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We just received a brilliant piece of marketing from the U.S. Post Office. “Results-Driven Marketing in a Down Economy.” It creates a wonderful argument for the use of Direct Mail during the current economic climate. They want to point out that even now, this is a great time for opportunity!
“There are customers out there that crave contact and who are waiting for someone to offer them a product, a service and, most important, a relationship.”
A study, conducted during the country’s last major recession (1980-1985), investigating the advertising habits of 600 companies through the recession years of 1981-1982. The results showed companies that continued to advertise during the recession increased their sales by a remarkable 256%.
Customers don’t simply disappear during a recession. They may have less to spend and be reluctant to spend it, but they’re still around, and they still have wants and needs.
“In a recession, companies that project a robust, dynamic profile are going to be perceived to be enduring and retain the loyalty and mindshare of the customer.” – Donovan Neale-May
Direct Mail has an extremely targetable nature so you can save money. You send your message only to the people you choose and it is not wasted on empty prospects who are not interested. With customers putting more consideration into every purchase, you can take advantage of Direct Mail’s ability to:
- Offer detail about product features and benefits.
- Provide pricing, special offers, incentives and coupons.
- Show charts, data and side-by-side comparisons.
- Make your message actionable; add urgency.
- Feature customer testimonials and third party recognition.
- Include a reply card to start a dialogue and build a database.
Direct Mail also has the ability to make a truly personal connection to customers. Advanced personalization techniques can create a private quality of its own.
Because the cost of acquiring customers is absorbed early in the relationship, customer retention is much more cost-effective over time. Even though your customers may be cutting back during these tough times, it makes more sense to keep communicating with them consistently than to try and acquire someone to replace them once they’re lost. Remember the 20/80 rule: Typically, the top 20% of your customers generate 80% of your profit. Because the break-even point on the cost of acquisition happens early in the relationship, you tend to make more money on customers the longer you keep them.
There is much more in this marketing booklet, but I’ve used too much of their genius as it is. They set up a website that has more great mail marketing tips with links to fascinating blogs, www.delivermagazine.com.
As I leave you with another quote, I invite you to join Becky at her Marketing Symposium on June 15 (see www.printcopyfactory.com for more details), or to stop by Print & Copy Factory anytime Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and we’ll help you come up with your next brilliant mailing piece!
“Cutting effective marketing when sales are down is like cutting insulin because someone’s diabetes got worse.” – Steve Cuno, of Cuno Marketing
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Krystal
