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| | | Direct marketers know, through proven business results, that mail is one of the strongest media for establishing and maintaining customer relationships – whether relying on its ability to work effectively on its own or as part of a marketing mix.
The business environment is evolving – companies must compete to entice, keep, and grow customers. Customers are sophisticated and they leverage technology to determine how to conduct business and go about their daily routine.
Savvy businesses effectively use mail as a CRM tool to: 1) contact customers – send information and promotion material to increase sales and service opportunities; 2) provide mail-return mechanisms such as courtesy and business reply mail to facilitate customers’ response or interaction; and 3) to send and return merchandise.
All business revolves around a value chain – the sequential steps that drive company revenues and profits. It represents the core of customer interaction and service delivery in a typical company (see Figure 1). It helps businesses identify the tools necessary for building and maximizing customer relationships at every stage. It includes everything from promotional marketing to payment processing to loyalty management. | | |  | | | | The value chain is divided into three core business processes: customer acquisition, customer or service fulfillment, and customer retention. As shown in Figure 1, each provides the company multiple opportunities to touch the customer with mail in ways that improve the experience and build the relationship. | | | |
| | Direct mail offers the opportunity to acquire new customers because it is targeted, flexible, tangible, and measurable – allowing a business to test and determine the right approach for its message. No matter the strategy or approach, there is a mail format that can find the right customer to build business.
Direct mail works because it has the ability to find a customer and have that customer take action based on targeted messaging. Rather than saturate a massive area with the hope of catching someone’s eye, direct mail uses proven methods to send a compelling communication to a customer most likely to receive, comprehend, and respond. | | | | | | Whether a message is intended for thousands of homes a few times a year or hundreds of offices once a year, no other media can effectively target an audience better than direct mail. Success lies in understanding the appropriate audience, and putting a targeted, relevant offer in front of the right person. Using real-time CRM data to understand how to target customers with direct mail allows a company’s product to be placed directly in customers’ hands, which ultimately will increase response rates and drive revenue.
Successful mailings start with customer databases and information. Data about customers, collected and maintained in databases, is used to differentiate and target specific customers with offers and messages that are relevant. An accurate customer database or list of addresses is a key element of that success. Addresses that are properly maintained, cleansed, and standardized will lead to quality mailings that are delivered quickly and accurately. | | | | | | | Once you have identified your target audience for your relevant offer, it is crucial that the direct mail piece itself be presented in an appealing way to grab the reader’s attention. Alternative formats and mail product enhancements are advanced methods for delivering communications that stand out and get noticed. | | | | | | From order placement to fulfillment, using the mail can be a powerful response mechanism and customer management tool. Whether sending merchandise, information or a contract via the mail, the speed in which it arrives is part of fulfilling your promise. Use the mail and you can offer your customers a variety of delivery options.
Should customers need to return an item, the mail serves that function as well. If returning items is made easy, a customer will be encouraged to continue doing business with that vendor.
There are many ways to simplify, speed up, or lower the cost of all merchandise-related mail experiences. The easier the experience, the better a company’s chances are for that customer to continue a relationship with a company. | | | | | | Focusing marketing efforts on building customer loyalty and maintaining existing customer relationships is fundamental to retaining as well as growing customers. Direct mail meets the need of customer relationship management to turn data into action.
Whether it’s a bank, an airline, or the local bookstore, contacting customers through the mail makes good business sense. The obvious use of mail is to put a targeted offer in front of the right person. From statements to postcards, every communication reinforces that relationship, ultimately helping to build trust. Over time, trust builds customer loyalty. And customer loyalty builds and retains revenue. | | | | | | | Television, print, and radio are used to build a company’s brand to a large and broad-based audience. Since mail is a quickly measurable and targeted medium, it is a natural accompaniment to print, television, radio, or Internet marketing. Mail is tangible and portable – allowing people to touch and feel the message intended for them. This enables the messaging of other media to be reinforced and passed on to potential new customers. Once a company has a customer’s attention, it can acquire new business or grow existing sales in an unbeatable manner. | | | | | | Direct mail provides a pipeline to and from customers that all customers pay attention to.
Companies that move away from mail often miss the touchpoints that mail provides. Every contact with a customer creates top-of-mind awareness about your services. And, you get quick results, understanding exactly how many people have responded to messaging, once direct mail has been sent out. Performing measurement and analysis of a mail campaign allows for refinement of personalized communication with customers and potential customers. Most important, mail offers an easy way for customers to talk back – with business reply cards, inserts, or profile updates attached to bill coupons.
Creating and sustaining strong customer relationships is beneficial to both customer and company. Maximizing the customer lifespan with a company is critical for creating a competitive advantage and thriving as a business. Mail has proven itself the ultimate key to customer relationship success through its versatility along the customer lifecycle – performing equally well at acquiring and retaining customers on its own or as part of a multimedia marketing campaign.
Mail touches customers in a personal way that helps build relationships. Whether receiving that gift, curling up on the couch with a favorite magazine or book, planning the next holiday trip, or getting the satisfaction of organizing and paying the bills – mail connects companies to the daily cycle of their customers’ lives. What better way to build a relationship? | | | By John R. Wargo, United States Postal Service
Ken Ceglowski, United States Postal Service |
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