Marketing Roadmaps

Archives for October 2005

A bit about direct mail

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Lots of work lately, and little time to blog. Which I guess was fairly good timing on my part, given the problems Six Apart apparently has had the last week or so. If I had been trying to post, I would have been irritated. As it was I didn’t even know until I got the explanatory email last night.

Anyway, about 2 weeks ago, I gave a lead generation seminar at our local Chamber of Commerce, covering the tactics of direct mail, seminars and blogs. Reviewing my notes, the direct mail and seminar sections are new content that I haven’t covered to death in the blog already, so I’ve decided to post them in two parts. Here’s the direct mail section:

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In my opinion, direct mail is by far the most cost efficient marketing method for presenting an offer directly to the prospect. These days it can be direct snail mail or direct email – each has its place.  But you have to have an offer of some kind. A direct mail flyer sent out with information but no imperative rarely registers with a prospect. The offer doesn’t have to be time sensitive, but it helps. It also does NOT have to be a discount – it can be all sorts of things: free or reduced price education/training on a product, a premium, a white paper, added value to the product for a limited time. Etc.

It is a simple formula:
Present the problem… quickly.
Identify the solution… your product.
Make the offer
Deliver three solid benefits… WIIFM.
Call to action.

You close with the call to action, and you typically start with the problem. The order of the other elements varies, depending on the product, program, promotion etc. You use the order that stands the best chance of getting the prospect to take the action.

You can offer two choices of action, but preferably no more than that – too many choices is confusing for the recipient. Example: have sales person call and send more information. One is a strong call, the other is the back-up for milder interest and helps build your database for prospect nurturing and conversion.

The form of your direct mail package is very important. You should do the highest quality package your budget can stand. If you can justify the standard (and most successful) package of 1-2 page letter in a #10 envelope, with an included informational brochure or flyer, response card and lift note (the last chance message) by all means do it. But if you can’t do it well, ratchet back your piece so you can deliver a high quality package. A well written letter with a strong call to action on good quality paper will get you a lot farther than 3 xeroxed pages or a cheaply printed brochure. Yes, the package is important, but the marketing is in the MESSAGE not in the paper stock and color inks.

A word about that call to action – define success metrics in advance and clearly communicate expectations to the sales force regarding the next step. Don’t let a disconnect develop between the promise made in the marketing piece, and the sales process.

A few final points;
– Mail with a first class stamp is more likely to get opened that mail using franking or bulk rate
– Lists are better with odd numbers than even. 3,5,7. The top 3 reasons to…. The 5 things to do for X… 7 ways to improve network security…
– Self mailers can be effective, although they are rarely my first choice. They work best when the audience already knows it has the problem you solve. Can also be a good choice for customer upsell promotions.

A tale of two customer services

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"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

Last week, I had the best and worst customer service experiences of recent memory. The difference between the two companies? One understood the lifetime value of a customer, and the other either didn’t get it or didn’t care.

The best? About two years ago I purchased the DVD set of the 6th season of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For various reasons, I never actually watched the DVDs, but finally last week I wanted to watch a specific episode while I jogged on the treadmill. Unfortunately, that was the disc in the box that was defective.

I took a chance and sent a comment to Amazon customer service:

“I realize that this is quite an old order, but I just got around to watching these and at least one of the disks is defective. I have tried it in two DVD players and the copyright warnings come up but the disk contents do not. I have checked one other CD in the set and it is fine. Is it possible to get this replaced somehow — even just the defective disk….or disks as I will check them all later today.”

Within ONE HOUR I got this reply from Amazon:

“Thanks for contacting us at Amazon.com. 

I am sorry to hear about the problem you experienced with your shipment.  I have placed a new order for the item "Buffy the Vampire Slayer – The Complete Sixth Season."  There is no charge for this replacement. 

Here are the details of the new order:

Order Number           : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx   
Shipping Speed         : Two-Day Delivery
Estimated Delivery Date: October 19, 2005

We will send you a postage-paid return merchandise label so you may return the item[s] you received.  It should arrive via standard U.S.
mail within 1-2 weeks.  Please wrap the package securely, attach the label to the package, and drop it off at any Post Office.”

And today (Tuesday October 18, 2005) I received the replacement DVD set.

That’s customer service.

Did the fact that I spend a fair amount of money with Amazon every year factor into the decision to give me a $40 product for free? Probably. And to some degree, that’s the point. Understand the potential lifetime value of your customer and make sure you maximize their loyalty. I buy a lot of products, including CDs and DVDs, from Amazon and will continue to do so. I seriously doubt that a chain store would have accepted a return from two years ago, and they certainly would have wanted the receipt.

Amazon sent me the disks right away.

Now, here’s the worst of customer service.

Recently I decided I wanted to upgrade my cell phone to a BlackBerry. Partly because reception on my phone was awful, but mostly because my clients tend to communicate with me through email more than by phone. Having easy access to email wherever I am has become something of a necessity.

So my husband and I went to the Cingular store to take care of the change last Friday. Unfortunately, although we’ve been Cingular customers for YEARS, our most recent plan (a family plan that we share) was contracted last October. And according to the “RULES” that meant that I could not upgrade my phone; I would have to pay full retail if I wanted a BlackBerry. A difference of about $250. If I was a brand new Cingular customer I could get the BlackBerry for about $250. As a longtime Cingular customer (since about 1994) ineligible for upgrade, I would have to pay $500.

Plus of course the monthly plan. Which would be about double…. $40-50 for cell service and an additional $40 for the data services necessary for the BlackBerry. On a monthly basis, once I upgraded to the Blackberry, I would be spending TWICE what I was before. And my husband would have a cell plan as well.

But the rules are the rules…. I could upgrade at full retail or pay the cancellation fee and start anew.

So… I am starting anew. With my new Verizon BlackBerry.

A word of advice to the Cingular sales prevention team: don’t forget the lifetime value of the customer.

The cancellation fee was worth it.

Catching up October 05

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Blogging was light to the point of ZERO this week because I was "on the road again" with limited time and spotty Internet access.

Midweek, I attended the Annual Meeting of the Association of the US Army in Washington DC. My client Spec.-Ops. Brand had a small booth in the exhibit, and it was a good opportunity to learn more about the military market as well as meet with the client. After 2 days there, I went to Somerset NJ for the Morris and Essex Kennel Club dog show on Thursday and then home Thursday night.

I’m finally more or less caught up on work, and will resume or normal marketing program next week.

Today, I just want to share something that really struck me at the AUSA show.

The attendees at the AUSA show are primarily members of the US Army of all ranks, ages and experience — Specialists and USMA Cadets to Major Generals and Command Sergeants Major. Just like any other association meeting, the event is a combination of networking, education, trade show and socializing.

While walking around the exhibits, and looking at the mix of attendees, I thought back to my childhood when my father (a career Army officer) was stationed at the US Military Academy (West Point).

At the age of eight, I thought the cadets (at 19 and 20) were all grown up. What a difference 30 plus years makes. This week, when I saw young men and women of a similar age — cadets, NCOs and Lieutenants — all I could think was how young they were, barely out of childhood.   

You read the papers, and it talks about these 20-year old kids, but most of us don’t see them on a regular basis. The reality is that the active duty Army is an Army of youth. Soldiers not much older than me are nearly through with their careers, preparing for retirement (and usually a second career in the private sector).

It may be trite, but it is also true: it is someone’s son or daughter, niece or nephew over in Iraq and Afghanistan. They may be well-trained, efficient soldiers, willing to do their duty for their country. But they are also kids far from home. Whatever you think of this war, remember that , and maybe do something nice for a serviceman or woman in the coming holiday season.