Doing it By the Numbers...

If a picture is worth a thousand words, sometimes a few statistics can trigger a million thoughts. To wit:

52%. Percent of total US mail volume that is direct mail.

$45.2 billion. The sum US businesses spent on direct mail in 2010—a 3.1% increase over 2009.

$48 billion. The projected expenditure in the US for direct mail in 2011—a 5.8% increase over 2010.

149 million. The number of addresses to which the USPS delivers mail.

171 billion. The number of pieces of mail delivered by the USPS in 2010.

$5.2 billion. The estimated amount in fundraising driven by non-catalog direct mail in 2010.

13.5 billion. The number of catalogs mailed in 2009.

15% and 12%. The percentage of consumers receiving respectively a catalog or a letter/postcard/flyer who then made a purchase on the company's website.

28%. The additional sum spent by individuals who received a catalog compared to individuals who did not receive a catalog.

43%. The number of B to B campaigns that fall in the 5,000 to 50,000-piece range.

33%. The number of B to B campaigns that fall in the 1,000 to 5,000-piece range.

391,000. The average number of pieces of mail processed at the USPS per minute. That's 23 million per hour and 563 million every day, in case you're curious. And yes, I know this number doesn't tally with the 171 billion number quoted earlier. It's another example of how statisticians and their numbers lie.

41.5 million. The number of address changes in 2010.

40%. Estimated percentage of new movers who changed addresses for economic reasons in recent years.

98%. The percent of consumers who collect their mail every day.

77%. The percent of consumers who sort through their mail immediately upon arrival.

3.1 million. The number of individuals employed in the direct mail industry.

A penny. What I'm willing to pay for your thoughts after reading these statistics.

In email, your timing is everything.

In real estate, they'll tell you that success is based on only three factors: location, location, and location. It's a simple formula, and it works every time.

But you are in marketing, not real estate. And you're looking for ideas that work.

Maybe you've thought about using emails to promote your business or service. And you should be! It's fast. It's inexpensive. It's a foundation of multi-channel marketing.

But you don't want to deploy the emails yourself because you've heard that the all-powerful ISPs could decide you are a Dreaded Spammer, and then they could yank your email privileges. That would be not good, no sirree.

On the other hand, you've read that the Marketing Sherpas say for every $1 spent on email advertising you should get $43 back in sales. Sounds good. Maybe even Great! But if you don't reach that level, are you a failure? What does it take to get to that level?

Maybe you should stick with the gal what brung ya—traditional print advertising and direct mail. Maybe you should sit this one out until you have a clearer view of what to do and where to go. Maybe you need a team of expensive twenty-somethings who were born with computer mice in their grubby little hands to help you. That's when panic and doubt set in.

Whoa, pardner! Stop a moment. Take a deep breath.

You're in marketing, right? By now you should know that there is no such thing as magic fairy dust. One person's magic fairy dust is another person's dust allergy. You need to test, record and analyze.

Timing is to email what location is to real estate. Your job as a marketer is to find the optimal time of day and day of the week to deploy your email.

So what is your "Optimal Time?" Unless you've tested, you simply don't know.

Obviously, you have to consider when your audience would be most receptive. A pizza company should do well on a Friday or Saturday night, or before the big TV football game. But a company promoting motorcycle gear might do better on a Saturday morning when people are thinking about taking a ride.

Sometimes testing leads to non-intuitive results. Poolawg.com, a Colorado-based retailer of billiard supplies, tested emails every day of the week and several times during the day. After extensive analysis, they found that late Tuesday mornings worked best for them. Their open rates soared 200% and their conversion and click-through rates tripled. Michael Feiman, president, explains "Customers are far more likely to open an email if they are already online."

However, Pittsburgh-based nonprofit SponsorChange.org found that 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. got more volunteers and more donations. Why? They reason that being first in the in-box (first in the morning, first after lunch) was their winning formula.

Printing and Direct Mail: We're in a Growth Industry! Or you can't believe everything you hear.

