By Jeanette on
11/14/2011 5:58 PM
To read the news, the USPS needs higher postage rates to survive... but that's not the real story! To this I say "Bah, Humbug! Get the facts!"
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By Jeanette on
9/29/2011 4:47 PM
Did you know people look forward to reading their mail?
98% of consumers bring their mail in the day it is delivered, and 77% sort through it immediately. (Deliver Magazine’s July issue,2011)
Close to 70% of shoppers prefer print, and state they look at printed paper material mailed to the home or in newspapers at least once per week looking for sales and promotions. (Nielsen’s US Consumer 360 Conference)
Clearly, they are looking and want it, so…. how do you increase results?
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By John (Host) on
9/14/2011 3:14 PM
By Jeanette Fenton
When I hear rumors, I demand facts. Don’t you? So I did a little searching for reliable sources of data. By statistics and survey, direct mail is still a major and reliable tool in the marketing arena. Here’s just three recent surveys that illustrate its strength:
- Google, in their “2011 B to B Marketing Outlook”, notes that a majority of B2B marketers surveyed still assign 66% of their budgets for the traditional “Top 3” media: trade shows/events, magazines/trade publications, and direct mail.
- “MarketingSherpa 2011 B2B Marketing Benchmark” reports that 79% of those surveyed found Direct mail somewhat to very effective.
- Winterberry Group, in their “WG Analysis - Outlook 2011”, Direct and Digital Channels show a “strong recovery forecast” with direct mail rising to a projected $48 Billion this year.
Now, I seriously doubt that many businesses are just stupidly wasting their money, so why are they still using it?
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By John (Host) on
8/23/2011 1:23 PM
By Jeanette Fenton
There's a famous quote totally apropos to this subject for all marketers and business owners:
“A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time.” Henry Ford
Perhaps you, like many of our clients, especially those in marketing departments, are frustrated with major cuts in your advertising budget. We (marketers) know that doesn’t make sense, but what can you do about it?
So, let’s demonstrate why Henry speaks such sooth in terms your manager might understand… real numbers and results, like these:
- 256% revenue growth – McGraw-Hill Research found, analyzing 600 companies during the 1981/2 recession, that companies who maintained aggressive marketing experienced significantly higher sales growth than those who did not. 1
- Double the odds of growth – “Fortune follows the Brave” – That’s what Management Review concluded after surveying AMA members on spending during the 90/91 recession. They were twice as likely to pick up market share by raising their marketing budgets and staff. 2
- “Advertising is an anti-recession tool” said Harvard Business Review in its 1980 report. “Advertising should be regarded not as a drain on profits but as a contributor...budgets should be related to the company’s goals, instead of to last year’s sales.” 3
- Maintaining market identity costs much less than rebuilding it later on. A study by Roger Graham of over 3000 firms found decreasing advertising during a recession resulted in immediate loss of earnings, especially for firms offering consumer goods or industrial products. 4
- "Marketing is muscle, not fat. Be careful about cutting it." states Steve McKee as he explains "Cutting your marketing spending is a sure way to give ground to competitors..." 5
- And by the way, keep in mind….
Accounting tries to “save” capital, but sales and marketing grow capital… which do you want to achieve?
The list goes on and on, study after study on every recession since 1925. It is absolutely true that to continue growth you must continue or even increase advertising, not just hope people will come to you. Hopefully the above references arm you better in convincing the “powers that be.”
But, there’s something vital missing in all these studies, something you MUST apply…. You can’t just spend money on advertising, willy nilly, and expect much of a result. Some, yes, but to get the results you really need and want, you have to invest in an advertising campaign, and be really smart about how you do it and how you track results.
We’ll be covering more tips on how you do this, but for now, call us if you have questions or would like help on your next project at 916-923-1000.
1 (McGraw-Hill Research Laboratory of Advertising Performance Report 5262 New York: McGraw-Hill, 1986)
2 (Greenburg, Eric Rolfe. “Fortune Follows the Brave”, Management Review January 1993)
3 (Dhalla, Nairman K. “Advertising as an anti-recession tool” Harvard Business Review, Jan–Feb 1980.)
4 (“Advertising During a Recession May Yield Increased Earnings Later.” PHYorg.com March 30, 2009)
5. (Steve McKee, "Don't Let Hard Times Derail Your Advertising" Bloomberg Businessweek, Oct 7, 2008)
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By John (Host) on
6/20/2011 5:26 PM
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QR Barcode
“Quick Response”
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The USPS is helping make your direct mail projects even more cost effective this summer with a special program.
The art on the right is a QR code (for “Quick Response”).
When a recipient takes a photo of it with his Smartphone, it auto-directs him to the web URL encoded within it to get more information about the product or service you are promoting.
Beginning July 1 through August 31, 2011, you can get a 3% postage discount just for including this Smartphone-friendly QR code on or in your mail pieces.
The QR code is easy to get and print.
The discount applies to most bulk mail.
According to the DMM Advisory, key requirements include:
- “A two-dimensional mobile barcode – readable by a mobile smartphone – must be on or in each mail piece in a mailing.
- “The barcode must be used for marketing, promotional or educational purposes and be relevant to the contents of the mail piece.
- “Postage must be paid with a permit imprint and electronic documentation (eDoc) must be submitted to PostalOne!"
For more information . . . Call us today at 913-923-1000
of course, if you want to dive into the USPS verbiage yourself go to:
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By John (Host) on
2/28/2011 9:34 PM
I mention in my bio that I like to post in various programmers forums to help others learn the art of coding. Well, I received a pleasant surprise from Microsoft, they just honored me with an award for my contributions to their forums:
I contribute to their forums mostly for fun and to help others. But receiving this Award totally made my day.
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By John (Host) on
1/13/2011 4:47 PM
Oddly, if what they put up on the site is correct the single piece First Class mail rate will stay at .44!
The new rates can be viewed on the Postal Explorer http://pe.usps.com/ under
*NEW* April 17, 2011 Pricing Information
At a glance, the changes look fairly minor. Post office is saying it's 1.741% across the board.
They also decided to extend the deadline for when we have to switch to the newer IMB barcodes.
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By John (Host) on
12/23/2010 5:07 PM
Happy Holidays
from all of us at Wordmasters!
Wishing you all the joy of the holiday season and a prosperous new year.
As another year comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on how lucky we are to have such wonderful family and friends. It really is a pleasure working with each and every one of our clients, and we look forward to helping you with your mailing and data processing projects in the new year.
Have a Happy Holiday Season and enjoy a safe but fun New Years Celebration!
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By John (Host) on
11/24/2010 5:14 PM
To all of our friends and clients,
from all of us here at Wordmasters
We would like to wish you a
Happy Thanksgiving!
We are truly lucky to have such
wonderful people to call our friends.
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By John (Host) on
10/22/2010 11:56 AM
Not too surprising, but the Postal Service announced today that it has decided to appeal the ruling denying the postage rate increase. They will be filling a petition in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
USPS Press Release
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