take your direct marketing from good to great
TRANSCRIPT
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“Greatness first and foremost
is a matter of conscious
choice and discipline.”
Jim Collins
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In the book Great by Choice, Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen asked the question,
They studied companies that beat their industry indexes by a minimum of ten times over fifteen years in environments that leaders could not predict or control. They gave these successful companies a name—10Xers.
Nine years of research went into writing the book, and the findings are very powerful when applied to direct mail marketing. Why? 10Xers understand that market forces cannot be controlled, only managed to.
“Why do some companies thrive in uncertainty, even chaos, and others do not?”
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10Xers rely on three key behaviors to thrive in uncertain environments:
Fanatic Discipline
Empirical Creativity
Productive Paranoia
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Fanatic Discipline = extreme consistency of action without overacting to events and consistency is at the core of every great direct mail campaign.
nConsistency over Time—It takes about seven to nine touches to turn a prospect into a customer.
nConsistency of Action—A steady cadence to keep your company top–of–mind when your customer is ready to buy.
nConsistency of Method—Keep your colors, fonts, graphics and message consistent across all of your mail pieces to increase brand recognition.
Fanatic Discipline
20 Mile March Your Direct Mail
The 20 Mile March is Collins’ and Hansens’ theory that
states you should “march your 20 miles” consistently
regardless of the conditions. Companies who have the
fanatic discipline to consistently march their 20 miles
have more successful outcomes than those who go all
out in good times but hold back in bad times.
By investing consistently in your direct mail campaign over
time you will yield better results than sending out randomly
timed mailers when you have extra time or money in budget.
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A Case Study in Fanatic Discipline
The Industry: Mortgage lending
The Goal: Create inbound responses from customers interested in refinancing their home mortgage.
The Strategy: High–open, government–like, snap pack pressure sealers mailers with personalized variable consumer data are sent out in large volume using a consistent methodology to highly targeted lists.
The Results: An average of about three–quarters to one percent overall response rate per mailing which in turn generates a ten to twenty percent closing ratio.
10X Note: Fanatic discipline is at the core of this client’s strategy. It is a perfect example of consistency of action, consistency over time and consistency of method. In addition, this client illustrates the 20 Mile March with his understanding that you must keep moving even when the conditions or outcome are not optimal.
“Mailing is about volume. You have to stick to the
plan if you want success. You can’t just dip your toe into the water. You
have to commit. It is what happens in the long
run that matters.”—AMG client
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Empirical Creativity = creativity combined with discipline based on empirical evidence
Test, test and test some more, or in Collins’ words, “First fire bullets then cannonballs.” What is a bullet? According to Collins, “a bullet is low cost, low risk, and low distraction test or experiment.”
Successful direct mail marketers understand that testing never stops. You can (and should) cost effectively test your list, offer, size, color, copy, layout, images, timing, and more so that when you are ready to fire cannonballs you know they will hit the mark.
Keep these three things in mind when creating your test.
nUse the knowledge that you have about your business and customers to decide on your “control” piece.
nTest one thing at a time or it will be difficult to make sense of the results.
nMake sure the sample size is large enough.
Empirical Creativity
“First you fire bullets to figure out
what will work. Then once you have
empirical confidence based on
the bullets, you concentrate your
resources and fire a cannonball.”
—Jim Collins
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A Case Study in Empirical Creativity
Creativity combined with empirical evidence gathered from experimentation leads to cost effective innovation.
The Industry: Telecommunications
The Goal: Increase foot traffic at sale events
The Strategy: A promotion was constructed to elicit a response through cash and prize giveaways, free upgrades and more. The message was repeatedly sent out using a unique, high–impact mail piece designed to garner attention and incite curiosity.
The Results: Hugely successful mailings which typically generate 15% and above response, significantly increasing foot traffic at their events.
10X Note: A great example of empirical creativity. The client was apprehensive when the idea was first presented; however, decided to fire bullets (run a test) to measure interest. After analyzing the data and determining the campaign was successful, they have been launching cannonballs ever since.
“AMG really tries hard to bring us new ideas so our direct mail doesn’t
become stagnant. They are constantly
thinking of creative and innovative concepts and coming up with ways in which we can use them.”
—AMG client
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Example:A fast–casual restaurant has had great success mailing a
postcard offering a 20% discount. They are about to send
out the same offer when they discover a new restaurant is
about to open across the street. As a 10Xer, they recognize
that the original offer may not have the same impact with
the increased competition and quickly re–evaluate it.
After adjusting the offer, they send out a low–cost and
low–risk test run (fire bullets) to a small, but targeted group
of customers. They only mail it to their complete list once
testing has proved it works (launch a cannonball).
Productive Paranoia = staying alert even when things are going well
Successful companies are keenly aware that unpredictable events happen and are always preparing for when, not if, the next one occurs. Asking the question “what if…” allows you to continue your 20 Mile March even when the unexpected happens.
Direct Mail 10Xers realize a campaign that worked in the past may not always work in the future and pay attention to outside forces that might signal a need to change.
Productive Paranoia
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A Case Study in Productive Paranoia
Stay alert to forces that can impact business.
The Industry: Political Campaign
The Goal: A victorious candidate on Election Day
The Strategy: Work within the allotted budget, filter lists through “intelligent voter grade” system and drop hardest hitting pieces closest to election date.
While most elements of the campaign are preplanned and mapped out ahead of time, that doesn’t mean there are no surprises. For a variety of reasons, a mailing can be added at the last minute.
The Results: 80% success rate at the polls.
10X Note: Productive paranoia keeps this political consultant prepared and agile. She asks “what if” and then creates a plan to manage those scenarios should they arise. She has a keen understanding that unpredictable events happen and knows that they best way to weather the storm is to be prepared ahead of time.
“I have literally called
them at 11:00 a.m. or
noon on a Friday and
had a piece of mail
designed, printed and
mailed by that night.”
—AMG client
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It is impossible to predict the future; however, incorporating the 10X skills into your business strategy will help you thrive regardless of the conditions. Here’s how:
nFanatic discipline keeps you moving through successful and less optimal times
nEmpirical creativity uses data to drive innovation
nProductive paranoia ensures survival turning fear into action
10X Leadership in Action
Fanatic Discipline
EmpiricalCreativity
ProductiveParanoia
Level 5 Ambition
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About Allegiant Marketing Group (AMG)AMG is a full service mail provider able to help you 10x your mail and achieve the results you want. AMG works as an extension of your business. While you focus on running your business, we operate in the background
nProviding you with a list of high revenue generating in–market buyers
nMaximizing response rates and closed sales revenue by applying our secrets of influence
nPrinting your high quality campaign with a focus on timely delivery
nLeveraging our extensive knowledge to garner you the lowest possible postal rates.
www.MailAMG.com 800–648–3107