Doom-and-gloomers say that print is doomed. Direct mail is a goner. What started with the ancient papyrus-wielding scribes, grew exponentially when Gutenberg discovered offset printing, is finished. Caput. Stick a fork in it, they say. It's done.

They name the internet as the one singlehanded instrument of destruction. They cite video-game-generation short-attention spans as an accomplice and falling postal usage as evidence. Those of us in the putting-ink-on-paper business might as well be selling buggy whips, they say. We're done for.

But whoa, there, guys. Not so fast!

A leading marketing research firm, the Winterberry Group, has dramatic evidence that flies in the face of these print pariahs.

Winterberry predicts that direct mail spending will grow by 5.8% this year; while direct response print will increase by a not so robust, but still sweet 2%. But Digital and the variable data printing it provides—will increase by a whopping 14%.

14%! Wow! But let's back up a bit.

2008 to 2009 was catastrophic for print-based marketers. Printing and direct mail volume declined by a staggering 16.7% in that one 12-month period, ending up the year at $43.8B sales volume. But by mid-year 2010, things were turning around. From July to December, volumes bounced back by 3.1% producing an EOY value of $45.2B.

Winterberry predicts that all signs are for 2011 to continue the rebound, increasing by 5.8% and coming in with an EOY value of $47.8B—$4B higher than we were just 2 ugly years ago. Not bad for an industry on its deathbed, eh?

So what's going on?

The great recession seems to be easing. People are spending more again, and many marketers are returning to the mail. Furthermore, the long-touted email revolution isn't panning out quite the way it had been expected to. So marketers are abandoning the electronic world for good old fashioned print again.

At the same time, USPS-enforced regulations to keep lists cleaner, and greater acceptance of detailed response analytics mean that mailers can mail smaller, but more accurately and with more highly targeted campaigns. Hence, they should see better ROI for their efforts.

The USPS is doing its part by not seeking huge postal increases for 2011.

Digital is the big winner because as marketers mail with greater specificity, their volumes drop. And as you—savvy marketer that you are—probably knows, digital is more economical at lower run lengths. Added to the digital difference is digital's ability to create custom pieces for each recipient, thus targeting the messaging even more tightly.

So before you believe the doom-and-gloomers who are predicting the end of the print world, please consider that we are in rapidly evolving times. It's happened before and it is happening today.

We're at the conflux of technological availability and economic necessity. Printing and marketing is changing; it is not going away.

Listen Up. I’m only going to tell you once…

The masters of marketing say that you have tell prospects what you are going to tell them... then you tell them... and then you remind them of what you told them. In other words, repeat your message.

So why would you think that one email or one direct mail or one tweet or one text message would be enough? Surely one of anything will pull in some business, but if there were an easy way to multiply your effectiveness wouldn't you want to do it?

You'd be an idiot not to! And yo' Momma didn't raise no idiots. Right?

But if you've read this far you already know how to create this marketing magic.

Need a hint?

Go back and read the first paragraph again. And again.

Got it now? Repeating your message is good marketing.

No, I'm not saying to robotically say the same thing over and over again until you hypnotize your audience into zombie-like group think. I'm saying to use multi-channel marketing. Mix the media, but not the message.

Need corroboration? Consider this statistical gem: Direct, targeted direct mail, combined with a same-day delivery of an email can boost response rates above 10%.

It starts with direct mail. 98% of consumers retrieve their mail the day it is delivered; and 77% of that 98% sort through it immediately. A great DM piece—well written, well designed, well presented—grabs eyeballs and attention. It probably lands in a "to do" pile, and it probably brings in a 3-8% return.

Now add a little "sweetener" in the form of a complementary email. Same message. Same graphics. Same call to action. Same day. Voila' marketing magic!

OK, usually only 10% of your email recipients open your email, and only about 10% of that 10% click through to your offer. Now that's an itsy bitsy group, but if the email and the DM appear on the same day, they exponentially reinforce each other.

