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1. MARKETING Your logo here
ADVISOR
ISSUE THIRTY-FIVE
DIRECT MAIL
WINS THE
TRUST BATTLE!
also in this issue:
Tell it With an Infographic
Are You Taking Advantage
of Coupons?

2. Y
ou’ve heard the expression “a picture is worth a Be inspired! Graphics need not be
thousand words.” In today’s busy consumer culture, you boring. Data and content can be
represented in unique and beautiful
can often get your point across more effectively in a ways like these infographic examples.
visual form than you can in running text.
Tell It With an Enter the infographic. Infographics (or “informational graphics”) have become one of the
hottest trends in content marketing. Using a collection of images, graphics, and text,
infographics help readers scan and absorb information quickly.
If you post your infographics on your website, infographics can also help boost your
SEO efforts. This is because people like to link to infographics, and search engines
rank pages, in part, based on the number of inbound links. The more people like the
infographic, the more they will link to it. The more they link to it, the better your SEO.
How do you create an infographic? Here are some simple steps.
1 Identify what story you want to tell. Your infographic needs a specific theme.
Do you want to explain how a specific vitamin or food supplement impacts
metabolism? Do you want to tout the benefits of a video series for helping adults
speak a foreign language? What are you trying to accomplish?
2 Determine which facts will tell that story best. What data or images are
available to make your point? Should you use data to illustrate it? How about a
graphic? Not every supporting element has to include data points. You can use arrows.
Conceptual graphics. Flow charts. Starbursts.
3 Pick a color theme. Bright, bold colors really pop and grab attention.
4 Engage your designer. Have your designer take the content elements and
render them into a graphical format.
5 Keep it simple. You don’t have to tell the whole story in one infographic. You
just want to get your point across. Remember, the point is to have people come
to you for more information. So pose a question. Provide facts. Draw a clear, specific
conclusion, and provide a clear call to action. If they want to know more, they can
come to you!
Infographics are a quick, easy way to engage your customers, present yourself as an expert,
and educate your customers at the same time. Add them to your marketing kits, or to your
website; use them as point-of-sale materials, or as handouts during sales presentations.
Infographics are content marketing at its best!
20%
Infographics are the Adoption of infographics is
of B2B companies fastest up 1.5x
use infographics. growing from 2011.
photos ©istock.com
content type on the Web. Source: IDG “B2B Content Marketing Trends” 2012
1

3. W
hich channel do you think your customers
trust more? Direct mail or email? When it
comes to trust, the answer is direct mail—and
it wins hands down.
According to a study from Epsilon, “The Even in this world of electronic Here are some other results from
Formula for Success: Preference and Trust,” communications, Epsilon’s research the study that ought to make
more than one-quarter of U.S. consumers continues to add to the compelling direct marketers cheer:
(26%) say they find direct mail to be more volume of similar research that comes to
trustworthy than email. Half (50%) say similar conclusions. Direct mail has power. 36% of consumers said
they give direct mail more attention. Consumers see print as more trustworthy, direct mail is their preferred channel to
Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Epsilon’s more compelling, and more reliable than receive financial services information;
Direct Mail Wi data is consistent with research that has the world of ubiquitous email.
Battle Hanns the “Trust”
been coming out of the industry for years. Want to increase the power of direct 26% said direct mail is more
ds Down
Despite direct mail’s reputation mail even more? There are several steps trustworthy than email;
for being “old school” or expensive, you can take.
consumers continue to embrace direct First, you can divide your mailings into 50% said they pay more attention to
mail. In fact, according to Epsilon’s demographic segments. This enables you postal mail than email;
research, direct mail is consumers’ to target content to the specific needs
top choice for receiving brand and preferences of different customer 60% said they enjoy checking the
communications in almost every groups. By increasing the relevance of the mailbox for postal mail;
category, from health to household message to your recipients, you increase
products and household services, to the chances they will respond. Once 30% said they’re receiving more mail
insurance and financial services, including you’ve done that, you can layer on data- that interests them compared to one year
credit card offers. driven personalization (optional) based ago; and
This preference extends to a surprising on what you know about recipients from
demographic: 18–34 year olds. Even your database. Only 50% (down from 63% in
younger consumers prefer direct mail Don’t have a database for targeting and 2010) said their mail volumes are increasing,
over email. personalization? No problem. We can help indicating that marketers are improving their
you purchase high-quality data very cost targeting efforts.
effectively using any of the major
list providers. Source: The Formula for Success: Preference and Trust (Epsilon 2011)
So want your customers to listen
closely? Start with direct mail. Target it.
Print it. Send it!
60% of consumers say they enjoy
checking the mailbox for postal mail.
photos ©istock.com
3

