Rational Marketing

Year: 2010

Reasons to Mail Now

There are no filters removing printed mail from good old-fashioned mailboxes.

Nobody likes an empty mailbox! Mail volume has decreased, a really good offer to the right person has a great chance of standing out.

January 21, 2010
Branding

Now is a great time to take advantage of direct mail and other underused marketing channels.

Many businesses have shifted advertising to online efforts. Maybe this is the time to see our current economy as an opportunity. What a great occasion to increase brand advertising!

Successful brand advertising is all about building a connection with your customer, this establishes your business or product as something which is known and trusted. Brand marketing helps us trust a company and buy when we see their ads later on. One of the greatest challenges for smaller businesses is to establish a name for themselves, and a downturn actually provides an opportunity to do that because it tends to suppress brand building advertising. What a great chance to be able to jump over your competitors, especially if the market leader has curtailed their advertising spending during the downturn.

January 20, 2010
The Mail Moment

Many businesses are re-evaluating any and all business decisions, including marketing decisions, during this economic cycle. They are looking at response rates to their marketing efforts and the costs to get those responses.

The US Postal Service published a study called “The Mail Moment”. This study was conducted a few years ago after most Americans had adopted new habits for shopping and gathering purchasing information using the Internet.

“The Mail Moment defines the highly interactive daily ritual that consumers devote to bringing in their Mail and discovering what it offers.”

“Right now – in a market you want to reach – your ideal prospect is just waiting for the moment. She’s eager to invite you in to see what your message can bring to her life. She’s even willing to set aside time to focus solely on what you have to say.”

“The study also found that Mail is placed where it’s seen and used and that it moves from room to room, allowing consumers to read it at their convenience. Mail may be the easiest way to reach household and financial decision makers.”

Mail is welcomed into people’s days and plays a unique and personal role in their lives. Mail offers you the opportunity to create an emotional connection with your customers.

January 19, 2010
Thrive in Turbulence

Deliver Magazine (the marketing magazine published by the US Postal Service) interviewed Philip Kotler, Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and here are some highlights. He was talking about his book, Chaotics: The Business of Managing and Marketing in The Age of Turbulence. I remember reading Kotler’s books in college, it is great that his new ideas are still so relevant.

Eight ways to flourish despite widespread uncertainty and upheaval

1. Secure your market share from core customer segments. Your first priority is to get your core customer segments firmly secured. This is no time to get too greedy. Be prepared to ward off attacks from competitors attempting to take away your most loyal and profitable customers.

2. Push aggressively for greater market share. All companies fight for market share and, in chaotic times, many have been weakened. Slashing marketing budgets and sales travel budgets are sure signs that a competitor is buckling under pressure. Add to your core customer segments at the expense of your weakened competitors.

3. Research customers now more than ever. Everyone is under pressure during times of turbulence and chaos, which means all customers are changing their habits — even those in your core segments whom you know so well. Stay close to them. You don’t want to find yourself relying on old marketing messages that no longer resonate.

4. Seek to increase — or at least maintain — your marketing budget. This is the worst time to think about cutting anything in your marketing budget that targets your core customer segments. In fact, you need to add to this budget, or take money away from those forays you were planning to go after totally new customer segments. It’s time to secure the home front.

5. Focus on all that’s safe. When turbulence is scaring everyone in the market, there is a massive flight to safety by most consumers. They need to feel the safety and security of your company and its products and services. Do everything possible to communicate that continuing to do business with you is safe. Spend whatever it takes to do it.

6. Quickly drop programs that aren’t working. If you’re not watching your spending, rest assured that someone else is — including your peers whose budgets couldn’t be protected from the ax. Cut out ineffective programs before someone else calls attention to them.

7. Don’t discount your best brands. When you do this, you instantly tell the market two things: Your prices were too high before, and your brands won’t be worth the price in the future once the discount is gone. Instead, consider creating a new, distinct product or service offering under a new brand with lower prices. This gives value-conscious customers the ability to stay close to you while not alienating those still willing to pay for your higher-priced brands. Once the turbulence subsides, you may consider discontinuing your newly introduced branded value product line — or not.

8. Save the strong; lose the weak. In a turbulent economy, you need to make your strongest brands and products even stronger. There’s no time or money to be wasted on marginal brands or overly fragile products that aren’t supported by strong value propositions and a solid customer base.

January 18, 2010
Entrepreneurs Find Direct Mailings Still Key to Winning Customers

The Wall Street Journal published an article on January 12^th that discussed the experiences of businesses that tried to replace their direct mail marketing with various forms of email marketing. Their trials did not work; they went back to direct mail.

The article discussed some new strategies of sending more personalized messages to a very select list of current and prospective customers. Please see the previous postings titled “Do More Marketing with Less Money” and “Doing More with Less” for some more ideas about how to make the most of mail.

Mail is a great way to reach your customers and prospects with relevant offers and information. Your audience will give you their time and attention to consider what you have to say.