Let me say it one more time:

Mix your media and repeat your message.

Then get out of the way.

Say it Ain't So! You're Too Busy to be Social?

Dearest CEO/BMOC or other overworked executive,

Don't think you have time to get involved in social media? Hmmm. Remember 15 years ago? You didn't have time to use email either. Hah! How times have changed.

Get with it.

I know you're busy. I know you are overcommitted. Spare time is precious. So I'll keep my comments to you short as well, thus respecting your time. I promise I won't take more than 2 minutes today.

Here are a few tips to help you get in the swing of things socially:

1. Write your own content. Your own voice will be more genuine than a hired hack.

2. Schedule time for social media into your day. Just 10 to 15 minutes twice a day will be enough at first to learn the ropes.

3. Don't get distracted. Remember why you're using social media. Is it to build your business, get business leads, or reinforce your web presence? Is it to keep up with your teenagers? Keep your eyes on the prize.

4. Focus on 5 or 6 relevant sites. We're taking baby steps here, remember?

5. Share information, ideas. People appreciate others who contribute to the conversation.

6. Remember, it's not just about you. When you find interesting content outside of yourself and your business, share it. Start a conversation…or add to one.

7. Showcase your expertise. Succinctly. People will learn to value your wisdom.

8. Hire a social media expert to help. You write the content, but let a "pro" distribute it. It will save you time, and keep you focused.

Think it's all just too much? If Virgin CEO Sir Richard Branson, Marriot CEO Bill Marriott and Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz can write their own blogs and tweets, so can you.

I'd say more, but I'm out of time I had allocated for this task today.

Ta Ta!

New Proof that Men are from Mars & Women are from Venus.

Like we needed any corroboration!

Ladies: If you've ever wondered if your husband/boyfriend/brother/father has tuned out in the middle of an intense discussion (and who among us can't honestly say this has happened)...

Gentlemen: If you've ever found yourself in the awkward position of seeing your boss's mouth moving, you hear angry sounds spewing forth, but you simply can't figure out what he's saying (sound familiar?)...

Then you have experienced first-hand the new scientific finding that says when men are tense, the part of their brains that reads facial expressions and emotions shuts down.

It's not their fault, really. Men are wired to respond like deer in a headlight when under this kind of social stress.

Researcher Mara Mather of the University of Southern California explains, "For men under stress, the regions of the brain used for social understanding became less coordinated with other regions, especially when looking at angry faces."

The men simply shut down. They withdraw, reacting to too much stimulation. Mather suspects hormones. Male brains with higher testosterone level allow less activity in the brain's facial-expression region.

On the other hand, she writes, "For women, those regions were more coordinated. When looking at someone showing emotion, women put themselves in the others' shoes."

Mather's conclusion? "If a man and a woman are in a stressful situation," she writes, "they may want to change their strategies for how they relate to each other."

What does this have to do with marketing?

Successful marketing requires that you understand your audience.

So if you and your spouse find yourselves discussing (ahem) who is going to walk the dog at 3:30 in the morning, my advice is "Keep the lights off!"

Your husband won't see your face, so won't freeze up. Hence you can have a lengthy, adult conversation about the situation. And when you win the argument — I mean discussion — he won't see you smirking in the dark as you roll over to go back to sleep.

Now that's successful marketing.

A Post Script on Postcard - 12 Tips For Better Postcards Marketing

Just when you think you know everything you can know about a postcard, along comes a smart aleck like me to disabuse you of some of your erroneous ways.

Ready for the ride? Tighten your seat belt. I'm going to go quickly:

1. Ask the post office what a "postcard" is. They will tell you 4.25x6". Period. Now here's a reality check: look at your mail. You'll see postcards as large as 6x11". In between those two extremes are 5x7", 5.5x8.5", 6x9", 3.5x8.5" and 4.5x9". And probably more. So much for 4.25x6". Hah!
   
