Cost saving versus Return on Investment (ROI)
Naked mailers reduce cost on the fulfilment by removing outer packaging, or the need for any other form of the internal carrier sheet, letter or similar, as the address is printed (using inkjet technology) directly to the outer cover of the catalogue.
Cold data potential clients are ideal recipients for naked mailers
As an entry-level introduction to potential clients receiving your offer for the first time, a naked mailer ticks plenty of boxes. Inevitably the data you obtain will be of a certain profile with a likelihood of those recipients purchasing your product. As a percentage, however, the overall ‘new client spend’ from this cold list is likely to be lower on an average cost per order basis, than an established client; the percentage of orders received for new data will also be in the low percentages. Therefore you need to ensure that your investment per new client is affordable. Often a ‘slimed down’ version of a larger catalogue is a good approach for acquisition data as this showcases your brand and scope of offering, whilst reducing your print costs.
All wrapped up for Christmas
If you have extra messages that you want to get across or loose inserts that need to be included, then sealing them in alongside a marketing message is the best way to do it. A warmer more inviting way to seal the relationship with the recipient. There are also higher postage savings to be made (if using envelopes not polywrap) so bear this in mind as well, See Mailmark Link
Getting personal
If you’re going to bare it all with a naked mailer, then getting personal is very difficult to actually achieve. Although this is one of the cheapest ways of fulfilling a catalogue, it actually reduces the opportunity to open up a conversation or communicate offers pertinent to the recipient. You can vary the offer to a group of recipients by changing the cover of a brochure but this, although providing some targeting is still a generic approach and not using either your client’s data, spending patterns and preferences, or indeed making use of the data-driven print technology that provides marketing professionals genuine opportunity for 1-2-1 marketing.
High-End clients ‘deserve’ or even warrant a little more attention to detail. Business to Consumer Marketing (B2C) is the perfect area for this highly targeted approach to client communication. Business to Business (B2B) Marketing, generally does not allow for this as client numbers are small enough to receive account manager attention or fit within certain sectors that can receive a communication such as this that is relevant only to the Retail Marketing Sector.
Very High-End retailers producing a catalogue or more appropriately termed ‘Mag-alogue’ – an Information newsletter with retail ‘catalogue content ’ or brochure that are a ‘coffee table’ item, would not benefit from a naked mailer as this would ‘cheapen’ the look and brand for the recipient.
In summary
One thing that is clear, is that there is no simple equation to solve your marketing conundrum. You do need to know your audience, understand your data first, then engage with your marketing communications suppliers, to discuss options on print variations, compared with fulfilment costs, understand the implications of postage costs for each approach and the likely returns you will receive. Testing is key before investing large amounts of your marketing budget into a ‘great idea’ it is vital to invest some of it into testing the idea first!
Marketing & Distribution, a Greenwich-London based company, provides a wide range of services in Direct Marketing for B2B and B2C, Direct Mail, Data Management, Printing, Discount Postage and Membership Communication Services and Consultancy. Contact us: hello@romax.co.uk, +44 (0) 20 8293 8550.
«
Doing the Data Hokey-Cokey Mo Farah – Should be worried as competition heats up for this weekend’s Great North Run »
