7 May 2009
"A customer is the most valuable revenue-producing asset for any company. It makes sense to account for how that asset is not only found and kept but also productively used," comments David Lewis, Senior Sales and Marketing Director at DSTi Output. "A recent report states that acquiring a new customer can cost 6 to 7 times more that retaining an existing one. With budgets being constantly squeezed, businesses must look to maximise existing customer communication channels."
Essential mail expert, DSTi Output, is urging businesses to ensure they use every channel effectively. An often under-used medium is essential mail - the delivery of bills and statements. When deployed effectively it can communicate key marketing messages, up-sell, cross-sell and help stimulate customer loyalty.
The following advice can help to ensure the effective use of essential mail, helping businesses to save time and money - and ultimately ensure customer satisfaction.
1. Get personal - Make use of the customer's name in the bill - it increases response rates and improves your relationship. The Romano & Broudy study for the Digital Printing Council found that using both full colour and the recipient's name increased responses by 135% compared with static black and white mailings
2. Get targeted - Take the opportunity to cross-sell and up-sell products and services to existing customers. Using data effectively will ensure a targeted, rather than scatter-gun, approach which will increase response rates
3. Use the right medium - Choosing the right medium in which to deliver your essential mail is vital. Be it by email or print, it demonstrates your understanding of each individual customer by meeting their needs, resulting in increased customer loyalty
4. Keep it timely - Timing of your communications is critical. Even the strongest message will lack impact if issued at the wrong time. Sending the right message at the right time will help to ensure customer take up
5. Finally, don't forget design - It is common sense, but through effective design techniques, such as the use of colour or space management, customers are instantly able to identify key information, and fully understand the purpose of the communication. Clever design will save consumers time, deliver a more impactful message and ultimately help increase response rates
David continues; "Existing customers can be vastly more profitable than newcomers, yet many companies keep better track of office supplies and magazine subscriptions than they do of their customer relationships. The most valuable customers are those who realise you have spoken to them directly and correctly - they will happily recommend your product or service to their colleagues, friends and family.
"These are some simple ideas that will ultimately increase response rates and convert simple customer communications into enriching engagement."
