September 5, 2007
Junk Mail Tarnishes Direct Mail
By Tom Ryan
Consumers 65 and older are targeted with the most unwanted direct mail, according to a second quarter survey conducted by stopthejunkmail.com and Harman Research Inc. More than 40 percent of individuals surveyed were 65 years old.
Of the total respondents, 88 percent agreed they received too much unsolicited mail and approximately 49 percent agreed that junk mail has a negative impact on the environment. Direct mail’s “worst offenders” were banks (cited by 41 percent), followed by catalogs (35 percent). The report said that the top-10 catalog “opt outs” – or cancellation requests – were for Frontgate, Ballard Designs, Home Decorators Collection, Pottery Barn, Travel Smith, Restoration Hardware, The Company Store, Soft Surroundings, Linensource and Victoria’s Secret.
Regarding catalogs, 41.1 percent said they would rather shop online than receive catalogs; 37.8 percent said they would rather receive special catalogs only once or twice a year with updates via e-mail; and 60 percent agreed that special or sales editions were a waste because not enough changes are included since the last catalog. Asked how often they want to see catalogs, 27 percent said once a month, 26 percent said once every three months, 19 percent said once every six months, and 28 percent said never.
Not surprisingly, a separate survey around credit cards found that direct mail campaigns are losing their effectiveness. In 1998, credit card issuers could count on a response rate of 1.2 percent to the offers for new cards that they sent out, but the projected response rate this year is only 0.28 percent, according to the study by Cardbeat, a market research report for the credit card industry.
The study found that direct mail campaigns are still highly effective – 42 percent of respondents said they signed up for their newest credit card because of a piece of mail. But only 26 percent opened any offers that arrived in their mailbox with nearly half reporting they do not open any credit card solicitations.
“Our data shows that most consumers do not enjoy receiving card solicitations in the mail,” said Cardbeat’s managing editor, Megan Bramlette, in a statement. “In fact, about 14 percent say that they are overwhelmed by the number of mail solicitations that they receive.”
Discussion Questions: Are direct mail campaigns losing their effectiveness because of the sheer number of pieces being sent out? In what ways do direct mail and catalog efforts have to be reconfigured to avoid being perceived as junk mail? Can you name some retailers doing a good job avoiding junk-mail status in their direct mail or catalog efforts?
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Sometimes less is more. If shoppers get the same promotions all the time from the same stores, after a while they just don’t take any “special promotion” seriously. If you miss the bus, you might not be upset if there’s another one coming in 15 minutes. For highly promotional retailers, the problem is how to stop without cutting profits. Many customers will be lost if promotions get cut across the board. The best solutions involve a lot of testing. Certainly catalog firms are famous for endless testing of lists, frequency, assortment, price point, etc. The best testing involves small random samples, to minimize risk.
Sometimes, promotion effectiveness increases using multiple media. The TV ad that tells people about the circular that’s in the Sunday newspaper. The phone call (placed by a computerized dialer) reminding people to look at the flyer that’s coming in the mail.
Direct mail has lost its effectiveness because most of us are using email for our basic mailing needs, and we know that what still comes in the regular mail is likely to be either statements, BILLS, or a birthday card from Uncle BILL, and the rest is JUNK MAIL from someone named BILL using a Florida mailing address.
There is no such thing as “junk mail”–only poorly designed and targeted campaigns which happen to use the mail. Unfortunately, there are a lot of junk campaigns–in the mail and in every other channel. Research by PODi and by ComScore, among others, indicates that relevant and timely messages, delivered to carefully targeted recipients, are still very effective. Let me put it this way…most banks are pretty smart about their marketing programs, and offers by mail (however unattractive to many people) are still their prime source of new accounts.
A number of considerations are at play here–and not all show up in this or any other survey. Direct mail is losing its effectiveness because most of it is anything but direct, targeted or strategic. Email blasts are a much better avenue. Though still annoying, email has at least some tailored direction based on Website visits. Direct mail also becomes a security issue with the possibility of identity theft due to trash scavengers submitting fraudulent credit card or loan applications. That brings up the added inconvenience of having to shred the documents–another sales killer for the company sending the mail. There is also the possibility of losing important mail that gets lost in the layers of pages and folds that must be carefully gone through before disposing of the pieces. The only thing direct anymore about this type of mail is that it’s going straight to the trash can–and don’t even get me started on the landfill and environmental issues I have with it.
We are all time starved. Junk mail is a time stealer. Plus, it is being sent in the most unengaging of fashions to keep costs down. Direct mail needs to become more engaging and interactive to breakthrough and become relevant.
On The History Channel’s recent report on bathrooms, a segment was devoted to the usefulness of the Sears Catalog (using uncoated paper stock) in American outhouses vs. its eventual coated-stock replacement. Users then reportedly resorted to steamed-and-softened corncobs, which paints an interesting picture. If direct mail campaigns are losing their steam, should they reconsider the primary agent used to soften those cobs? After all, we’re growing more corn today than ever before!
As some readers know, I’m a huge fan of the J. Peterman catalog (catalogue). Well-written and respectful in its home delivery. Always glad to receive one, and eager to compare my mediocre writing skills to those provided in the tome. Plus, I buy some of their stuff and look “absolutely mahvelous” wearing it. (Thanks, Billy Crystal.)
In my world, direct-mail purchase solicitation is nearly extinct, and that’s from a nearly-extinct super-consumer. Talk to me via email.
