It’s time for business-to-business direct marketers to smarten up. For too long, organisations that use mass mailings to either attract new customers or communicate with existing ones have been on the back foot. For while the industry extols the virtues of carefully targeted direct mail that business people love to receive because it is relevant and unobtrusive, the talk in the industry is of alternative technologies; of the adoption of SMS and email-based mailings or integrated campaigns that combine viral marketing and ambient on-street media.
Yet business-to-business marketers should start by using direct mail more effectively. Direct mail is as technologically advanced, relevant and effective as any other marketing discipline. Its reputation can be enhanced if mailing technologies are used to improve services to customers. To inspire people as they open their post, not irritate them.
If the industry could make headway towards the day when marketers are embarrassed to achieve a one, two or three per cent response to direct mail campaigns, it would be a considerable achievement.
This shouldn’t be unduly onerous. A start could be made by cutting the considerable cost of sending direct mail to businesses that have moved. The Royal Mail and Direct Marketing Association do much good work here but marketers could do more for themselves by making their mailpieces more intelligent too.
Many business people prefer paper-based communications: email marketing irritates and the sheer volumes of spam received in most organisation’s inboxes makes it hard for genuine and appealing offers to stand out. There is talk about other electronic technologies like SMS messaging, but there is also much debate as to whether it will be accepted by business users keen to limit intrusions on their time and space.
Despite the heavy volume of wasted mail that needs eradicating, many people still enjoy a mail moment, when they approach their daily post with delight and anticipation. Great direct marketers build mail moments and add real value to the relationship with the customer.
The worst B2B marketers make receiving direct mail a source of frustration, irritation, even anger: a mail moment turns sour if the daily post contains irrelevant, irritating, poorly targeted, badly-executed nonsense.
Creative execution, proper database management and address verification are all essential elements to building mail moments. However, direct mailings of the future will be more intelligent themselves; relying on a unique barcode on each envelope which allows the item to be tracked and traced throughout the mailing process.
Because this intelligent mail bridges the electronic and paper divide, an electronic notification can be sent automatically to the marketer to say when the letter has arrived. This message can also contain an electronic image of the offer sent to the recipient. So your telesales operation knows exactly what the recipient opened, and when exactly.
This means no more calls to customers who haven’t a clue what you’re talking about. You know the message has got to them and, if your database is up to scratch, that it’s also relevant and timely.
And when the customer responds to your campaign, popping a reply-paid card back in the post (again featuring an individual barcode), you’re informed as soon as the customer’s response enters the mailstream giving you time to prepare the customer’s order, or if it’s a payment, stopping you sending out that red final demand. The cheque is in the post plea will disappear forever.
In addition, this mail process uses XML, so customer data can be transferred easily between electronic and paper outputs. So customers can have their marketing messages and statements on the web or on paper, as they prefer. The technology allows direct mailers to give prospects a better service, so they become customers. And allows customers to be treated like individuals. Helping to make ‘mail moments’ happy moments, not irritating ones.