   
2. 4.25x6" is great for mailing at First Class and First Class presort if all you are concerned about is paying as little in postage as you possibly can. 4.25x6" is not so great if you want your message to be visible in the mailbox of the recipient.
   
   
3. If you're mailing at Standard (or nonprofit) rates, it doesn't matter what size postcard you use. Under current USPS rules, your rates will be the same across the size spectrum, from 4.25x6" to 6x11".
   
   
4. As you increase the size of your postcard, your paper and printing cost will be higher, no question, but postage is still the largest line item in your direct marketing budget.
   
   
5. A larger card will get you more visibility in the mailbox. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for. Here's one of those times.
   
   
6. Don't try to sell a product or a service on a postcard. Use your postcard to generate a phone call and then you—intelligent human responder—can answer the caller's questions and make the sale.
   
   
7. Want lotsa phone action? Use the word FREE liberally. In color. "FREE offer." "FREE quote." "FREE information." "FREE analysis." (Just think. This hint didn't cost you a penny! It was FREE!)
   
   
8. Build brand awareness. Stay "top of mind" with frequent reminders of who you are and what you offer. You never know when they'll need you, so prime the pump.
   
   
9. Build relationships. Mail at 2 week intervals. Reinforce your message. Repetition is good.
   
   
10. Offer something that your recipient needs or is interested in. Keep it relevant to the recipient and you'll generate the business you want.
    
    
11. Be entertaining. Use great graphics. Humor. Color. People want to spend time with something that makes them smile.
    
    
12. VDP (variable data print) the card. Use your recipient's name in color, in multiple locations. It will arrest his eye, get you more "eyeball time" and earn you a higher ROI. Don't be dissuaded by cost; statistics show that VDP generates 5-30% higher rates of return.

As promised, 12 quick tips delivered. Time's up.


Let me know what you tried and how it worked for you. Email ellen@paulandpartners.net or call 703-996-0800.

Over and out.

In the Spirit of the Season...

In the spirit of the season (ie over-indulging on turkey-and-all-the-trimmings on Thanksgiving, then excessive consumerism the day after), I proffer some statistics about what your neighbors are doing about their holiday gift buying this year.

I know this doesn’t apply to you. You, after all, dear reader, are well organized, motivated and probably have your holiday gifting well under control. And, your neighbors? Not so much.

Here’s how it all stacks up, with graphs courtesy of Compete Pulse which looks at retail spending trends.

As of November 7th, 61% of us had already started our holiday shopping. That leaves a whopping 39% waiting for the Ultimate Markdown Sale before they hit the malls in quiet desperation two days before Christmas. (Take note, beloved husband. You’ll have lots of frantic last-minute-shoppers company at the mall this year. Yet again.)

A prideful 14% brag that they have completed more than half of their shopping. I can only surmise that these folks don’t have jobs, children, pets, or other hobbies to interfere with their devotion to the annual holiday shopping ritual. Their single-minded dedication to this gargantuan task is awe-inspiring.

Click to view larger graphic.

Only one person in America—my Practically Perfect Sister in Law—already has her packages wrapped, and prepared for shipping at the appropriate time. If she weren’t so perfect in so many ways--(her egg nog is to die for!)--I’d have to hate her. But I digress.

While the post-recession spendaholics may have started their holiday spree, this year there is far less splurging in the retail forecast.

In this year of economic upset, we’re going to be giving sensible, practical gifts. It appears that a lot of us can expect new undies under the tree this year as 70% of the shoppers say they are buying clothing and shoes for gifts. Generally, the clothing choice is tending toward warm flannel nighties, not hot flimsy negligees.

Click to view larger graphic.

On the other hand, kids will be kids, and they want their toys. Determined not to disappoint, 70% of shoppers have toys and games on their list. Guilt is expensive. Just ask any parent.

Adult gifting is more diverse. Movies and video games separate 53% of shoppers from their cash, books 45%, and electronics 40%, and the seemingly ubiquitous gift cards count for only about 20% of gifts.

