Casual Articles
#1 in Business Subscribe Email Print

You are here: Home > Business > Marketing Direct > Increase Direct Mail Response Rates (And Revenue) By Segmenting Your List

Tags

  • conference
  • codes
  • piece
  • popular payment
  • their company

  • Links

  • Corporate Event Ideas
  • Possesion Aggression Object Guarding
  • Business Plans For Franchises
  • Casual Articles - Increase Direct Mail Response Rates (And Revenue) By Segmenting Your List

    Don't Forget Conference Folders
    Is your business holding a customer business meeting, seminar, or trade show in the near future? If so, it may be wise to consider promotional conference folders to not only keep the agenda and informational papers together, but as a business gift giveaway.These promotional gifts have several benefits: First, they can range from inexpensive to quite handsome, depending on your budget. Second, this promotional
    r, or because your clients must hire all new staff each Spring? Each of these three reasons presents a different opportunity.

    Payment method
    Your customer database also tells you that the most popular payment method is cheque, followed by credit card and cash. The most popular medium is your catalog, followed by your website (although your website is growing in popularity). Are there opportunities here for reducing your promotional costs by moving your entire catalog online? Or for sending promotions by email instead of pos
    Job-Seekers, Be Ready to Walk
    It's a tough notion for job-seekers to get their heads around, but the essence of negotiation is choice.If you don't have options, you can't negotiate - you just can't. If you have no roof over your head, for instance, and someone offers to let you stay in his barn in exchange for ten hours a day of backbreaking work, you will take it. You have no options, so you have no juice.Job-seekers can feel option
    If you want to increase revenue using direct mail, you have two options: sell more to the customers you have, or find new customers and sell to them. The tricky part is knowing how to do that.

    I recommend that you start by segmenting your house list. Dividing your customers into groups that share a common interest helps you understand your customers better. Let me illustrate.

    Assume you are a business that manufactures and markets a line of polo and golf shirts that businesses issue to their staff as casual uniforms. You examine your house list to find out who buys what, and when and how. You are looking for patterns, trends and opportunities.

    Gender
    You discover that 75% of your customers buy shirts for male staff only, even though you carry a line of women’s shirts. There may be an opportunity here. You may be able to find customers in similar industries as your customers, but in businesses that are operated by women and that have female staff.

    Industry
    Looking at the SIC codes in your house file, you learn that a large percentage of your clients are retailers. This means you can look for other retailers in other industry segments that may also be interested in your product line.

    Buying cycle
    Another piece of data that you uncover is that a sizeable segment of your customer base prefers to have their shirts embroidered with their company logo or slogan. What do these customers have in common besides that? Are they in similar industries? Are they all involved in the hospitality industry? You may spot a new market for your products. Or find a way to upsell existing customers when they renew their orders.

    Trends
    You discover that one shirt is more popular this year than it was last year. Is this a fad? A trend? Look carefully and find out. Maybe you can capitalize on this new development to grow your business with existing and new customers.

    Frequency
    You also learn that many of your customers order their shirts in the Spring. Is this because the weather is growing warmer, because your Spring prices are always lower, or because your clients must hire all new staff each Spring? Each of these three reasons presents a different opportunity.

    Payment method
    Your customer database also tells you that the most popular payment method is cheque, followed by credit card and cash. The most popular medium is your catalog, followed by your website (although your website is growing in popularity). Are there opportunities here for reducing your promotional costs by moving your entire catalog online? Or for sending promotions by email instead of post
    Entrepreneurship: What does it REALLY mean?
    Introduction:In a world where ideas drive economies, it is no wonder that innovation and entrepreneurship are often seen as inseparable bedfellows. The governments around the world are starting to realize that in order to sustain progress and improve a country’s economy, the people have to be encouraged and trained to think out-of-the-box and be constantly developing innovative products and services. The once f
    r house list to find out who buys what, and when and how. You are looking for patterns, trends and opportunities.

    Gender
    You discover that 75% of your customers buy shirts for male staff only, even though you carry a line of women’s shirts. There may be an opportunity here. You may be able to find customers in similar industries as your customers, but in businesses that are operated by women and that have female staff.

    Industry
    Looking at the SIC codes in your house file, you learn that a large percentage of your clients are retailers. This means you can look for other retailers in other industry segments that may also be interested in your product line.

    Buying cycle
    Another piece of data that you uncover is that a sizeable segment of your customer base prefers to have their shirts embroidered with their company logo or slogan. What do these customers have in common besides that? Are they in similar industries? Are they all involved in the hospitality industry? You may spot a new market for your products. Or find a way to upsell existing customers when they renew their orders.

    Trends
    You discover that one shirt is more popular this year than it was last year. Is this a fad? A trend? Look carefully and find out. Maybe you can capitalize on this new development to grow your business with existing and new customers.

