![]() |
Marketing Information |
|
|
Effective List Management Can Save You Big
Let's talk about how to keep your postage costs down. So far you have been following my advice and mailing to the same list more than once. At some point you find lists that will produce returns continually, but you notice that you are receiving more returns than when you started mailing to those lists. You may see things like "Undeliverable as Addressed" or "Forwarding Order Expired." Every time you mail to an address and that prospect has moved or cannot be found for any reason, you have just paid for the postage with no possibility of getting a response. Obviously it is a pretty big waste of money to continue to mail to this address, but what do you do about it? You could simply go into the list of names that you have purchased and delete the returns. No more bad addresses, no more wasted postage, right? That is one option but there is a better way to handle the situation. The US Postal Service has an NCOA (National Change of Address) System that a limited number of companies are licensed to access. These companies are able to take the list that you have purchased, or compiled yourself, and check it against the USPS system. You will receive a report that will let you know if anyone on your list has moved, gone out of business, or even if the zip code that contact was in was changed by the Post Office itself. Along with the report you will receive a new copy of your list that has been cleaned and updated. The cost for having your list checked is very economical (about $5.00 per thousand records) and will allow you to keep getting your message out to as many people in your list as possible. At times you can see up to a 10% undeliverable rate, and it can even be higher on older lists that you have been using for a while. Average is more like 5% undeliverable so let's take a look at the numbers at that rate. If you mail 10,000 and get 5% back for bad addresses: 10,000 x .05 = 500 pieces. You will have paid postage on 500 pieces that did not reach their destination. So if you mail to your list again without cleaning it you have just wasted: 500 x $0.23 = $115.00. If you were to NCOA that list at a rate of $5.00 per thousand you would have spent: 10 x $5.00 = $50.00. So you have three choices when faced with a list that needs cleaning: 1. Spend hours deleting every return that you receive from your list. 2. Waste $115.00 or more in postage every time you mail to that list. or 3. Have the list checked by an NCOA service and get back in touch with customers that may have moved, for around one tenth the cost. The NCOA service is the easiest and most effective way to keep your postage costs down. Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998; her only assets a computer and a phone. In 2004 the company did close to $9 million in sales and employs over 60 persons. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. Now she's sharing her marketing secrets with others. For more free marketing advice, visit her website at http://www.postcardmania.com
MORE RESOURCES: Warning: set_time_limit() [function.set-time-limit]: Cannot set time limit in safe mode in /srv/www/vhosts/testmagazine.com/httpdocs/inc/rss.inc on line 8
Marketing - Google News |
RELATED ARTICLES
Everything Youve Ever Learned About Marketing Is Wrong Everything you've ever learned about marketing and advertising is WRONG. Everything you've ever heard everything you've ever tried, everything you've ever done, it's all WRONG. Your Marketing Message Your message is first among your weapons in the battle of perceptions.Your message allows you to accomplish many things. Stop Your Marketing Leaks Thirty percent of all the drinkable water that runs between the plant and your faucet is lost to leaky pipes. In marketing, thirty percent of our business is lost to leaky follow up. Newsletters are Marketing Machines! Is your business publishing a print or e-newsletter? An informative publication is a great way to stay in touch with your customers and leads. It also reinforces your expertise in your industry. Marketing Hat for Graphic Designers or Wannabe's Many people think that the quality of any graphic design is determined by how aesthetically pleasing it is: Although making the card look good is important, this couldn't be further from the truth. The only true measure of any design, at least commercially, is "How well does it pull?". Ten Tips for Creating a Winning Proposal - Part 2 Part 1 of this series described five critical components for creating a winning proposal. In some instances, these components are all a prospective client needs to make a determination and award the job. Why Insight and Flexibility is More Important than Perseverance in Marketing Marketing successfully requires not only insight into how a product or service can be successfully marketed but also flexibility into the marketing of a product or service.This is one of the marketing principles that doesn't seem to be taught successfully. Networking Magic YES-- it is true that Networking is an art that must be mastered. However, for those of you that are new to the networking game and the art of mastering it, please READ ON. Using Direct Mail The advantages of using direct mail to promote your home-based or small business are: Selectivity-the ability to send your advertising only to people and organizations who can use and pay for your product or service. Flexibility-the freedom to use either the simplest or the most elaborate presentation, ranging from a single-sheet mailer to an entire package, and the flexibility to test all sorts of minor changes in your mailing pieces. The Easiest Small Business Direct Marketing Tip You'll Ever Get This really and truly is the easiest (and most profitable) small business direct marketing tip you'll ever get. And when I say easy? I really mean EASY. How to Turn Your Marketing Into a Money-Making Machine - Setting The Stage For Successful Marketing Powerful Marketing has become elusive to many companies seeking strong sales results and overall growth. The sad truth is that Marketing comes across as a rather frustrating process. The Most Important Marketing Principles of All Time As you have probably experienced there is a lot of hype in the business and marketing world. New concepts, revolutionary methods and the like land in our in boxes every day. Give It Away Now - The More You Share, the More You Sell! Give away your knowledge, and you'll make money. How does this work? Isn't this counter-intuitive? Let's think about this. Marketing Hesitation Costs Dearly Timing is everything. Hate to be late? The early bird gets the worm. Lead Generation: What Is It worth? Our business environment has changed dramatically. Companies must now be disciplined and market-driven if they want to stay alive. Differentiate or Die Sounds pretty harsh, doesn't it? Well, I can tell you from personal experience with both my own business and with my clients, "differentiate or die" is not an exaggeration. Whether you're a small one-person shop or a large government agency, solvency and the future of your business rely on you standing out in a competitive marketplace. Systems - Marketing Your Business Successfully Business Systems that work for anyone, are a fundamental necessity for any networking venture. While most people rely upon their own company business system or plan for success, there is always a different option. Adapting Blog Technologies To Corporate E-Newsletters Every January, trade publications put out a list of predictions for the coming year. They discuss products, services and trends that they think will change the way business is done, labeling these "disruptive technologies. Corporate Gift Tips To Wow Clients & Associates 1) Know the company and their culture. Are they trendy and artistic or conservative and elegant? Your gift giving should reflect this. Improving Lead Generating and Conversation Rates: Think Like a Farmer John's a freelance photographer in Ohio who called to tell me of his frustration with the advertising and promotional campaigns he has tried in the last couple of years. Each time he does a promotional mailing to his list of 10,000, he is lucky if he gets one or two inquiries. |
|
home | site map SEO Request | Wing Chun | Home Business Help | Klick Marketing Resources | Recommendation for Internet Business |
© 2006 GetWebMarketing.com - All Rights reserved. - GetWeb Media Webdesign Muenchen |