The hounding of Verizon FIOS

Every day (or close to it), we seem to get a mailing from Verizon http://verizon.com/ trying to convince us to switch to FIOS. Each mailing looks the same; each offer looks more desperate. Several posts back I wrote about the media mix. A successful use of marketing is to have a consistent message run in multiple media simultaneously. But there is a limit as to when the audience feels it is being hounded and the company and its message begin to sound desperate. This is what has happened with the Verizon message. I see it on TV. I hear it on radio. I see the ads on different websites. And I get mailings several times a week. This week I got three very similar mailings from Verizon. I feel like there is something Verizon is not telling me. Perhaps, that after two years the rates will skyrocket (there is a two year price guarantee)?

But, back to the direct mail pieces, the pieces are generic-looking, not a lot of color. They are in a letter format, sometimes signed by Verizon staff, sometimes not. The pieces do have unique phone numbers and website addresses. This will allow Verizon to track how each mailing is performing. As a direct marketer, I am curious how many inquiries they get from this seemingly endless direct mail campaign (and how many turn into customers). Verizon uses the PS often, addressing what they think will be a potential customer's greatest objection: ease of installation.

Our perception (and probably that of other potential customers) is that it is a big ordeal to change over your e-mail account. And once you do it, you will never want to do it again. So, at the end of the two year price protection period, the price could increase dramatically and you will be unlikely to change your service because of the e-mail hassle.

Golf and Investments

There must be some extenisive market research to indicate that people who invest love to play golf. Yes, it is true that golfers tend to have money to invest since it costs a lot to golf on a regular basis. Yet, I do not understand why investment companies often send promotions to potential investors offering them golf equipment for more investment money. To me, perhaps, your non-traditional investor, find the golf promotions presumptious. I do not enjoy golf and a "TaylorMade" club would not make me "move my money" to TD Ameritrade. And the stakes are high. I would have to move $75,000 to get a special putter, $150,000 to get a driver and $2 million to get a "once-in-a-lifetime golf experience." None of these offers are making me move my money. Perhaps, TD Ameritrade http://tdameritrade.com/ should consider using an overlay on its investor mailing list. This database tool would help to locate investors on their list who have an interest in golf. Then send this promotion to only these investors. TD Ameritrade is wasting their marketing dollars sending me a promotion with golf incentives. They probably mailed this to many investors with little interest in golf too.

Generic drugs and pharmaceutical marketing...

Today I received two of the exact same pieces from Wegman's http://www.wegmans.com/(which is my favorite supermarket, but more on that another time). I like the tone of the message on the piece. "Since you are one of our best customers..." "We are concerned about the escalating cost of healthcare..." The wording tells me that Wegman's cares about its customers and employees. (Employees are mentioned often in the piece.) Wegman's is atuned to the economy and how it affects their business. The piece lists several hundred prescription drugs and Wegman's pricing of these drugs for 30 day and 90 day prescriptions. This piece is straight-forward and simple (minimal colors). Why did I get two of these pieces? Both are addressed to the same name and address, no differences. The pieces look the same and even have the same coding. Wegman's should review their merge/purge directions to their mailing vendor. If Wegman's mailed this piece to even a small portion of its mailing list twice, they would be wasting their marketing dollars. I also wonder how they will analyze how this mailing performed. The direct marketer in me, for analysis purposes, wants Wegman's to have the customer mention something about the piece and get something special at the Wegman's pharmacy...

Postcards are in....

This week we got so many direct mail postcards, some oversized, some not. A few of my favorites:

1.) Philadelphia Zoohttp://www.philadelphiazoo.org: This mailer uses a lot of catchy phrases (maybe too many) to get my attention. "Be an early bird!" "Flock on over to the McNeil Avian Center." This piece is an invitation to take a member-only tour of the McNeil Avian Center. Members have to call to make a reservation. The piece could have been used to get members to renew. By stating that if you renew your membership, you will get a special preview of the avian center. This seems like a missed opportunity, especially since our renewal is coming due this month.

