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Jump Start Your Direct Mail (and Annual Fund Program)… NOW!

Ron & Sue Rescigno

July 24, 2012

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Today’s Speaker

Ron & Sue Rescigno President & Vice President

Rescigno's Marketing Connections

Hosting:

Cheri J Weissman, CJW Consulting & Services, Inc. Assisting with chat questions: Jamie Maloney, Nonprofit Webinars

Jump Start Your Direct Mail (and Annual Fund) Program…Now!

Ron and Susan Rescigno

Trends and Opportunities in Direct Mail

THE ROLE OF DIRECT MAIL IS EVOLVING IN TODAY'S WORLD OF FRAGMENTED MEDIA

Consumers and donors alike are experiencing information overload:

• Endless amounts of marketing messages • Internet has changed how consumers respond to appeals • Different people require different channels and

response mechanisms

The concerns of marketers have changed: • Focus on ROI and efficiency • Understanding where to focus across multiple media types

• Tracking and measuring is important, but not done well enough because the results are not applied to future communications Hewlett-Packard Marketing

Study, 2010

In light of these trends, the key areas of opportunity for direct mail are

TARGETED, PERSONALIZED DIRECT MAIL and MULTI-CHANNEL CAMPAIGNS

Have you ever made a purchase as a result of

a marketing message you received through…

Annual Appeals Must Meet New Demands of Donors

Improve

segmentation,

profiling, targeting

and lead generation. Accurately deliver

personalized

messages and

better engage

customers’ interest.

Analyze

effectiveness and

optimize the

marketing mix

The role of direct mail is evolving to help answer these demands in

our increasingly electronic, mobile world!

Is This You?

Overwhelmed by an

always-changing

market?

Struggling with

response rates?

Wishing to improve

your Return on Direct

Marketing Investment?

Let’s look at a few steps to jump start, energize, and grow

your program

The Basics

Annual appeals should consist of 3

mailings per year

Personalize your letters

Include a reply device

Ask for a specific gift

Think Ahead: Time Your Mailings

Timing

Is

Everything

Sept — Aug

Dec — Nov

March — Feb

Things to Consider When Planning Your Annual Appeal

What has been successful in previous direct mail campaigns?

What HASN’T worked?

Did the message produce the desired result?

Right message, audience, frequency, and

channel?

Did you ask for a specific gift?

Budget limits?

Mailing Formats 101

Traditional Letter Format

-best response rate when asking for a

donation

-include reply device

-personalization has a cost and a reward

-include a “P.S.”

Tell Compelling Stories

Intersect with donors’ or prospects’ lives and

passions.

Donors want to know their impact. They want

to know that their gift is essential to the

success of the program/organization.

Go light on facts and figures.

Yes, we mean plural!

Divide your various

audiences into

categories

Find a story that

resonates with each

Know Your Audiences

How to Make Your Printing and Direct Mail Campaign Successful:

Research Target Market

– What do your donors donate to?

– What do they need to know about your organization (how it changes lives)?

– What do you already know about your donors?

Use Variable Data

– Use data collected in your database to personalize direct mail to the recipients

– Be unique with collected data

– Focused, Relevant and Timely

– Increase database information = increase in opportunities for engagement

Personalization 101

Benefits of Personalizing:

- Provide relevance

- Message focused through segmentation according to many factors, e.g. age, gender, socio-economic background

- Donor (Market) Timing

- Frequency and flexibility

- Feedback to improve and drive ROI

Personalization 101

Inside Address

Salutation

Personalization 101

Inside Address

Salutation

Personalized Graphics and Images

Personalization 101

Inside Address

Salutation

Personalized Graphics and Images

Personalized Text

Personalization 101

Inside Address

Salutation

Personalized Graphics and Images

Personalized Text

Personalized Reply

Device

Personalization 101

Inside Address

Salutation

Personalized Graphics and Images

Personalized Text

Personalized Reply

Device Last Gift Amount &

Suggested Giving

Amount

Benefits of Targeted Direct Mail

Precise targeting of individuals builds lasting donor relationships resulting in improved retention rates and reduced donor attrition.

This translates into bottom line improvement—donations increase from personalization and customization range between 1% and 30%.

Lift in response rates for targeted vs. static direct mail is anywhere from a 2X to 5X and even more, all depending on relevance (right message, right frequency, right channel).

Higher response rates mean more “bang” for each marketing dollar—higher return on marketing investment (ROMI).

Is Targeted Mail Worth Its Cost?

On a per-piece basis, the cost of one-to-one printing is higher than for static direct mail.

On a program cost basis, however, costs may be lower, since often, fewer pieces are printed and mailed in a customized campaign.

Catholic High School: Fall Appeal

Quantity Mailed: 2,251

Number of Responses: 404

Cost of Printing and Mailing

– Total per piece: $1.765

Response Rate: 0.1795

Dollars Donated: $168,370

– Average Gift: $416. 76

Cost Per Donor: $9.83

Cost Per Dollar Raised:

$.02

Return on Investment:

4238%

Direct Mailing Analysis

Description of Mailing – Tracking Code

– Date Mailed

Target Audience – Quantity Mailed

Cost of the Mailing – Cost Per Piece

– Postage

Gifts Received –Response Rate

Dollars Donated –Average Gift

Cost Per Donor

Cost Per Dollar Raised

Return on Investment

Different Campaign Types See Different Increases in Response Rates

Comparison in response rate between static and targeted campaigns

Direct to Fundraising Lead Gen Nurture Loyalty

Consumer

Follow Up

Evaluate,

Tweak,

and MAIL AGAIN!

QR Barcodes: Quick Response Barcodes

What are they? How do they work?

Scan the QR code with your Smartphone or

computer camera

The image automatically directs you to a URL

Eliminates the need to manually type a URL.

Examples and ideas for the use of QR codes: • Use for easier access and to generate curiosity - “Scan

this barcode to reveal a personalized offer – just for you.”

• Use QR codes to drive traffic to a mobile commerce site. • Use in a direct mail campaign as part of a quiz or treasure hunt – link between actual locations, events, mail

pieces, and the web, as part of an ongoing conversation with the donor.

• Use at point of sale, to collect customer data by offering immediate on-the-spot discounts if the customer opts-in on the web.

Did You Know…?

The best time to ask for

another gift is 3-6 weeks

after a donor has given.

Ask everyone on your list for the holiday mailing, even if they

already gave in September.

Thank You!

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