Jewelry, long a holiday gift staple, has shrunk to only 20% of buyers. A diamond may be a girl’s best friend, but in 2010, that friend may come in diminished size.

Just as what we are giving is different this year, how we are buying it is changing, too. The first week of November saw an unprecedented communal change. The ground shifted beneath your well-shod feet, and you probably didn’t even notice, but it was seismic for retail. Americans spent more money online than in stores shopping for the holidays! Amazon is still the uncontested king of online retailers with 47% of the online market, but eBay (25%) and Overstock (13%) are moving up

So whether you shop as a patriotic gesture, or because family tradition (and the kids!) demand it…because you simply succumb to the incessant advertising…or if you sincerely think your spouse needs some new underwear, it’s time to dust off the plastic and hit the malls (cyber or brick-and-mortar) once more.

The retailers are counting on you. Our American way of life depends on you.

It’s a big job, and someone’s got to do it. Why not you?

I’ll be at home with my turkey leftovers.

Kid Power in the Marketplace (and it's not just at the supermarket!)

Back in the dark ages—when I was a child—a good allowance was 25 cents a week. By the time I got to junior high school inflation had raised it to $1 a week.

So I gasp in astonishment when I see that the typical Tweenager (defined as children 8-12 years old) is spending an average of $9 per week on “stuff.” That “stuff” can be music, clothing, arcade games, or food. It’s all about making the kids feel grown-up and independent.

Marketers know that how these Tweenagers spend those funds today is a strong indicator of how their spending patterns will firm up as they age.

Ms. Fashion Plate who spends her funds on make-up, mini-skirts and temporary tattoos, is going to make certain stores very happy in 10 years.

Starbucks is probably salivating at the concept of turning the coke-sipping 10 year olds into latte-loving college seniors.

Children today have more personal income than ever before. Living in their parents’ home, they have few bills to pay. At the same time, they hugely influence family shopping patterns. And it’s not just about which breakfast cereal to put in Mom’s grocery cart, either.

Think this is small potatoes, marketers?

Think again. According to Teen Research Unlimited, US teens spent and influenced spending $175 Billion in 2009. $115 billion of that sum was earned through babysitting, grass cutting and similar chores; $60 billion was allowance from their parents.

Great Gugga mugga! These 33 million American children have more spending power than the gross domestic product of many countries!

In the old days, Saturday morning TV sold sugary sweet cereals and got-to-have toys to my generation. Parents could stop the conversation by forbidding TV gazing. It was easy.

Today, the messages are coming at the children hard and fast. The kids get it from TV, of course, but also from home computers, school computers, cell phones, social media, commercially underwritten school programs, trend-setting friends and the perennial teenage bugaboo: peer pressure. There is no escape.

It’s a long term strategy, but many marketers know that by teaching the children to want ______ today, they will be building demand for tomorrow. And while the children may not need ______ today, in 10 years they won’t be able to live without it!

Joe Camel won’t be the first. Or the last.

What are you doing to position your organization to take advantage of this growing groundswell of youth power and influence? I’d be interested to hear from you. Please email me at Ellen@PaulandPartners.net.

It's not personal. It's math.

If you drive a car, use a bank or a credit card, shop at a grocery store, rent movies from Netflix, have a cell phone, surf the web, or live in the 21st Century, you’re probably a denizen of a databank somewhere.

Like it or not, Google, Facebook, Walmart and the government are building profiles of you. They know who you talk to and what you search for online. They know what you purchase and how much you buy. They know your likes and preferences.

Your car probably has a black box in it—just in case you’re ever in an accident—but also to track your position anywhere on the globe via GPS. Ditto your cell phone.

There’s no escaping scrutiny. You may keep a low profile, but these guys know more about you than even close family. You may hide your Mars Bars addiction at home, but these guys have your number.

And that’s just what you are to them: a vast series of numbers that describe your attributes.

