Back to Basics: Effective Direct Mail on a Small Scale

1. Back to Basics: Effective Direct Mail on a Small Scale • Kristin Sine-Kinz; Direct Marketing Services Eric Mower and Associates • Don Thompson; Director, Americas Marketing Honeywell Imaging and Mobility formerly Hand Held Products

2. Session Objectives • Define small scale • Small scale perspective on: • Where to start • Building a Campaign: List, Offer & Creative • Fulfillment • Tracking • Case study presentation • Strategies that exemplify success on a small scale • Q & A

3. What does small scale mean? • Small mailing quantities — maybe 50K or less • Budget does not allow for high-end creative • Can’t rely on the same testing principals as large scale campaigns • Test one variable at a time • Let the tried-and-true methods lead the way

4. Where to start • Clearly define your audience • What differentiates your product from the others • Campaign goals: • Lead generation vs. Immediate sales vs. Awareness • Database building • Growing market share • Measures of success

5. Where to start • Audience questions • Helpful past experience • Integration with other tactics • Commitment • 1 mailing does not equal a campaign

6. Building a Campaign: List – 40% • Efforts will fail if you don’t target the best prospects • House list or customer database • List rental – 98% mailable • Direct Response Lists • Compiled Lists • Controlled Circulation Lists

7. Response List vs. Compiled List

8. Building a Campaign: List – 40% The small scale perspective: • Minimum quantity requirements — usually 5,000 • Usage — plan ahead when it makes sense; i.e. rent for 12 months unlimited use • Leverage value-add lists • Email lists • More costly to rent • Vendor will not send you the list

9. Building a Campaign: Offer – 30% • In order to catch the fish, you must dangle the right kind of bait • Qualified vs. Unqualified Offers • Must fit with your campaign goals • Impossible to predict which offer will generate the best response rate for a given product or service • Test, test, test

10. Building a Campaign: Creative – copy 15%, layout 15% Formats: • Options are endless • What format generates the most cost-effective response rates? • Impossible to predict with 100% confidence • To evaluate direct mail creative you should focus on • How many responses did it generate? • Were the responses qualified enough?

11. Fulfillment With all the details that go into planning a campaign, it’s easy to forget about fulfillment. This is a very important brand interaction for your prospects and/or customers. • System to collect responses — online, call center, PO Box • Team designated for responder follow-up — sales, call center • Fulfillment packages — distribution of company collateral and white paper(s)

12. Small Scale Fulfillment Considerations • Bandwidth • Might actually be more cost effective to hire a fulfillment house vs. assigning internal resources • Leftover printed stock • Print on demand • Distribute electronically • Need to create materials for distribution • Be creative; what can I repurpose? What can I create that will have multiple uses?

13. Tracking It’s all about applying what you learn; you will want to consider the following for maximum results: • System of measuring campaign against measures-of-success that were developed up front: • Doesn’t need to be a sophisticated online system • A simple spreadsheet can do the trick • Time built-in to react • A place to house data that’s collected

14. Case Study: 2005–2007 Transportation Vertical Direct Mail CampaignHoneywell Imaging and Mobility formerly Hand Held Products

15. Marketplace Challenge Honeywell Imaging and Mobility distributes its image-based data collection solutions worldwide. With a small market share in the transportation industry, the manufacturer faced the challenge of: • Low brand recognition. • Need for more information about the marketplace and customer demands. • Need for better understanding of how to position its products as solutions rather than commodities.

16. Objectives • Collect valuable purchase/needs/sales qualification information from prospects. • Build a database. • Lay the groundwork for future campaigns. • Create opportunities. • Sell product.

17. Honeywell Frequency Strategy • If you mail them more, they will buy more • Add 40-50% of a mailing's response by a follow-up to the same list within a month; i.e. telemarketing, multiple mailing waves. • 4X frequency per year; conducive to: • Establishing the brand. • Positioning as knowledgeable leaders in the transportation industry. • Frequent communications with prospects/customers can motivate them to consider you more often.

18. Honeywell List Strategy • Don’t put all your eggs in one basket; diversify. • Mix of rented lists and in-house database • Looking for synergies with advertising; boosts frequency and supports response. • List response analysis after each mail drop to aid in future list selection. • Responders from rented lists are added to the in-house database for future marketing.

19. Honeywell Offer Strategy • Sell the offer, not the product. • Unqualified Offers • Premiums paired with relevant white papers • Why? Fill the funnel & build the database • Offer presentation • Half price vs. Buy one — get one FREE • Colored offer box • Image of offer item • Attainability • Urgency — Limited time offers work. Use a specific date.

20. Honeywell Creative Strategy • Self Mailers • Branded family look/feel • Developed “control creative” by testing tried-and-true methods • Mail package HOT Spots • Return address area, Addressing area, “Teaser” mail panel • Repeat your message... repeat your message • Incorporate multiple response options • The "yes/no" response technique • If you give a prospect the option to say no, they are more likely to say yes

22. Campaign Results • ~1,700 leads • ~230 opportunities • ~$23,000,000 in potential revenue

23. Thank you. Any Questions? Do not hesitate to call/email if I may be of assistance: Kristin Sine-Kinz, Eric Mower and Associates, 585.389.1817(p) or kkinz@mower.com