4. A
re you taking advantage of the power
of coupons? Storewide discounts and Here are five reasons that you
everyday low prices are great, but there should not under-estimate the
is something about a coupon that people really value of coupons:
like. Middle income people. Rich people. High
discounts. Low discounts. It doesn’t matter. 1 Coupons sell more than the product
discounted. You may not make a ton
People just like coupons. of money on the product or service you are
discounting, but once you get those customers in
the door, chances are they’ll walk out with more.
According to fast.MAP’s annual Despite the proven power
Marketing-GAP study (2011), 97% of of coupons, fast.MAP found
U.K. consumers surveyed are using that marketers continue to 2 Coupons expand your market area.
Consumers cannot resist a deal. When
coupons. Moreover, a 20% face underestimate their value. In fact, the coupon is good enough, people will travel
value is enough to motivate more for the seventh year running, the significant distances to redeem them. Once these
than half of shoppers to redeem research firm’s Marketing-GAP shoppers are in the door, the rest is up to you.
You Taking
their coupons. A 50% face value survey found that marketers
3 Coupons steal business from
Are
will motivate three quarters to expected fewer than one-quarter
competitors. No matter how loyal
redeem them. of consumers to redeem 20% consumers may be to their favorite brands,
dvantage of
This data is not alone. An A.C. coupons and less than three in 10 coupons have a powerful draw. With a coupon,
A
Nielsen study found that 60% to redeem 50% coupons. That’s many will try your brand at least once.
of U.S. consumers actively look a big gap with consumers’ self-
4
Coupons?
Coupons re-engage inactive customers.
for coupons. An article in the reported behavior!
Sometimes customers get lazy or
Wall Street Journal (“In a Pinch, Coupons are a simple,
disengaged with your brand. Coupons get
Snip” 2012) found that 54% of U.S. inexpensive way to boost the
customers re-engaged.
54% of U.S. shoppers surveyed said they had
already stepped up use of coupons. 5 Coupons track and prove results.
Coupons are one of the most trackable
promotions. Use coupon codes to track the
shoppers surveyed said they had power of your marketing. If you results of specific campaigns, marketing channels,
or promotions. Or try serializing codes to track
already stepped up use are looking for ideas to jumpstart
not only the results of the larger campaign, but
of coupons. Fast.MAP found your couponing efforts, give us a
the behavior of individual respondents.
that three in five consumers call. We are happy to help.
redeem coupons
“occasionally” and three in 10
redeem them “regularly.”
photos ©istock.com
5

5. MARKETING MAILING INFO
ADVISOR
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6. D CASE STUDY
id you know that
you could spend
less on a direct Let’s take a look at a real campaign produced for a travel company. Let’s call
mail campaign and actually it Club Travel. In the past, Club Travel mailed static 30- to 72-page catalogs to
see better results? It’s true. It’s hundreds of thousands of people. All of the catalogs were the same regardless
of age, income or whether the person had purchased a travel package in the
not about marketing less. It’s
past. Recognizing the inefficiency of this approach, the company decided to
about marketing smarter. try something new.
Targeted Campaigns. Club Travel selected 20,000 high-value targets (chosen based on age
demographic, income, home ownership and other factors) and created
Delivering More For Less personalized mailers based on customer status (active member, dormant
member, prospect). It created custom messaging based on customer segment
and layered on personalization by prospect or customer name.
To boost effectiveness, it used a series of personalized e-mails to prime the
pump for the offer and nudge non-responders into action.
The results? Although the mailing was 80% smaller than in the past, by
precisely matching the messaging to reach a prospect’s demographic profile,
the campaign was far more relevant and more effective for each recipient. In
fact, it generated a return of more than 10 times Club Travel’s initial investment
in just the first month’s sales.
The cost? The personalized self-mailer boasted a lower cost per piece than
that of Club Travel’s typical catalog of trip options.
In the end, this savvy marketer’s campaign was more effective, less
expensive per piece and—as a nice side benefit—“greener” because the
reduction in paper, energy use and solid waste resulted in a lower impact on
the environment.
Many marketers might say, “But I don’t have the depth of database this
company had.” Not to worry. You can purchase highly qualified lists or append
your database with key variables, such as income, homeowner status and even
specific interests (fly-fishing, golf, antiques) for a nominal additional cost.
If you invest in the right qualifiers, your return can be spectacular. Yet the
total investment in the campaign can be less than you would
have spent on a traditional direct mail campaign.
A targeted campaign is also “greener” because the
reduction in paper, energy use and solid waste
results in a lower impact on the environment.
photos ©istock.com
9