Data mining is used to drill down through all those jumble of numbers to find the attributes (described by those numbers) that should resonate with your audience. Data mining is simply finding the patterns, relationships and correlations in all that stored information.

As marketers, you probably know that the problem is that there is simply so much data, it is hard to extract the exactly right bit of information to pinpoint your perfect target. And finding exactly the right bit is critical. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.

But fear not, gentle marketer. Exhaustive new programs are being written—even as I type—to simplify and clarify the process. Stay tuned. It is a brave new world out there. Soon even more information about your customers/donors/prospects will be available. At a price.

Have the money? If so, you can look like a marketing genius. After all, getting your message to someone who has a high likelihood of a positive response earns you better return on marketing investment. Your job is still to define the characteristics you are looking for. Then let the computers do the heavy lifting and sifting.

So what about individual privacy? Now there’s a quaint 20th Century concept. Forget about privacy in an era of Facebook and all-seeing cameras at every street corner. Sorry, it’s history.

Netflix and Amazon are using data mining today to increase sales. Enter their websites and they recognize you. They then recommend books and movies to you that “people like you” have enjoyed. The recommendations are based on the theory that you will enjoy what people like you have enjoyed. Aka, similar number strings like similar things.

Can beauty be in the eye of the beholder? Probably. If Netflix makes a movie recommendation and you like the pick, the information becomes useful. You come to rely on Netflix’ subsequent recommendations and the process becomes less like advertising and more like a friendly exchange between friends. Even robots and computers need friends, it seems.

It doesn’t always work perfectly. Sometimes you question what where they thinking. And sometimes you agree. But don’t take it personally.

Remember, it’s not personal. It’s math. It’s data mining.  And you are just a number in a computational labyrinth.

Easy Does It! Maybe.

It’s summer again. Children—young and old—are kicking back lemonades and heading to the beach to squish sand between their toes once again.

Colorful tattoos are appearing in places that weren’t even visible two months ago. Haircuts and skirts are shorter; nylons are history and neckties aren’t far behind.

Monday-to-Friday is now Monday to Friday-ish. People start wandering out the door at noon, only to reappear on Monday with a deep tan and a zen-like air of serene relaxation about them.

Nothing is hurried. It’s too hot to rush, anyway. Everybody has gone into “vacation mode.”

But maybe there’s too much of a good thing.

Studies show that students lose two and a half months of their hard-earned math skills over the summer break which is, conveniently, two and a half months. Hmmm. How about that. A one-to-one correlation between “time away” and “information lost.”

Now translate that to marketing. A lot of the effort of marketing is simply keeping your name, your brand, your message in front of your clients, donors or prospects.

Consider McDonald’s. Mickey D spends millions of dollars a week just to remind us that they are there. They just want to keep their name in our consciousness.

Focus group of one: when I get thirsty, I head to Mickey D’s for the unsweetened ice tea. So as I was driving through the line today to get my daily tea fix, I spotted a new menu item: Real Fruit Frosties. Sounds yummy. I passed it by today, but I can almost guarantee that lunch one day next week will be a Real Fruit Frostie. I’ll be fantasizing about that frostie for days until I can’t resist any more. Their ads won’t let me forget. That’s good marketing.

Why is your business any different? If your clients/donors don’t hear from you for two and a half months, that’s a lot of time lost. You’re out of sight, out of mind. You’re losing market share simply by wearing your summertime cloak of invisibility.

Taking it easy now is fun, but do you really want to have to rebuild your business again in the fall?

Use the summer to stay in touch with a newsletter, an email or a postcard. Use social media, text messaging and PURLs to let them know what you are doing and why it is important to them.

You’ll be top of the mind, and poised for business when the time is right.

And that’s even better than a long weekend at the beach.

We have a simple misunderstanding here...

Your email campaign is a rousing success, right? You’ve got a great open rate, lots of clicks, and even a good number of conversions. The metrics prove you’re doing everything right. Pop the champagne.

