Thursday, June 26, 2014

Cataloger's USPS Deal Creates Rate Relief Template

Catalogers struggling with climbing postal rates can take heart from cataloger Potpourri Group's groundbreaking rebate deal with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). As explained by Direct Marketing News Senior Editor Al Urbanski, the five-year Negotiated Service Agreement (NSA) awards Potpourri -- a publisher of more than a dozen catalogs selling gifts, apparel, pet products and hobby accessories -- tiered rebates based on increased carrier route volume over a negotiated quarterly baseline. The negotiated baseline is a key breakthrough because it does not penalize prior-year increases, and the five-year term is also a step forward since most NSAs last only three years, according to Potpourri SVP of Marketing Robert Webb.  Best of all, the NSA is good news for other catalog mailers since USPS regulations require extending a similar deal to "similarly situated" companies, Webb told Urbanski. In Potpourri's case, eligible volume up to 10% above the quarterly baseline receives a 10% rebate from published rates, while incremental volume of 10%-18% gets a 15% rebate and volume over 18% above threshold gets a 20% rebate. "The real opportunity for us -- for any cataloger -- is increasing our prospect mailings," Webb explained. "We only earn the rebates if we mail incrementally more catalogs, and most of those will be devoted to prospecting." Potpourri plans to mail "tens of millions of more books," per Webb. Thanks to Potpourri's trailblazing effort of nearly three years, Webb said he has been told a "similarly situated" cataloger may be able to land its own NSA in a matter of months. For more, see the Direct Marketing News story: http://www.dmnews.com/cataloger-scores-an-nsa-from-the-postal-service/article/356868/

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Is Your Marketing Hobbled by These Data Missteps?

Make sure your "data-driven" marketing isn't undermined by data mishandling. A recent Adweek article outlined five of the most common blunders. At the top of the list is failing to take advantage of the deeper demographics being culled in this big-data era. Going beyond age and gender can reap big returns. An example from the article: The Neustar Global Media Intelligence Report for 2013 found retail marketers that targeted campaigns according to attributes like home value and brand of car earned a 500% performance lift over non-targeted campaigns. Second, marketers can focus on the wrong metrics, choosing "vanity metrics," such as Facebook fans, instead of behavioral data linked to conversions, such as navigational paths and brand preferences. A third data misstep is focusing on shiny new digital data without integrating offline inputs (such as retail stores), creating a false picture of marketing's multichannel ROI. Fourth, marketers can get stuck looking at past data to the neglect of predictive modeling and forward planning. A forward-thinking success story from the article: American Express used predictive analysis and behavioral data to identify at-risk customers, for a 740% increase in attrition-combating efficacy. Finally, organizations can fail to invest in crucial data management and analysis skills, and surveys of executives find a majority admitting as much. Do you recognize areas for improvement in your own organization? For the complete article, with links to relevant studies, see http://www.adweek.com/brandshare/5-ways-marketers-are-mishandling-data-156449