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Alan Rosenspan’s Improve Your Response Newsletter Issue # 25: 2003 Holiday Issue INSIDE THIS ISSUE: 1. DMA Response Study
Dear Friends, Happy Holidays! It really does seem like the economy is beginning to turn — more and more people are calling me for projects, and fewer people are calling me for jobs. I hope your business is doing well, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you again for being one of our subscribers, and to wish you and your family the very best for the holiday season. Cheers, Alan
The most frequently asked questions in direct marketing… …now have an answer! "What’s a good response to our direct mail or e-mail? What’s an average response in my industry?" The Direct Marketing Association just published a 360-page book that answers these questions — and much more. Written in a clear and understandable way by Ann Zeller, Vice President of Information and Special Projects, this book is a must-have for any direct marketer. The book covers 12 different media channels across 23 industries in four different campaign objectives — direct order, lead generation, store traffic and fundraising. The book won’t predict what your response rate will be — too much depends on your choice of lists, offer and creative. But it should give you a good benchmark to determine budgets and quantities for your next mailing. To order, visit the DMA’s website at www.the-dma.org/research
Rotation, Rotation, Rotation In real estate, the most important factors may be location, location, location. In direct mail, it may well be rotation, rotation, rotation. If you’re mailing over and over to the same market, you might want to consider this technique — used by most major credit card companies (including my clients.) As you know, credit cards are probably the most competitive, most over-marketed category in the country — with many of us receiving 5-10 direct mail solicitations per week. So just to get your envelope opened is a significant accomplishment. The major credit card companies have learned that one way to do it is to rotate the outer envelopes — keeping the same letter and enclosures on the inside. One might be a Kraft envelope; another might be white; another might have an unusual shaped window (portholes, diagonal shapes, etc.) You may also want to vary the headline on the outer envelope. But by rotating which ones you use — and never letting the prospect see the same envelope two times in a row — you may be able to substantially increase your response rate.
…continues. I need to know what you think of this issue — because it comes up so often. Whenever I give a seminar I always ask, "Has anyone here seen a self-mailer beat a letter package?" Sometimes, rarely, a hand goes up. And I ask, "Really...you tested both - with the same offer to the same list - and the self-mailer generated a higher response?" The hand invariably goes down - and the person usually says, "Um, no...but the self-mailer was cheaper." In my opinion, the reason why letter packages outpull self-mailers are three fold:
Then why do so many companies use self-mailers? They’re cheaper. They're more "creative" - whatever that means. They’re usually faster and easier to produce. But what do you think? Do self-mailers work? Please e-mail me your opinion at Arosenspan@aol.com. I recently gave a speech in Montreal on the power of offers. I began my presentation with the following (joke): "Last time I was in Montreal, a beautiful woman came up to me in the hotel lobby and said, "I don’t usually do this, but I’d like to take you up to my room and make mad passionate love to you for the next two hours. "I looked at her and said… And that’s the first question anyone will ask when they open your direct package or e-mail, or read your advertisement. At this same conference, I attended a very valuable presentation from The Digital Printing Council. The presentation was on direct mail response rates — and how they vary based on color, personalization, database use and other factors. Here are the highlights of the results:
If you’d like the complete study — please e-mail me at Arosenspan@aol.com and I’ll be happy to share what I have. I recently gave a presentation to a group of young direct marketing students at Johnson & Wales University in Miami Beach. On the walls, I saw a great quote that’s an inspiration to any entrepreneur:
I was just reminded of the power of advertising when I saw the following in the Boston Globe. There’s a regular column where readers send in science questions and an expert answers them. A recent question was "How is Jell-O made?" The answer: "Jell-O or gelatin is a protein substance that comes from the bones of animals. To be rendered into gelatin, bones must first be free from grease. They are soaked in hydrochloric acid and washed repeatedly in plain water." Can you imagine anyone buying this to eat? But then again, as Bill Cosby used to tell us: "There’s always room for a protein substance, soaked in hydrochloric acid, that comes from the bones of animals." We’ve received several requests for us to update our contact information — which is below. Please note we currently have the capacity to accept work from new clients — and I’d like to know to whether you would be interested in working directly with us on your next direct marketing program. You’ll find us easy to work with, much less expensive than any large agency, and most importantly: we are usually able to significantly increase response. Alan Rosenspan We Respect Your Privacy Please let me remind you that your name and/or e-mail address will never be shared, sold, circulated, or passed along to anyone else. To unsubscribe, just send me an e-mail that says "Remove" and I will understand. And please feel free to forward this newsletter on to friend or business associate. Thank you, Alan Back to Top of Page | Back to First Page of Newsletters Section
© Alan Rosenspan & Associates
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