Andrew Robinson begs to differ. Robinson, director of international services for marketing services provider Lyris, says there are obvious metrics that most emailers are not even considering. Oops!

“The real screamer is short visits to a Web site,” he explains. “Once people click through, if they spend less than two seconds on the site and then move away, then that’s a short visit.” Short visits are bad news.

Short visits mean the email campaign is doing its job of generating interest, but the website is mucking it up. Robinson says this phenomenon happens when there is a disconnect between the people creating the e-mails and the people creating the Web site. Sometimes they just don’t see eye-to-eye and they don’t even know it.

Prospects feel that disconnect—and then that’s just what they do. When the website doesn’t live up to the expectations established by the email, short visits result. The opportunity is blown.

Like everything we do in direct marketing, companies should measure their email marketing program’s performance based on business goals, Robinson insists. “Test for particular goals. [When] people…make a purchase, or download a whitepaper or download an application or whatever goals you have, you need those goals reported on your e-mail campaign.”

But when they are with you for less than 2 seconds, you need to know that statistic as well. It’s not good news, for sure, but it’s a learning opportunity.

Put the champagne away for another day. Go back to the basics. Test. Analyze. Measure.

That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

Why do I like direct mail?

As a marketer, I like direct mail because it is a proven marketing technique that’s been around for years. Yes, it’s a bit old fashioned. But that’s not always a bad thing. You can get hurt on a cutting edge. It’s all perspective.

I like the preparation and planning that goes into a mailing. The thousand and one decisions that can make or break the campaign. The copy. The graphics. List segmentation. Proofs and press checks. Deadlines and re-dos. The stress and the pressure. The teamwork. And the feeling when it’s all over that “We got it right.”

If, as my wise Grandmother used to say, “Anticipation is half the fun of getting there” then that time waiting for the mail to hit is indeed a delicious pins-and-needles pleasure. But much like Alaskans who wager on the day and hour when the frozen river will break up in spring, we wait anxiously for the day when the mail hits.

Watching early returns come in is like a game of expanding geography. First the areas closest to our mailing point come in, then spreading farther afield, moving from East Coast to West Coast in a predictable pattern validating our pre-launch planning.

As a user of direct mail, I know it works. I see responses come in, building housefiles, making sales and providing information we can use to make our next campaign even better. Every response is validates the planning process and ultimate execution. Our team rocks!

I value how targetable direct marketing is. I know that by pinpointing our message to each audience in our universe, we can make our approach more personal and generate more response. Manipulative? Maybe a little. Marketing magic? Absolutely!

I appreciate how statistically quantifiable direct mail marketing is. No other media allows us to know exactly how many people received our message, how many opted to respond, and at what level of commitment. It proffers verifiable, concrete proof of performance.

On the other hand, as a recipient, I like direct mail because it lets me choose who/what to let into my home, my head, my wallet. It’s polite and gracious, allowing me to respond as I deem appropriate.
I like direct mail for its “keeper” value. I can act on it immediately, or I can store it away for action later. I go back to it when or if I want to, on my time, at my convenience. I keep catalogs so I can see fashion trends on the horizon—and confirm just how truly hopeless I am.

I like direct mail because it has tactile value. I can hold it in my hand. It has physical heft and reality.

I like direct mail because it has a wonderful freshly printed smell that is faintly reminiscent of my Father’s beloved workshop.

My bottom line: I like direct mail because it works. On so many levels.

Need help with your direct mail marketing? Consult a professional like Paul&Partners. We’ll help you navigate the postal regulations to ensure you get the best postage rate available to you. We’ll help you design a package that is the right one for you and your budget.

Check us out at www.PaulandPartners.net. Let us know how we can help make your next marketing program more successful.

43670 Trade Center Place, Suite 150, Dulles, VA 20166

Phone: 703.996.0800 Fax: 703.996.0888 1.866.365.2858

www.paulandpartners.net sales@paulandpartners