Rational Marketing

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  • USPS January 2011 Price Increases

    The United Postal Service (USPS) will increase prices on January 2, 2011. The most noticeable will be the increase in the price of a first class stamp from $0.44 to $0.46. The post office is doing many things to help. They are releasing some new forever stamps in October. The stamps, featuring evergreen trees, can be purchased for $0.44 and used “forever” to mail first class letters.

    Prices for Standard Mail and Periodicals will also go up about 5.6%. Knowing the facts in advance can help in planning for end of the year advertising and direct mail.

  • Direct Mail is Adapting

    In the August issue of Deliver Magazine, the editors make a case for Direct Mail’s future.

    Direct mail is entering a new age. Long an effective marketing device, mail is now being linked with new technologies in astounding ways that improve its effectiveness and bring a new engagement. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Emerging technologies were expected to take what direct had done, and do it better, faster and cheaper. Consider the irony then that far from killing it off, digital is helping usher in this new era of direct mail.

    Of course direct mail and digital have always been buddies. Mail was the primary way most of us learned about the Internet. (Remember those ubiquitous disks from a major online company?)

    Catalogers have always known that mail can drive additional sales and online visits, and many digital entrepreneurs have turned to the mailbox to drive people to the inbox. The difference today is that marketers are now finding methods for combining digital technology with mail to increase the power of the message. Mail is no longer the carrier, the device you use to drive someone online. It’s the beginning of a conversation that carries on once the customer logs on.

    Clearly, the efficiencies of mail — its laser-like ability to target customers, paired with a way to expand that message — is making marketers rethink their opinion of what many regarded as an “old” advertising vehicle.

    It’s about the convergence of traditional and digital, yes, but that’s just the start. What we’re witnessing is a revolution that will launch mail into the next generation and beyond. It’s another lesson in the amazing adaptability of mail.

    Marketers would be smart to take full advantage of this flexibility. And smart marketers do.

  • Get more from Customer Data

    DMNews recently talked with experts about the best ways to combine and leverage customer data.

    Elissa Tomasetti, VP of marketing, Financial Times, suggested that creating a single view of your customer will allow for better targeting.

    Sal Pecoraro, VP of database marketing solutions, Infogroup, advised looking for trends in behavior to refine follow-up with customers.

    Dino Michetti, GM and VP of client services, Epsilon, reminded marketers that current technology and innovation allow for real-time marketing and better data automation.

  • Tips for Using Direct Mail to Boost Website Traffic

    Marketing Profs published a great article about generation more online traffic using direct mail.

    Online and offline media work well together. An integrated approach can work wonders.

    We told you about how 76 % of internet users were directly influenced to buy an item or service thanks to direct mail Better still, direct mail remains the one medium that gives you direct and reliable access to nearly everyone in your target market.

    Tips to drive Web traffic with direct mail

    • Make a compelling offer. Give people a powerful reason to visit your site—a compelling and valuable offer, such as a free trial, seminar, white paper, savings coupons, or sample. It must be something they want, not just something you want them to see.
    • Use an easy-to-type address. Unlike email, where you can include a clickable link to your landing page, in direct mail you can only print a URL. Your prospect must type it into a browser. The shorter and easier it is to spell, then, the easier it will be for people to visit your page. If you create a separate domain for the promotion, try for a short easy URL.
    • Build a special landing page. Generally, it’s not a good idea to drive traffic to your homepage. There are too many choices on those pages and too many ways for prospects to get lost. By creating a unique landing page and driving people to that page, you can control the message, track response, and collect information for follow-up and future direct marketing efforts.
    • Consider a personalized URL (pURL). A pURL gets extra attention and creates curiosity. They are easy to type and allow for tight integration of the direct mail piece and landing page for tracking.
    • Personalized copy. Just as a pURL gets attention, personalized teasers, headlines, subheads, and body copy attract attention and encourage reading. Use personalization with restraint—to avoid the appearance of an over-the-top sweepstakes mailing.
    • Issue a clear call-to-action. People are more likely to respond when you specifically tell them what to do.
    • Push response with a deadline. As in most direct marketing situations, people are more apt to respond immediately when they know they have a limited time for doing so. With whatever offer you make, state a deadline near the call-to-action.
    • Test various formats. Because of printing and postage costs, many people use postcards to drive Web traffic. But you can also test self-mailers, flyers, and envelope packages. The amount of pre-sell required should dictate the format. The simpler and more valuable your offer, the less pre-sell you need. Only testing can show you for sure.
    • Capture contact information. A one-time visit offers limited value. Good direct marketing practice dictates that you use a first visit to begin a dialog. And to do that, you must at least ask for the visitor’s email address and maybe first name (to personalize future communications). Depending on the value of the offer, you might also be able to get full name, mailing address, and other information to build your own database.

