Having a bit more free time these days, and a major reduction in discretionary household budget, I have taken this marketing offer to task.  I am shopping and comparing.  I see low-pricing offers in my mail-box, on business walls, and comparisons of pricing in news articles offering ideas on ways to save money in today's economy. 

...By switching my grocery store I can save my family up to $1,000 per year.  By dumping my phone provider I can save another big pile of cash...

The alarm has been sounded for direct marketers to be aware. Consumers such as myself are actually taking the time to tote the weekly shopping list around to various retailers and compare who can stretch our dollars the farthest.

My personal experiment in comparison shopping over the past few months has yielded some surprising results.  Results that may be helpful to consider in your counter-messaging as you go about the business of direct marketing communications.

I found that I was already a pretty savvy shopper when it comes to the basics.  And, that the businesses I rely on to provide my necessities are doing a pretty good job.  In the end, I've changed nothing about the basics and just trimmed the goodies.  Guess I would have already found alternatives if that wasn't the case.  Good for me!  Is this good for you? 

If your organization provides services to direct marketers, such as printing or mail marketing, or you are a direct marketer providing services such as email marketing for your clients, my thought is that you should consider how you are doing with the basics.  By simply offering your clients an evaluation of the services you provide that enable their direct marketing efforts to be conducted in the most efficient way possible you may be able to keep your customers from shopping around.  This will save them time and money, and actually strenghten your relationships in the process.

Some customers and clients will shop around no matter how great your story is.  There's no stopping that.  But, really, do we want to pay $20 for a block of cheese just to save a buck on chicken nuggets?  I can do without the nuggets and get my cheddar for half the price at my usual store, without driving from shop to shop for each and every item I need.

So, how do your direct marketing efforts speak to how well you provide the basics?  Your clients may drift for a moment, but if your services and marketing remind them of all the reasons to come back to you, they won't forget you while off looking for cheaper tennis shoes, or paper, or internet marketing services... 

As direct marketers and client organizations cut the frills, it's the quality of necessities left behind that will count.  So, if you've got a great core competency make sure your customers know and are taking advantage of all you have to offer when they go shopping around.  They'll be back for your cheese if it's good!

When I was a kid, living in a rural California farming community, we still shopped at the local “mercantile”, where pneumatic tubes rushed your money to an invisible banker, hidden in a vault somewhere in the attic of the turn-of-the-century corner store. I can only assume they were worried about six-shooter toting bandits holding-up the defenseless lady clerks, and making off with the daily proceeds from the Stetsons and Levi’s. 

We had another window on the world when the Sears and Roebuck Wish Book catalog arrived once per year, offering a limitless assortment of clothes and toys that we would never get to touch. When I got a little older, and less enthusiastic about kitchen playsets, I noticed a Spiegel catalog for the first time, and remember being enthralled with the sophisticated models in exotic locales and clothes that inspired me to want to grow-up to be very tall, and to live somewhere that I could actually wear such fine things.   

It seems that not all consumers have the same fond feelings about their catalog mail.  But, in defense of consumers who enjoy shopping through catalogs, and the companies relying on this marketing channel for revenue, industry members regularly meet to discuss ways to promote the business.

Recently, President and CEO of the Direct Marketing Association, John A. Greco Jr. attended the 25th Annual Conference for Catalog and Multichannel Merchants (ACCM) in Orlando, and has important news to report back to us in Seattle, including legislative activity, and upcoming changes to USPS pricing and rules that will affect catalog marketers as soon as March 2009.  Get your policies and budgets ready!

Catalogs are still huge business.  From Greco’s report: According to DMA's ongoing "Power of Direct Marketing" study, US catalog sales are forecast to hit $157.4 billion in 2008.  If that number holds, that would be an increase of 5.1 percent over last year's sales.  Moreover, US catalog and mail marketing, combined, continue to make up the largest slice of today's multichannel marketing pie. Yet, just this year, 15 Do Not Mail bills have been introduced in 12 states.  None of these bills have yet passed, which may be attributable in part to work done by the DMA in educating legislators about the impact of new legislation on consumers and the direct marketing industry.

The Direct Marketing Association promotes industry self-regulation and responsible marketing practices through many initiatives.  One such activity was the establishment of Mail Moves America (MMA), in 2006.   According to Greco, the MMA disseminates information about the positive impact of catalogs and other advertising mail, and ensures that legislative proposals are considered in a balanced light.

If you manage catalogs, or other direct mail campaigns in Seattle, and want to be up-to-date on legislation and consumer issues in your industry, check out the MMA web site: http://www.mailmovesamerica.org/. Information about current bills in Washington State can be found here, as well as info on how you can get involved in supporting the economic future of your direct marketing industry.

Another resource for promoting responsible marketing and self-regulation is the Direct Marketing Association Consumer Choice web site, at http://www.dmachoice.org/, where consumers can modify their own direct mail (and email) preferences with ease.

Catalog and multi-channel marketers are an important constituency for the DMA, and along with heavy hitting additions to the advisory board from organizations such as JCPenny, Spiegel Brands, Inc., and Crutchfield Corporation, a new portal has been added to the DMA web site just for this group of marketers.  Here you can find more information and resources, including news, white papers and networking opportunities: http://www.the-dma.org/segment/catalogersmarketers.

P.S. Speaking of the new USPS rules...working on a postage budget for next year? Get the most for your money and make sure your flat-size mail follows new addressing requirements, going into effect March 2009: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-8621.htm.