Junk Mail Hurting Direct Marketing’s Reputation

Written By Ted Grigg

We’ve defended it in every conceivable way.

We say its junk mail only to those who are not interested in our products even though the power of analytics to select an audience based on interest prior to mailing has existed for years. Or we say that not every one will respond by mail even though they will learn about the offer through a mailing and then go to the retailer to buy. So the recipient considers it junk, but it still sells.

Just today I received a nicely done direct mail package from an energy company here in Texas. The teaser on the front says:
“Tired of Paying High Prices for electricity?”
And the back of the carrier envelope says:
“So Many Reasons To Switch
•    New Simple Low Price
•    Guaranteed Price Protection
•    $75 Welcome Bonus"

The inside of the letter contained this first line of copy:
“Dear Ted,
There’s never been a better time to switch to XYZ Energy.”

The offer was well thought through and the copy overflowing with benefits. But there was one overriding problem. I am already a customer of this company and have been for the last 6 years at the same residential address. Now this is junk mail.

Customers demand more from companies they buy from. If nothing else, they expect them to at least know who their customers are. Do you think this type of incompetence hurts the brand? Do long-term customers feel cheated when they don’t get the same breaks as new customers? What’s your reaction?

Ted Grigg

Ted Grigg is a direct response strategist who helps growth-focused companies reduce risk by identifying weak assumptions before they become costly mistakes.

Over the course of his career, Ted has evaluated several hundred million dollars in direct response testing across direct mail, digital, print, television, telephone, and other channels. His work combines direct response strategy, acquisition economics, customer analysis, creative evaluation, offer development, and disciplined testing.

Ted has worked on both the client and agency sides of the business. That experience gives him a practical understanding of the pressures facing executives, marketing teams, agencies, and service providers—and of the problems that arise when activity, media volume, or creative preference replaces a clear economic objective.

His consulting work helps organizations examine such questions as:

  • Are acquisition goals economically realistic?

  • Is the allowable Cost Per Sale supported by customer value?

  • Are targeting, offers, creative, media, and response paths working together?

  • Are tests structured to produce reliable business decisions?

  • Are unproven assumptions being treated as facts?

  • Is the organization measuring sales outcomes rather than convenient proxies?

Ted’s experience includes the development of direct mail and multichannel acquisition programs for insurance, healthcare, financial services, technology, nonprofit, manufacturing, retail, transportation, communications, government, and business-to-business organizations.

For a national direct-to-consumer insurance company, he developed a direct mail format that defeated established controls and helped expand the productive use of compiled prospect lists from less than 10 percent to more than 30 percent of total direct mail circulation within one year. He also planned Medicare lead-generation programs for more than 60 regional and national HMO and PPO organizations, with some programs exceeding sales projections by as much as 60 percent.

Ted founded Wyse Direct, a direct marketing division of Wyse Advertising in Cleveland, where he developed acquisition programs and helped launch a new technology product for Seiko Instruments by generating a predictable flow of qualified sales leads for its national sales organization. As vice president of new business development for the Grizzard Agency, he helped broaden the agency’s strategic capabilities and pursue new commercial and fundraising opportunities.

He is the author of The HMO/PPO Marketing Plan—A Step-by-Step Guide, published by Executive Enterprises, and has written numerous articles and conducted webinars on direct response strategy, testing, creative development, and marketing economics.

Ted earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Abilene Christian University and completed two years of graduate study at Texas Tech University. He is the founder of DMCG, LLC.

http://www.dmcgresults.com
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