DirectSucceSS iS in the mail

Volume 1: issue 2

Dm Does it for rent frock repeat7

Dm ❤ e-commerce How this unlikely duo can produce winning results4pg

pg

2 3eDitorialDirect Mail and E-commerce? You bet!

Direct is published quarterly by canada post. Director, Business marketing: Donna reidmanagers, Business marketing: rob symes and nadia chegrinecmanager, Writing services: cynthia reynoldsart Direction and Design: mediapluson the cover: kristy Wieber and lisa Delorme

for more information about how direct mail can work for you, contact us at 1-877-747-3880.contents copyright © 2013 by canada post; may not be reprinted without permission.

cool DmDeliver results with cutting edge marketing

research has shown that direct mail is a great way to drive customers online. urls, Qr codes and social media handles allow people to easily find more information online and interact with your brand. this mailing from rogers makes the whole process even easier – an integrated webkey directs the recipient exactly where the company wants them to go providing the ultimate in convenience, and a great example of how direct mail and technology can work together.

t o many marketers, using direct mail to promote online sales might not seem like the best idea.

after all, if your customers are online, isn’t it where you should be marketing to them? Well, in this issue of Direct, we’re not only dispelling that myth – we’re going to show you how direct mail (Dm) is the perfect channel for boosting online sales. check out this issue’s feature story, Dm ❤ e-cOmmeRce how this unlikely duo can produce winning results, on page 4 where we’ll give our insights into how to launch an amazingly effective Dm campaign to drive your online sales.

We’re also checking in with kristy Wieber and lisa Delorme, co-founders of rent frock repeat, the toronto-based online boutique where women can rent the eye-catching dresses and accessories they need for any special occasion. last year, rent frock repeat competed in and won the Best multi-channel retailer of the year (small business) at the canada post e-commerce innovation awards. as part of their prize package, the duo won $20,000 worth of direct mail

services. though they had never tried this marketing channel before, designing a campaign with all the creative potential that direct mail offers proved an exciting process. Delorme and Wieber sat down with Direct’s managing editors to share their experiences. find their story on page 7.

We hope you’ll enjoy our second issue of Direct. remember, we really want to hear from you! send your comments, feedback and suggestions to direct@canadapost.ca.

Bill Gunton

Vice president, marketingcanada post

4 5

W hat happens when the oldest form of marketing meets the newest wave of retail?

How about a better return on investment, for starters. the pairing of direct mail and e-commerce may be unlikely, but marketers are starting to find out that these opposites attract.

the affinity between direct mail and e-commerce is supported by the stats. according to recent research, ads in the mailbox are the most effective channel for driving purchases online: over a six-month period, 39% of canadians made an online purchase after receiving an ad in the mail. email and online ads tied for second place when it comes to response rate. even social media, the current darling of the marketing world, can only muster 8%. meanwhile, the same research showed that 47% of canadians had visited a company website as a result of something they received in the mail.

the ability of offline media to drive online traffic may seem counter-intuitive. When consumers are online, few things should be easier than making them click on a banner ad that immediately drives traffic to a website. However, click-through rates often disappoint and people have developed an uncanny ability to subconsciously filter online advertising.

indeed, the proliferation of channels has resulted in increased competition for attention. each day we are bombarded with thousands of marketing messages – emails, banner ads, television commercials, billboards or one of a handful more. as the channel that reaches consumers in their homes and businesses, where they are most likely to read it, direct mail stands out from the clutter and allows the reader to actually notice and spend time with the message. compare this to crowded email inboxes or webpages running half a dozen different ads per page, and it’s no wonder that direct mail continues to be a powerful driver of action.

perhaps this is why the 2012 Dma response rate report showed that direct mail generates response rates 30x greater than email. and not only are the response rates higher, but they also result in purchases with great frequency. Direct mail outperforms other marketing channels on response, but it also lifts their effectiveness when used in partnership with them. multi-channel campaigns deliver wider overall awareness of your business and increase the likelihood of a consumer response through every channel. take search engine marketing (sem) as a prime example.

on its own, sem may pick up people searching for solutions online. But a complementary direct mail would serve to raise awareness of a need and of your company among other consumers, then resulting in additional searches being picked up through your sem campaign.

of course, using direct mail to drive online sales doesn’t guarantee the success of a campaign. like any marketing effort, success entails a well thought out plan, attention to execution, and a commitment to track results so you can find out what worked and what could be improved. Here’s how the traditional components of marketing success apply to e-commerce retailing:

Spot-on Targetingthe beauty of direct mail is the effectiveness with which it can be targeted. You may already have valuable information about your customers that allows you to send them relevant communications and offers in an environment where they are most likely to respond. a mushrooming of data selects and list options has made e-commerce mail prospecting highly effective. Demographic and lifestyle data can map the neighbourhoods where your ideal targets live, while some lists identify the neighbourhoods that contain the most frequent online shoppers.