    Frequency
    You also learn that many of your customers order their shirts in the Spring. Is this because the weather is growing warmer, because your Spring prices are always lower, or because your clients must hire all new staff each Spring? Each of these three reasons presents a different opportunity.

    Payment method
    Your customer database also tells you that the most popular payment method is cheque, followed by credit card and cash. The most popular medium is your catalog, followed by your website (although your website is growing in popularity). Are there opportunities here for reducing your promotional costs by moving your entire catalog online? Or for sending promotions by email instead of pos
    Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Help Your Customers Spread the News
    Most companies depend on referrals to help grow business; we all want to be on the receiving end of positive buzz and great word-of-mouth advertising. A recent study of consumer behavior says that Word-of-Mouth (WOM) influences purchasing behavior more than any form of advertising. As consumers, each of us has been both the influencer and the one being influenced by a recommendation, referral or warning about a produ
    a large percentage of your clients are retailers. This means you can look for other retailers in other industry segments that may also be interested in your product line.

    Buying cycle
    Another piece of data that you uncover is that a sizeable segment of your customer base prefers to have their shirts embroidered with their company logo or slogan. What do these customers have in common besides that? Are they in similar industries? Are they all involved in the hospitality industry? You may spot a new market for your products. Or find a way to upsell existing customers when they renew their orders.

    Trends
    You discover that one shirt is more popular this year than it was last year. Is this a fad? A trend? Look carefully and find out. Maybe you can capitalize on this new development to grow your business with existing and new customers.

    Frequency
    You also learn that many of your customers order their shirts in the Spring. Is this because the weather is growing warmer, because your Spring prices are always lower, or because your clients must hire all new staff each Spring? Each of these three reasons presents a different opportunity.

    Payment method
    Your customer database also tells you that the most popular payment method is cheque, followed by credit card and cash. The most popular medium is your catalog, followed by your website (although your website is growing in popularity). Are there opportunities here for reducing your promotional costs by moving your entire catalog online? Or for sending promotions by email instead of pos
    A More Effective Business Card
    In my life I have literally collected thousands of business cards. When I look through them, I hardly remember the person or business at all! Should a business card not reflect who you are and what your business does?A proper business card is the first piece of marketing literature that is handed out. It should definitely have your name, address, email address and phone number. But I think that most business ca
    Or find a way to upsell existing customers when they renew their orders.

    Trends
    You discover that one shirt is more popular this year than it was last year. Is this a fad? A trend? Look carefully and find out. Maybe you can capitalize on this new development to grow your business with existing and new customers.

    Frequency
    You also learn that many of your customers order their shirts in the Spring. Is this because the weather is growing warmer, because your Spring prices are always lower, or because your clients must hire all new staff each Spring? Each of these three reasons presents a different opportunity.

    Payment method
    Your customer database also tells you that the most popular payment method is cheque, followed by credit card and cash. The most popular medium is your catalog, followed by your website (although your website is growing in popularity). Are there opportunities here for reducing your promotional costs by moving your entire catalog online? Or for sending promotions by email instead of pos
    Changing Careers - an Inevitable Step
    When you get your first job, thinking about different careers is probably the last thing on your mind and fifty years ago, most people entering the workforce would expect to remain with the same employer until the end of their working life. However, the situation has changed radically in recent years and so we all need to know how to manage career transitions if we are to get the best out of our careers. Your ability
    r, or because your clients must hire all new staff each Spring? Each of these three reasons presents a different opportunity.

    Payment method
    Your customer database also tells you that the most popular payment method is cheque, followed by credit card and cash. The most popular medium is your catalog, followed by your website (although your website is growing in popularity). Are there opportunities here for reducing your promotional costs by moving your entire catalog online? Or for sending promotions by email instead of postal mail?

    As you can see, the advantages of segmenting your customer database are great.
    • you get to understand your customers better
    • you uncover opportunities for creating special offers for unique segments of your list
    • you discover trends that help you modify your product line
    • you gather the knowledge you need to make intelligent decisions about which prospect lists to rent
    • you discover potential markets that you had not even considered before

    HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
    <a href="http://www.casualarticles.com/article/30952/casualarticles-Increase-Direct-Mail-Response-Rates-And-Revenue-By-Segmenting-Your-List.html">Increase Direct Mail Response Rates (And Revenue) By Segmenting Your List</a>

    BB link (for phorums):
    [url=http://www.casualarticles.com/article/30952/casualarticles-Increase-Direct-Mail-Response-Rates-And-Revenue-By-Segmenting-Your-List.html]Increase Direct Mail Response Rates (And Revenue) By Segmenting Your List[/url]

    Related Articles:

    Manufacturing Salaries - 2004

    Talent Management Functions Like the Kidney

    Signage for Mobile Car Wash Vehicles

    Bookmark it: del.icio.us digg.com reddit.com netvouz.com google.com yahoo.com technorati.com furl.net bloglines.com socialdust.com ma.gnolia.com newsvine.com slashdot.org simpy.com shadows.com blinklist.com