AMiable Solution #150: In Mail We Trust

Last week, I stood in line behind a teenager at the post office.  He had no idea how to mail a letter.  Despite the clerk repeatedly telling him he needed only one stamp to mail his envelope to College Park, he questioned her again and again.  When he finally bought his solitary stamp, he didn’t know which corner to put it in.

Did this young man really not know how to mail a letter, or was he just nervous because the contents of the envelope--a college application, perhaps--were of upmost importance?  Should we panic?  After all, Millennials have a reputation for being technically savvy, not traditionally minded.

Although the Millennial generation seems to be glued to cell phones and addicted to social media, when it comes to marketing, research shows that these young folks actually respond better to good old direct mail than marketing’s electronic counterparts.

In 2011, marketingcharts.com revealed in its December 13 article, “Most Millennials’ Store Choices Influenced by Print Media,” that 92% of Millennials make purchasing decisions because of direct mail compared to the 78% who are influenced by email.

And it’s not just Millennials who appreciate direct mail.  MarketingCharts further reports that 59% of American consumers (almost 3 in 5 people) enjoy learning about new products through direct mail compared to 43% who enjoy getting similar information from emails.

The best news for all of us?  Anyone can receive direct mail.  No stamps required.

AMiable Solution #149: Freedom of Speech

We Americans take pride in our right to free speech and exercise that right without hesitation.  We praise people and causes we believe in and support.  We bad mouth companies that wrong us.  We share information that probably shouldn’t be shared.  We do these things, without a doubt, because we can.

How freely do your clients, customers, members, or donors speak with you?  Do you make it easy for them to communicate with you, regardless of if the subject is good, bad, or ugly?

Encouraging communication from your market doesn’t take a legally-binding national document.  It just takes effort.  Here are three ways to encourage your customers to speak freely:

1.      Initiate a conversation.  Whether you send an email, mail a direct mail package, or make a call, ask a specific question (did your last purchase meet your needs, would you recommend our service, which areas of our service need improvement, etc.) to prompt a response.  Some customers, particularly angry ones, will contact you on their own.  Others need a little nudge.

2.      Offer incentives to those who provide feedback.  If you’re looking to improve customer service and customer relations at the same time, provide an answer to the question, “what’s in it for me?”  Hold a contest and offer prizes or do monthly raffle drawings for anyone who contributes to your virtual or physical suggestion box.  Whatever you do, offer a reward for responding.

3.      Reply promptly--and publically, if appropriate--to all letters, calls, emails, etc., good or bad.  Being a good communicator yourself will let your customers know their voices are being heard and will encourage them, and others, to speak up often.

Freedom of speech is not just a right: it’s also a gift.  For that we say, “Thanks.”                 

AMiable Solution #148: Check Your Bill

These days, there’s much legal debate about the contents of the first 10 amendments of the U.S. Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights.  As adults, we take these rights, and what happens to them, very personally and passionately.

But there’s another bill of rights that also deserves our attention as marketers: the Consumer Bill of Rights. 

President John F. Kennedy started the conversation about consumers’ rights on March 15, 1962, when he spoke to Congress about his vision to protect the consumer interest.  It was the first time any politician had done so. 

At the time, President Kennedy said, “Marketing is increasingly impersonal. Consumer choice is influenced by mass advertising utilizing highly developed arts of persuasion. The consumer typically cannot know whether drug preparations meet minimum standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. He usually does not know how much he pays for consumer credit; whether one prepared food has more nutritional value than another; whether the performance of a product will in fact meet his needs; or whether the ‘large economy size’ is really a bargain.”

He envisioned a set of standards that addressed the way all Americans wanted and deserved to be treated:

“(1) The right to safety--to be protected against the marketing of goods which are hazardous to health or life.

(2) The right to be informed--to be protected against fraudulent, deceitful, or grossly misleading information, advertising, labeling, or other practices, and to be given the facts he needs to make an informed choice.

(3) The right to choose--to be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of products and services at competitive prices; and in those industries in which competition is not workable and Government regulation is substituted, an assurance of satisfactory quality and service at fair prices.

(4) The right to be heard--to be assured that consumer interests will receive full and sympathetic consideration in the formulation of Government policy, and fair and expeditious treatment in its administrative tribunals.”

President Kennedy’s speech made its intended impact: today there are eight generally-accepted consumer rights recognized by organizations around the world.

Although these rights are now, more than 50 years later, almost taken for granted, the overall perception of marketing, although significantly more “personal,” hasn’t changed much.  People are still skeptical of “too good to be true” claims, privacy-threatening information gathering, and invasive communication strategies.  It’s up to all of us to make sure we approach our consumers with not only the highest regard for their rights, but also for their respect.