A recent article by Mike Kraus, a business columnist for Allbusiness.com, concludes by saying: “Get on the wagon to listen to your customers’ needs when it comes to direct marketing (and everything else).”
This is Mike’s second article about the business perspective on junk mail in an article titled Junk Mail Be Gone. Mike provides other sage advice that I hope more direct marketers will reflect on as they develop their direct marketing strategies for 2009. Mike states:
1. Consumer backlash continues to grow as direct marketers ignore their wishes. I, for one, continue to work to reduce junk mail whenever possible and continue to grow increasingly frustrated with retailers that ignore my wishes. I don’t own a pet and I don’t want to get your pet catalog no matter what my demographic profile is. And your catalog geared toward women’s clothes isn’t relevant to me either.
2. Consumers are greener than ever. Retailers that ignore consumers’ wishes to be removed from their lists are viewed as non-green in their efforts, choosing capitalism over the environment. Citibank take note: I do not want to earn up to 25,000 miles with a Citibank/American Airlines credit card, so stop sending me your weekly direct mail!
….
So here are a couple ideas to maximize your efforts:
1. If you’re going to advertise in val-pack, or any number of similar coupon packs, ask them for data about how many consumers are opting out of receiving their mailers in the zip codes you’re targeting on websites like the ones listed above. You may find that more and more of your target demographic doesn’t want to receive those mailers, thereby wasting your marketing dollars.
2. Most retailers sign people up for email at their stores, which has an easy opt-out function in every email. Try to do the same for direct mail. Create a sign up list or form that asks them to check a box for each type of communication they’d like to receive (or not). These days, most people just opt for email because it’s quick and easy (to write when they’re signing up and to unsubscribe when they dont’ want to receive it anymore). But doing a check against your database when they’re checking out just to confirm they still want to receive mail will help cull your list down and save your money in the long-run. You can even explain that this is another effort to make your company more green.
Mike, Thanks! I’m with you. I don’t hunt so why do I need Bass Pro? We have our own financial sources and don’t plan to change. We’re very careful to give out our email address. I plan to order my credit reports from the credit bureaus after the new year. You would be surprised on what you find….
Last night’s mail contained three catalogs from the Walter Drake/Miles Kimball family- The Home Marketplace, Miles Kimball and Easy Comforts. All had the same Cust # and are located in Oshkosh. When I asked the CSR at Miles Kimball why they restarted the mailings, she said that I was removed and have a nice day. I originally opted out on CC.org for all three in early Feb 08. Maybe the CSR did not know but their marketing department should know that it’s a waste of paper and a bigger waste not to listen to the consumer. Well, with about five more mailing days this month, I hope that these three catalogs will be the last for the month. I thought I was doing great with receiving only three catalogs this month, but six is not too shabby. Thanks CC.org.
Yvonne:
We are in contact with Miles Kimball and they will be activating their account to honor CC.org requests shortly.
Chuck
Many thanks! Santa Camesi was nice (but not me) so I will be sending you a donation sooner than said.
It is despicable how much paper is wasted in catalogues. If people would commit to *not* buying from sources that will not honor our/your requests through CatalogChoice.org, I bet they’d change their tune quickly. Catalogs I am really sick of getting are from “Talbots”. I ask them not to send them, but then every time I shop there I start getting them again! If each store just put all their products on the Web and kept it up-to-date, we would all be better off.