Losing? Try LOST. Direct mail LOST its effectiveness a long time ago and thanks to the handy-dandy delete button on the keyboard, direct email is well on its way to joining direct mail. Older people don’t have the time to wade through all the offers and younger people simply don’t have the attention span. Marketing efforts would be better spent on developing web sites that answer the prospective customer’s questions. An example: you can’t find out an individual store’s business hours from Home Depot’s web site. How STUPID is that?
This is a real challenge, as on the one hand we’re so quickly screening out more traditional forms of direct marketing but on the other hand we often miss out on becoming aware of “products we might like.” If we had the ability to opt in and out of direct mail as easily as we can online, it would certainly help matters. And if more of these firms embraced the technology advances of on-demand printing so that we could raise our hands to specific items we are on the hunt for at any given time, even better. But, we can’t. And in the meantime, we kill lots of trees and push mail at people even more aggressively chasing that ever dwindling response rate. I’ll be curious to hear what the direct marketing gurus here have to say here!
One way to make direct mail more effective is to make the opt-out procedures clearer and easier to find so that those who don’t want these mailings, don’t receive them.
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Sometimes less is more. If shoppers get the same promotions all the time from the same stores, after a while they just don’t take any “special promotion” seriously. If you miss the bus, you might not be upset if there’s another one coming in 15 minutes. For highly promotional retailers, the problem is how to stop without cutting profits. Many customers will be lost if promotions get cut across the board. The best solutions involve a lot of testing. Certainly catalog firms are famous for endless testing of lists, frequency, assortment, price point, etc. The best testing involves small random samples, to minimize risk.
Sometimes, promotion effectiveness increases using multiple media. The TV ad that tells people about the circular that’s in the Sunday newspaper. The phone call (placed by a computerized dialer) reminding people to look at the flyer that’s coming in the mail.
Direct mail has lost its effectiveness because most of us are using email for our basic mailing needs, and we know that what still comes in the regular mail is likely to be either statements, BILLS, or a birthday card from Uncle BILL, and the rest is JUNK MAIL from someone named BILL using a Florida mailing address.
There is no such thing as “junk mail”–only poorly designed and targeted campaigns which happen to use the mail. Unfortunately, there are a lot of junk campaigns–in the mail and in every other channel. Research by PODi and by ComScore, among others, indicates that relevant and timely messages, delivered to carefully targeted recipients, are still very effective. Let me put it this way…most banks are pretty smart about their marketing programs, and offers by mail (however unattractive to many people) are still their prime source of new accounts.
A number of considerations are at play here–and not all show up in this or any other survey. Direct mail is losing its effectiveness because most of it is anything but direct, targeted or strategic. Email blasts are a much better avenue. Though still annoying, email has at least some tailored direction based on Website visits. Direct mail also becomes a security issue with the possibility of identity theft due to trash scavengers submitting fraudulent credit card or loan applications. That brings up the added inconvenience of having to shred the documents–another sales killer for the company sending the mail. There is also the possibility of losing important mail that gets lost in the layers of pages and folds that must be carefully gone through before disposing of the pieces. The only thing direct anymore about this type of mail is that it’s going straight to the trash can–and don’t even get me started on the landfill and environmental issues I have with it.
We are all time starved. Junk mail is a time stealer. Plus, it is being sent in the most unengaging of fashions to keep costs down. Direct mail needs to become more engaging and interactive to breakthrough and become relevant.
On The History Channel’s recent report on bathrooms, a segment was devoted to the usefulness of the Sears Catalog (using uncoated paper stock) in American outhouses vs. its eventual coated-stock replacement. Users then reportedly resorted to steamed-and-softened corncobs, which paints an interesting picture. If direct mail campaigns are losing their steam, should they reconsider the primary agent used to soften those cobs? After all, we’re growing more corn today than ever before!
As some readers know, I’m a huge fan of the J. Peterman catalog (catalogue). Well-written and respectful in its home delivery. Always glad to receive one, and eager to compare my mediocre writing skills to those provided in the tome. Plus, I buy some of their stuff and look “absolutely mahvelous” wearing it. (Thanks, Billy Crystal.)
In my world, direct-mail purchase solicitation is nearly extinct, and that’s from a nearly-extinct super-consumer. Talk to me via email.
Losing? Try LOST. Direct mail LOST its effectiveness a long time ago and thanks to the handy-dandy delete button on the keyboard, direct email is well on its way to joining direct mail. Older people don’t have the time to wade through all the offers and younger people simply don’t have the attention span. Marketing efforts would be better spent on developing web sites that answer the prospective customer’s questions. An example: you can’t find out an individual store’s business hours from Home Depot’s web site. How STUPID is that?
This is a real challenge, as on the one hand we’re so quickly screening out more traditional forms of direct marketing but on the other hand we often miss out on becoming aware of “products we might like.” If we had the ability to opt in and out of direct mail as easily as we can online, it would certainly help matters. And if more of these firms embraced the technology advances of on-demand printing so that we could raise our hands to specific items we are on the hunt for at any given time, even better. But, we can’t. And in the meantime, we kill lots of trees and push mail at people even more aggressively chasing that ever dwindling response rate. I’ll be curious to hear what the direct marketing gurus here have to say here!
One way to make direct mail more effective is to make the opt-out procedures clearer and easier to find so that those who don’t want these mailings, don’t receive them.