Rational Marketing

Tag: desired communication

  • Email & Texting or Marijuana?

    BNET recently sent an email, the subject line read “Which Is Worse for Your Brain: Texting or Pot?” That is quite a question.

    The post referred to a University of London study done for Hewlett-Packard that found that “infomania” — a term connected with addiction to email and texting — can lower your IQ by twice as much as smoking marijuana. Moreover, email can raise the levels of noradrenaline and dopamine in your brain by constantly introducing new stimuli into your day. When those levels get too high, complex thinking becomes more difficult, making it harder to make decisions and solve problems.

    Read all your email and text messages, and your mind becomes so drained that it’s a challenge to get anything else done. Sure, some of it’s important — and that’s precisely the problem. “The brain hates uncertainty,” says David Rock, the CEO of Results Coaching Systems and author of “Your Brain at Work.” “It’s literally painful to not download your email the moment you arrive at your desk in the morning. But once you’ve processed 30 or 40 emails, you’ve ruined your brain chemistry for higher level tasks that are going to create value.”

    In short, the brain’s capacity for decision-making was created for a time when people had less to think about. So now you have an excuse for not keeping up.

    These are interesting facts to keep in mind as you plan communication with your customers and prospects. Maybe this is one more reason to think about direct mail?

  • 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.