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.
Monday, February 6, 2012
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.
Monday, January 16, 2012
AMiable Solution #3: Selling an Old Dog with Few New Tricks
Most companies or organizations have at least one: a signature product or service that has been around forever and receives periodic updates to keep it current.
But what happens when the "update" has more to do with maintaining a schedule than improving the product? Marketing a "new" version with few new features or new information can be challenging. Calling out the changes could backfire: savvy buyers may not see the value of a "new" product or service with few updates. Instead, focus on what's great about the product or service—its history, its impact on the industry or society, and its success in helping solve problems. And if the product or service has legal implications, remind your clients and prospects how important it is to maintain a complete, current collection or to be consistent in using the service. With a little persuasion, your clients will see that the core value of the product or service is worth buying.
Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.
But what happens when the "update" has more to do with maintaining a schedule than improving the product? Marketing a "new" version with few new features or new information can be challenging. Calling out the changes could backfire: savvy buyers may not see the value of a "new" product or service with few updates. Instead, focus on what's great about the product or service—its history, its impact on the industry or society, and its success in helping solve problems. And if the product or service has legal implications, remind your clients and prospects how important it is to maintain a complete, current collection or to be consistent in using the service. With a little persuasion, your clients will see that the core value of the product or service is worth buying.
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 #2: Reviving Response
Successful direct marketing requires analysis, timing, and creativity. Sometimes, however, despite a binder full of data to back up your decisions, you still don't get the response you desired. What can you do? Take a look at your campaign in terms of
• Offer. Did you stray from your typical offer in terms of price, payment accepted, incentive, etc? If not, should you?
• Design. Usually, change is a good thing. However, if you're marketing a signature product or service in a completely different way, your existing customers may not have recognized it and overlooked it.
• Rental lists. Talk to your list broker. If a list you rented for a current campaign underperformed compared to previous mailings, inquire about the list. Did ownership change hands? Did the owner's criteria or source of names change?
• House lists. When was the last time you checked the accuracy of your customer names and mailing addresses? If your contact names seem to be aging with no recent activity, you may need to check your...
• Competition. If your competition changed its marketing tactics, improved its own version of the product or service you're offering, or bested your best offer, you may need to re-evaluate more than just your layout and list selection.
While you may not always find the answer to lower response in the issues above, they do provide a good starting point for your investigation, which could lead to a smarter, higher-yielding response rate on your next campaign.
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 #1: Ousting the Overage
Are you accumulating overage that you're likely to forget about or never mail? You're not alone. We're currently holding thousands of extra direct mail pieces for our clients, and we'll most likely be asked to recycle 15-30% of them by year's end.
Although not always avoidable, printing too many promotions can minimized if you do the following:
• Clean your house list. If you have internal dupes or bad addresses that you continually include in your print count, you're wasting precious money with every mailing. Build a regular clean-up into your schedule to avoid future problems.
• Remail the rented duplicates. Most list owners will grant permission to mail the same promotion to individuals whose records appear more than once on your rental lists. Work out the agreement when you place your list orders, wait for the original mailing to drop and response to begin, and then remail the same promotion to the duplicates.
• Plan ahead. Okay, this one is much easier said than done, but if time permits, order your lists and complete the merge/purge process long before the sheets hit the scan. You'll be able to more accurately specify a print count, minimizing the overage.
Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.
Although not always avoidable, printing too many promotions can minimized if you do the following:
• Clean your house list. If you have internal dupes or bad addresses that you continually include in your print count, you're wasting precious money with every mailing. Build a regular clean-up into your schedule to avoid future problems.
• Remail the rented duplicates. Most list owners will grant permission to mail the same promotion to individuals whose records appear more than once on your rental lists. Work out the agreement when you place your list orders, wait for the original mailing to drop and response to begin, and then remail the same promotion to the duplicates.
• Plan ahead. Okay, this one is much easier said than done, but if time permits, order your lists and complete the merge/purge process long before the sheets hit the scan. You'll be able to more accurately specify a print count, minimizing the overage.
Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Our Biggest Asset
We have a facility full of items that help us run and maintain our business: printing equipment that produces vibrant images and sharp text, and mailing software and equipment that helps clients save hundreds, even thousands, of dollars and maximize postage savings. But there's one asset you won't find on our inventory report, and we wouldn't be successful without it. Our staff.
Every one of our employees—our equipment operators, who spend many, many hours on their feet each day; our customer service associates, who juggle paperwork and client relationships while overseeing the timely processing of each project; our drivers, who endure often-maddening traffic and inclement weather to make sure jobs stay on schedule; and our behind-the-scenes office personnel, who keep us operational on a daily basis—dedicate their work days to making our clients' projects and our business successful.
The combined staff of AMi provides in-depth knowledge and experience across the spectrum of direct mail and fulfillment activities. AMi’s median tenure among employees has recently increased to more than nine years! Many of our key employees have been with us for more than 12 years.
This longevity, along with hard work and devotion, provides AMi with a storehouse of industry and postal expertise, expertise that enabled us to process more than 50 million direct marketing pieces last year and allowed us to successfully partner and grow with our clients for over 30 years.
Our managers are no slackers, either. The average tenure among management is 19 years with AMi and more than 20 years in the industry. Their backgrounds include all aspects of the business, including accounting, finance, data hygiene and processing, personnel development, strategic planning, production, and inventory control.
Even the latest technology and shiniest machines are worthless without the proper personnel running them, and we are so grateful to our staff for their wisdom, their dedication, and their devotion, and we hope you will trust them—as we do—with your direct mail projects in 2012.
Every one of our employees—our equipment operators, who spend many, many hours on their feet each day; our customer service associates, who juggle paperwork and client relationships while overseeing the timely processing of each project; our drivers, who endure often-maddening traffic and inclement weather to make sure jobs stay on schedule; and our behind-the-scenes office personnel, who keep us operational on a daily basis—dedicate their work days to making our clients' projects and our business successful.
The combined staff of AMi provides in-depth knowledge and experience across the spectrum of direct mail and fulfillment activities. AMi’s median tenure among employees has recently increased to more than nine years! Many of our key employees have been with us for more than 12 years.
This longevity, along with hard work and devotion, provides AMi with a storehouse of industry and postal expertise, expertise that enabled us to process more than 50 million direct marketing pieces last year and allowed us to successfully partner and grow with our clients for over 30 years.
Our managers are no slackers, either. The average tenure among management is 19 years with AMi and more than 20 years in the industry. Their backgrounds include all aspects of the business, including accounting, finance, data hygiene and processing, personnel development, strategic planning, production, and inventory control.
Even the latest technology and shiniest machines are worthless without the proper personnel running them, and we are so grateful to our staff for their wisdom, their dedication, and their devotion, and we hope you will trust them—as we do—with your direct mail projects in 2012.
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