  • Integrating Campaigns Boosts Response

    Marketing Experiments published an article with this headline, “How one company combined offline and online marketing to increase subscriptions by 124%”. The article told of the great success of using the same images and visuals in a mailing campaign and in the associated online content to increase new subscriptions.

    The conclusion was that the offline direct mail marketing campaign led recipients to all areas of the online content. The two weeks that the mailing campaign was active drove significant sales activity throughout the company.

  • How Much Do We Really Spend?

    Most of what we read about marketing is about how to make the most of social networks or how to optimize something. While staying current with technology and using available resources to connect with your customers is very important, most marketers still are not spending a majority of their advertising budgets online, even if your reading tells you a different story.

    Marketing Experiments shared some data published by Forrester Research that showed.

    2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
    Total Interactive Marketing Spend (Mobile, Social, Email, Display, Search) In US$ Millions $25,577 $29,012 $34,077 $40,306 $47,378 $54,956
    Percent of All Advertising Spending 12% 13% 15% 17% 19% 21%

    Looking into the future, offline and traditional media, including direct mail, will still be a very important part of marketing strategy.

  • Political Campaigns

    On November 2, 2010 we the people are going to elect 36 U.S. Senators, all 435 House of Representatives and 37 governors. During the coming days, many political candidates and interested parties will use direct mail because it is effective.

    The USPS offers special services and some processing differences for political endorsements. Depending on the circumstances, the message may qualify for Standard Mail and/or Nonprofit Standard Mail prices.

    The USPS offers this information for those who wish to use a special designation to facilitate processing of political mail.

    “Any material mailed as First-Class Mail or Standard Mail for political campaign purposes by a registered political candidate, campaign committee or committee of a political party is classified as a “political campaign mailing.” An individual or organization recognized as such by the appropriate government (national, state, local) election control authority is considered to be a registered political candidate or party.

    Political campaign mailings are identified and documented when deposited at Post Office acceptance units prior to entry into processing and distribution. Using a red “Tag 57, Political Campaign Mailing”, aids the Post Office in identifying the political campaign mailings. First-Class Mail and Standard Mail entered by a registered political candidate, campaign committee or committee of a political party can be identified by using “Tag 57” on the mailing containers. Use of “Tag 57” with eligible campaign mailings is optional.

    Mailings made by organizations other than those listed above, even if promoting or endorsing political candidates, referendums and so forth, are not classified as political campaign mailings and cannot use “Tag 57.”

    We strive to offer our experience and expertise to our customers to help them take advantage of every possible discount the USPS offers.

  • A Strategy for Tough Times

    BNET posted an article in its leadership section titled, “What to Do in a Double-Dip Recession? Grow!” This may sound counter intuitive but it isn’t. There is evidence and research everywhere to support the notion that if you invest in gaining market share when your competitors are just trying to hang on, you will be in much better position when things do turn around.

    We published these tips about Marketing in Tough Times a few years ago, they still seem very relevant today.

  • Advice for New Ventures May Help Established Businesses Too

    The Harvard Business Review offers great short tips in its “Management Tip of The Day”.

    These were offered as tips for new fragile ventures. They suggested that knowing these three things would help to manage through this precarious time.

    1. How many days you have to live? Businesses fail because they run out of cash. Knowing exactly how many months or days you have to live can help you better manage costs and your funding strategy.
    2. Why you are doing this. Success requires hard work and constant attention. If you don’t know exactly why you should make the effort, neither will your funders.
    3. The top two critical issues. Be precise about which two issues deserve the highest priority. These may not be the most urgent, but are the ones that matter most to your venture’s success.

  • Advertising is Still Important

    The graphic from the previous post about Word of Mouth showed that advertising, including direct mail, is the most important factor of consumer purchasing decisions during the “initial consideration” phase of the purchase decision making process.

    Consumers “pull” information to them later in the purchase decision process.

    How can we help you use direct mail to help you build your brand or stimulate demand?