A friend of mine loves spending time in her kitchen. She has a handful of gadgets--standing mixer, food processor, quick chopper, etc.--but her favorite kitchen tool is her baking spray. Featuring a DOSE of flour in the vegetable oil, the baking spray has secured the successful removal of numerous cakes and breads, which had previously and frequently clung to the pans they were in and ripped in half when forcefully shaken. She loves the product so much, she even uses it instead of butter on her griddle when she makes pancakes.
When it comes to marketing, do you have a favorite tool? A software tool that makes selecting your mailing list a breeze. A filing system that makes researching past promotions painless. A graphic designer or writer who turns out consistently solid work. A list broker who knows you and your needs so well that you never question a suggestion. A vendor who produces quality services and treats you like a partner.
Despite all our technology, I still love the telephone the best. It's so easy today to send an email and be impersonal. When I get a chance to talk directly with a client, that's when I get a feel for a person's situation. That's when I can better understand completely a clients initiatives, desires, etc.
After that, my favorite tool is our color laser printers. More and more people are using them to get attention and to personalize their mailings, and the more we can offer to help clients achieve their goals, the happier we are.
Do you have a favorite tool you'd like to share or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.
Monday, February 6, 2012
AMiable Solution #6: Avoiding List-Rental Hold-Ups
Selecting and renting lists tends to take a back seat to creating the actual mailpiece, which can cause gridlock with your schedule if your piece is printed but your lists at large. The list rental process, unfortunately, takes time. Time (yours) to examine the lists and extract current and relevant information. Time (your list broker's) to process the orders and submit them to the appropriate owners. And time (the list owner's) to review the order and sample mailpiece and either approve or deny the rental request. Throw in holidays, vacations, meetings, and general business busyness, and your "quick" order can become a two week ordeal.
Fact is, Geoff Batrouney, executive vice president at Estee Marketing Group, in an October 2011 Multichannel Merchant article, says list brokers usually need three to four weeks to create and implement a list rental program.
So what can you do to avoid running full-steam ahead into a campaign only be to derailed by a wait? Think ahead, and ask for pre-approvals. Instead of waiting until your mailpiece is complete to turn your attention to lists, start right away. When you begin your mail plan and start scoping out potential rental lists, contact your list broker with questions about those lists--current counts, additional fees for special processing or handling, turnaround times, list selects, age of the list, etc.--before you start the actual mailpiece. By the time your mailpiece reaches its first draft, you'll most likely have answers to your questions and have a better idea which lists you plan to pursue.
Then, use the first draft and ask your list broker if she/he can secure pre-approvals on those lists, even if you're not 100% sure you'll use them. You'll most likely know which lists are useable and which aren't before your mailpiece is finalized, at which point you can place the actual order and expect a shorter turnaround time, since neither your list broker or the list owner will be surprised by your request.
Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.
Fact is, Geoff Batrouney, executive vice president at Estee Marketing Group, in an October 2011 Multichannel Merchant article, says list brokers usually need three to four weeks to create and implement a list rental program.
So what can you do to avoid running full-steam ahead into a campaign only be to derailed by a wait? Think ahead, and ask for pre-approvals. Instead of waiting until your mailpiece is complete to turn your attention to lists, start right away. When you begin your mail plan and start scoping out potential rental lists, contact your list broker with questions about those lists--current counts, additional fees for special processing or handling, turnaround times, list selects, age of the list, etc.--before you start the actual mailpiece. By the time your mailpiece reaches its first draft, you'll most likely have answers to your questions and have a better idea which lists you plan to pursue.
Then, use the first draft and ask your list broker if she/he can secure pre-approvals on those lists, even if you're not 100% sure you'll use them. You'll most likely know which lists are useable and which aren't before your mailpiece is finalized, at which point you can place the actual order and expect a shorter turnaround time, since neither your list broker or the list owner will be surprised by your request.
Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.
AMiable Solution #5: Editing for Effectiveness
When you create a marketing campaign, you read the same copy dozens--or even hundreds--of times. At some point, you stop "reading" and start "breezing" the words. The text and language become comfortable and accepted. You stop questioning word choices. Editing, however, is a continuous process, especially if you're recycling text from a previous campaign. Make sure your copy engages your audience without getting in their faces. Try these three quick tricks:
1. Limit how many times you name your company. Of course it's important to include and reiterate your company's name, but it shouldn't appear more often than your customer's or prospect's name. If it does, you're likely shining the spotlight in the wrong direction.
2. Limit how many times you name your recipient. By all means, address your recipient by name in your teaser and in the beginning of your letter or copy, but watch how often you name names after that. While personalization can make customers and prospects feel noticed, over-personalization can leave customers feeling "worked."
3. Vary sentence length. If you're like me, you tend to write long sentences. Some are okay and even necessary, but make sure you vary the length of your sentences. It breaks the monotony and adds punch. And emphasis.
Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.
1. Limit how many times you name your company. Of course it's important to include and reiterate your company's name, but it shouldn't appear more often than your customer's or prospect's name. If it does, you're likely shining the spotlight in the wrong direction.
2. Limit how many times you name your recipient. By all means, address your recipient by name in your teaser and in the beginning of your letter or copy, but watch how often you name names after that. While personalization can make customers and prospects feel noticed, over-personalization can leave customers feeling "worked."
3. Vary sentence length. If you're like me, you tend to write long sentences. Some are okay and even necessary, but make sure you vary the length of your sentences. It breaks the monotony and adds punch. And emphasis.
Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.
AMiable Solution #4: Getting Last-Minute Promotions Mailed
If you heard the news about the USPS eliminating its postage prepayment requirement for mailers who enter into a negotiated service agreement, you—like many others—probably got pretty excited. After all, how many times has a mailing been held up while you waited for your accounting department to cut the postage check? The thought of being able to mail now, pay later, was an answer to many prayers.
Unfortunately, it's an answer that benefits very few. According to a postal employee at our Merrifield, VA, facility, the change affects only those businesses who currently mail 10 million parcels a year through FED EX and agree to change their shipping to USPS.
So how can you get your mailpieces, particularly those last-minute surprises, out faster? Although you'll still have to wait for the postage check, you can increase your chances of getting your piece out faster if you try one of the following:
• Mail a postcard. The piece will take less time to print and process for mailing (no folding, inserting, etc.), and the postage will be less, which could speed up the check cutting.
• Break up your mailing. If timeliness is an issue, try splitting up your list and mailing only the most critical recipients first.
• Recycle an older promotion. Eliminate some of the time spent on creative by reusing an existing design and layout. Replace the text and key graphics, and send it to the printer.
Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.
Unfortunately, it's an answer that benefits very few. According to a postal employee at our Merrifield, VA, facility, the change affects only those businesses who currently mail 10 million parcels a year through FED EX and agree to change their shipping to USPS.
So how can you get your mailpieces, particularly those last-minute surprises, out faster? Although you'll still have to wait for the postage check, you can increase your chances of getting your piece out faster if you try one of the following:
• Mail a postcard. The piece will take less time to print and process for mailing (no folding, inserting, etc.), and the postage will be less, which could speed up the check cutting.
• Break up your mailing. If timeliness is an issue, try splitting up your list and mailing only the most critical recipients first.
• Recycle an older promotion. Eliminate some of the time spent on creative by reusing an existing design and layout. Replace the text and key graphics, and send it to the printer.
Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.
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