your
area.
4. Stand out in the stack. Direct mail always has
been visual, tactile, and three-dimensional; now
it’s constantly morphing and changing as a result of
new technology and new applications for existing
technology. Consider testing:
• Translucent vellum outers—with sleeves or
traditional envelopes—to showcase the contents of
your mailing. These are carriers that double the
“wow” power.
• Postcards with a built-in retention piece such as
a credit card-thick postcard with a pop-out gift
card. It’s unique, tactilely appealing, and
encourages retention.
• Cloth envelopes are a standout in even the tallest
stack of mail. It’s a carrier that begs to be opened
and reused.
• Credibly handwritten fonts are particularly
appropriate when used on greeting cards or other
mailings that require verisimilitude to maximize
their openability and effectiveness.
5. Double the impact of your postage investment.
Include “Preferred Customer Only” promotional offers
on account statements or bounceback offers in
outgoing shipments. These are effective tools for
strengthening relationships with customers,
generating additional sales and getting more from
every dollar you spend on postage.
6. Engage readership and retention with
personalization. While a personalized letter once
meant including the recipient’s name in the
salutation, creative possibilities now abound. For
example, you can send a letter with a personalized
magnet embedded into it—not glue-tipped onto it.
Think of all the ways you could use customer data to
provide a “personally meaningful” magnet reminder
to, for instance, get an oil change for your 2006
Honda Accord or return for your annual dental exam
in May 2008. The possibilities are limited only by
your creativity. But remember my cautionary note:
Have a strategically sound reason for all that you
do; don’t resort to cute and clever for the sake of
cute and clever.
7. Use dot whacks or a different outer envelope for
follow-up mailings. Keep the mailing contents the
same, but change the color, size, die-cut window
shape, or texture of the carrier. Or, add a
dot-whack sticker with a strong teaser. It’s a
cost-effective way to provide a double-whammy
follow-up. Make sure to track your results.
8. Recycle, please. Did you know the
Environmental Protection Agency has found that
direct mail accounts for only 2.2 percent in weight
of the total municipal solid waste generated in the
U.S.? So, we’re not the landfill culprits many make
us out to be. A 2005 USPS study also showed that 85
percent of U.S. households read some or all of the
direct mail they receive. This is good, but it
doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continue fine-tuning our
targeting skills and encouraging recycling.
 Studies
also show there is a perception that direct mail
isn’t recyclable. We need to be part of the
education process. The Direct Marketing Association,
Envelope Manufacturers Association, and Magazine
Publishers of America have launched the Please
Recycle campaign to encourage recycling of
envelopes, cartons, and packaging products. To learn
more about the program and use of the Please Recycle
logo on your mail pieces, visit
www.the-dma.org/recyclee.
---Sources:
Reprinted from Targeting Marketing Magazine January
2008 issue (www.targetmarketingmag.com.) Pat Friesen
is president of Pat Friesen & Co. Reach her at Pat@PatFriesen.com
or by visiting www.PatFriesen.com.
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Melissa Data
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