CADM shows marketers how to shift gears

"Shift your perceptions, directions and expectations of direct marketing.” That was the message being delivered at the recent Chicago DM Days & Expo. Over 1,000 direct marketing professionals and exhibitors attended the twoday conference. The Chicago Association of Direct Marketing (CADM) hosts the annual expo. They offered 43 session topics covering everything from the basics of lists to building brands through direct marketing. Here are some of the ideas that were shared.

The opening keynote at DM Days was presented by Mathew Moog, President of Q Interactive. He spoke about the potential for interactive marketing to increase revenue.

Mail provides engagement. A panel from the USPS and several business mailers shared the results of a recent survey that showed the value of direct mail on a customer connection. It was found that mail is considered to be the least intrusive of the direct marketing formats. The average person will spend an average of thirty minutes per week engaged in the sorting and reading of their mail. Mail still provides high engagement as a communications medium in the internet age.

The survey uncovered some interesting data about catalogs. It showed that direct mail catalogs drive twice as many new prospects to web sites as any other medium. Web surfers who received a catalog have a higher rate of visits, open more pages and will spend more time and money than customers without a catalog.

Direct Marketing can build brands. What is a “brand”? A brand is actually a personal relationship. A company does not own the brand. It’s owned and made possible by the customer who believes in it. Remember New Coke? Their new flavor and brand was launched on April 23, 1985. It died just two and half months later. Loyal customers wanted their original brand back. Direct marketing can speak to customers one-to-one, answer their questions and solidify relationships. Today, brands are being built through integrated direct response programs.

Target the emerging markets. The Hispanic market now makes up over 30% of the U.S. population. By 2015 nearly 45% of all children in the U.S. will be multi-cultural. While most U.S. households have just one or two people living there, the average Hispanic household has four to five. Although the household income for Hispanics is less than the national average, they spend more on food and redeem more coupons. This is a huge market with many opportunities for savvy direct marketers.

Repositionable Notes (RPNs) were one of the hot products being displayed at the recent CADM Expo. Bill Teefey (L) of NAStar Inc. stopped by the A.M. booth. He discussed the benefits of RPNs with Dan Topel, Sales Manager at A.M Mailing Services. NAStar manufactures the materials used to produce sticky notes. A.M. Mailing has the equipment to personalize and affix the RPNs to a mailpiece.

The Baby Boomer market now represents over 45% of households. They are 80 million strong and control 50% of spending. They are active and see themselves as younger than their age. While they have embraced computers and technology, they still prefer the written word in a hard copy format. Direct mail should be part of any multi-channel relationship with this group.

Apply segmentation to improve results. People receive about 5,000 advertising messages each day. They are bombarded by ads from newspapers, magazines, direct mail, internet, e-mail, television, radio, billboards, trucks, clothes…the list is endless. The best way to break through the clutter is with a relevant message. “Tell a fisherman he’ll catch more fish with scented bait, and you have his attention.”

Understanding customers and prospects as individuals, not demographics, is the core of direct marketing growth. Segmenting your database allows you to make relevant offers to customers who are most likely to respond. This reduces cost and improves ROI. Even more important it builds stronger relationships with a customer. It is estimated that a 5% increase in customer retention can bolster a business’s bottom line by 85%.

For additional information visit www.cadm.org resources.