2.) Old Navy http://www.oldnavy.com: This week's promotion was "Stuff & Save, Save 20% on everything when you use your Old Navy card." The media mix was well-employed with this promotion, since I got an e-mail, heard radio spots and saw a tv commercial with the same promotion. For me, this offer will work. I plan to go to the store and take advantage of the 20% off. On a side note, I noticed that Old Navy often indicates that the direct mail piece was printed on recycled paper with a further clarification, "including 10% post-consumer waste using soy-based ink." I suppose that Old Navy has done some market research that indicates that the Old Navy audience is concerned about the environment and that this type of disclaimer causes a potential customer to become a return customer. If not, this two line disclaimer feels like an apology for sending a direct mail piece and distracts from the message.

3.) The Little Gym http://www.TLGWestWindsorNJ.com: This local gym for children sent a summer camp promotion on an oversized postcard. The postcard had a coupon, "receive 1 FREE camp day for each 4 days reserved by 4/29. As little as $28 per half camp day!" I am confused. When describing offers in a promotion, organizations should keep in mind that the recipient is looking at the piece for a second or less and will not be able to figure out complicated or convulated offer expressions.

Cash in on jewelry

The economy has changed the contents of my mailbox. I just got this oversized postcard from a jeweler and gemologist offering to convert my unwanted jewelry to cash. This mailing gets right to the point and allows white space. The call to action could be more prominent, though. If the in-home consultation is free, the jeweler should say so, boldly.

My address is clean, meaning it is spelled correctly, uses a zip plus four and the mailer knows my gender. I wonder if recipients notice that the return address is a post office box in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania and the indicia (the postage "stamp" for bulk mail) originates in Cleveland, Ohio. Does that make recipients think about the offer differently?

The stock photo on the postcard is a bit too staged, although the tag line is direct and tells the reader exactly what the offer is.

Dentists as marketers

Today's direct mail piece is from a local dentist. Since the advent of teeth whitening, bleaching and cosmetic dentistry, most of which are not covered by traditional insurance plans, dentists have become marketers. These cosmetic procedures are big money-makers for dentists, so it pays to have a solid marketing program. The piece I received is so chock full of information that my first instinct was to throw it out. An effective direct mail piece should be brief, uncluttered and have a specific, appealing call to action. A typical recipient might give a piece 20 seconds or less before getting rid of it. This piece, unfortunately, does not accomplish the clear, enticing call to action.


My suggestion to this dentist is to not fear "white space." White space is that clean, straight-forward look that a direct mail piece will have when words and images do not completely cover it. There is just too much going on. http://www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com/article/white-space-akin-fresh-air-direct-mail-letters-31762_1.htmlPerhaps, a postcard would be a more economical format. As the recipient, I do not know what to look at first in the current format.


Another suggestion is to target the list. There is mention of a special rate for a children's exam. Perhaps, send a postcard to those who have young children with this offer.

Further, I would recommend a postcard format with a specific enticing and easily actionable call to action. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-operate-an-effective-direct-mail-campaign.htmlIn this case, the dentist wants to offer free teeth whitening to new patients, as a way to get the patient in the door (so to speak). I envision a postcard with brief descriptions of the dentist's stellar credentials, the services she offers and a coupon, including a phone number, website address and street address, with the free teeth whitening offer. Once the potential patient is in her office, the dentist can (soft) sell her other services. A demonstration of her services in the office would be a more effective marketing technique than trying to sell all of her services all at once on a direct mail piece.

The dentist's office should also have a way to track the effectiveness of this campaign. Perhaps, the office staff answering the phone should ask how the potential patient heard about the offer. Later, the dentist should track how many referrals came from this promotion and how much business can be attributed to this direct mail piece. (Perhaps, the dentist is already doing this.)



With a little marketing expertise, I think that dentists could build their businesses.
(I won't even go into the fact that the piece was addressed to: Mr. Dana A. Krug. Yes, MR., when I am clearly not a Mr. This leads me to believe that the list the dentist recommended was not a high quality one.)