January 15, 2010
New Statistics About Mail

In a recent article in Target Marketing Magazine titled To Mail or Not to Mail author Pat Friesen cited some surprising statistics.

“Fifty-six percent of Americans surveyed by InnoMedia say receiving mail is a pleasure.”

“Sixty-seven percent of Americans feel traditional mail is more personal than Internet communications, according to research from the U.S. Postal Service.”

“Among Gen Yers (born 1977-1994) and Gen Xers (born 1965-1976), more than 70 percent sort their mail immediately reports the USPS.”

Young consumers invest time with their direct mail knowing it is advertising. They are motivated to receive information to help make buying decisions.

“Studies show direct mail is favorably received by young consumers because it’s tangible-they keep and browse through catalogs; it’s private-there’s an advantage to NOT being able to forward it to everyone in someone else’s address book; and it’s secure-58 percent still prefer receiving and paying bills by mail.”

“There are people who are more comfortable receiving and responding to direct mail than e-mail, even when they have e-mail addresses. For example, marketers of products and services for older seniors (75+), continue to use direct mail to generate leads and sales. These seniors are motivated readers that open and keep direct mail. NOTE: Don’t assume that because you have e-mail addresses for any age group, e-mail is the preferred medium for hearing from you.”

“Mail is more private than e-mail according to 66 percent of those participating in a recent U.S. Postal Service study. They said the Internet is not a substitute for mail. Sixty-eight percent also said mail is more secure.”

January 14, 2010
Executive Confidence Rising

According to an article extracted from a November 2009 McKinsey Quarterly by Harvard Business Publishing, executives are becoming more optimistic about the economy and the strength of the recovery. In the survey conducted during the last week of October 2009 that measured executive mood, 51% said they think the economy is better now than it was in September 2008.

January 13, 2010
Why Is Direct Mail Effective?

Few other selling tools deliver your message with exact precision and impact. The amount of mail in your mailbox everyday attests to the success of this medium (If it didn’t work, your mailbox would be empty!).

Mail works when you’re not. Regardless of what you’re doing, working or playing your direct mail is talking for you. It gives your best presentation without you being there.

Mail multiplies your efforts. Send out thousands of postcards or letters and your best sales pitch is being presented to thousands of people simultaneously.

Mail allows you to aim with accuracy. Direct mail allows you to pinpoint the people who fit your profile, with as much or as little detail as you want.

Mail makes it easy to track your return on investment. With direct mail marketing you can code your mail pieces to determine the exact number of responses you received from each campaign.

Mail is relatively inexpensive. It is amazing what you can get into a small business size envelope and keep under the one ounce limit. Or you can use a jumbo size postcard and tell your story beautifully.

Mail gets one-on-one attention. One of the best things about direct mail is that it gets one-on-one attention from your target prospect. Direct mail is opened one piece at a time and read one piece at a time.

Mail gets delivered. There are no high tech filters on physical mailboxes. Your recipient will see your name and decide what to do with your message.

Mail is something you can touch and feel—it hangs around. Direct mail is something that you can hold in your hand. It is physical. It is something that can hang around for a period of time. It has “lingering” marketing effects.

January 12, 2010
Prepare For the Upturn
Many people are hurting and according to most experts it is going to take a long time for the employment rate to pick back up. However, just as it took a very long time for people to admit that our economy was not good, things may be better than we think.

In October of 2008 I looked at what was happening in the economy and tried to understand what many people were saying and why they said it. I looked at a history of recessions in the U. S. since the early 1900’s. Today I looked at the economy from the other perspective, focusing on the periods of growth and prosperity; believing that the glass is half full, not half empty.

I found details about the US Gross Domestic Growth Rate (GDP) going back to 1947. A negative GDP for two or more quarters is what defines a recession.

When I look at the chart I see:
- Times have been good much more often than times have been bad
- It looks like the worst is over and we are moving into another growth period
- Perhaps the recent decline would not have hurt so much if growth in 2006 was not so big, I think we thought the good times would go on forever
What about your strategy right now? This is a great time to start cultivating new prospects. Get your name, your products, your solutions in your customers minds so that when they are ready to buy, you will come up on the short list. Think about sending mail.

Should you alter your marketing plan to prepare for the upturn?
January 11, 2010
Do More Marketing with Less Money
- Stagger mailing schedules (200 piece mailings still qualify for presorted postage discounts)
- Think about new ways to get more from your customer list
  - Would you tell a different story to someone based on where they live or the business is located?
  - Would you offer a deeper discount if they have not purchased from you in the last year?
  - Would updating your customer file with more details help you create more personalized messages?
- Now is a great time to implement existing customer retention programs like newsletters, anniversary (their wedding or when they last purchased from you) letters or postcards, birthday cards, postcard reminders…
- Get coop advertising support from your vendors
- Cooperate with nearby businesses
- Cooperate with similar but non competing businesses
We have more ideas please call us at 602-272-2100 and let us help you.
January 9, 2010