Valuable OffersYour offer will be the primary incentive to drive people to your website. the call to action must be strong enough to motivate them to type your url and to stand out amid millions of websites. Discounts, giveaways and contests are just as effective online as they are in store. You can also add value by offering access to content, such as videos or newsletters, regardless of whether shoppers buy a product. Just remember to include your website or murl on your direct mail piece: if customers have to spend too much time searching you out online, you risk losing them!

CreativeDirect mail provides an excellent branding opportunity for your business, allowing you to communicate what it represents to the people you need to speak to. provide consumers with the interactive, full-on sensory experience that can often be lacking in other media and watch brand engagement and recall soar as a result. after all, research shows that 53% of canadians will still remember a mail piece two weeks after receiving it.

Dm ❤ e-commerceHow this unlikely duo can produce winning results

39% of Canadians

made an online purchase after

receiving an ad in

the mail.

canada post Direct mail omnibus,

cpc# 12-220, January 2013.

6

Zelen shoes is a family-owned retailer stores in Vancouver and surrey, B.c. By combining an

impressive selection of big brand names with friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff, Zelen shoes has become a destination of choice for footwear buyers. But it still faces growing competition from other local vendors and e-commerce merchants in canada and the u.s.

in an effort to build both online and store traffic and sales, Zelen decided to try the unaddressed admailtm service.

“We’d been using other channels, including posters in skytrain stations, but we felt it was time to try something new,” says owner Baseer khydayer.

using the unaddressed admail service’s demographic filtering capabilities, Zelen was able to target postal

codes where its best prospects live –15 to 26-year-olds close to Zelen’s existing customers. the store included Qr codes on each direct mail piece to gauge campaign success. the results were stellar:

• 30% increase in unique visitors to the store’s e-commerce site

• 22% more website transactions*• 53% more hits to mobile site*• 412% increase in mobile traffic

to the e-commerce site

“the campaign results, especially the 412% lift in mobile traffic to our website, far exceeded our expectations,” concluded Baseer khudayar.

Direct mail is tHe riGHt Fit For sHoe retailer

Q: How did it feel to win an e-commerce innovation award?

rFr: Honestly, it felt like we had won an oscar. the video clip that canada post made

about our business that was shown at the awards is something we actually use in our marketing efforts and the quality of the judging panel made us feel like we had been given a stamp of approval from those that really understood what ecommerce is all about.

Q: one of your prizes was a direct mail campaign, and research is showing that Dm is one of the

most effective performers for e-commerce retailers.

rFr: i think one of the mistakes we make as e-commerce companies is to think

that all of our customers will find us online just because we have a fully functioning site. Given we service a large clientele that are ages 25 to 50+ we know traditional marketing still plays a big part in the success of getting our name out there. online advertising can get very cluttered but Dm literally gets us into the hands of our market.

Q:What are your hopes for this direct mail campaign?

1:1 interviewrFr: at the end of the day we want women

to rent dresses. But we also want to build our brand and generate awareness. We want our customers to know when they walk through the doors that we are focused on who they are as a person, what message they want to convey when they attend their event and that they don’t have to feel intimidated like they might when walking into a high-end department store. maybe a tall order for Dm but if the piece gets them to log onto the site they will know instantly that is what we are all about.

Q: people often think that direct mail is complex to execute and produce – how has your

experience been so far?

rFr: i think it’s not so much that it’s complicated; i think it’s that people

have to put more thought into a direct mail piece because it might have a longer shelf life than an online ad. We’ve had women say that when they receive a marketing piece from us they might not need our service immediately so they’ve tacked the piece up on their fridge to remind them we are there when they do need the perfect dress. also, the resources available to canada post customers take the complexity out of the process.

Lisa DelormeCo-Founder & CEORent frock Repeat

Kristy WieberCo-Founder & President

Rent frock Repeat

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For more about Rent frock Repeat visit: www.rentfrockrepeat.com*in month over month comparisons. unaddressed admailtm is a trademark of canada post corporation.

There are a lot of eCommerce customers out there. Know exactly where to find them.

Canada CompleteTM eCommerce Buyers List. Exclusive list from Canada Post.Direct mail works in ways no other medium can. especially when you target your best potential customers with the most up-to-date, comprehensive and accurate lists from canada post.

there’s no other list like it in canada. no business should be without it.

Start targeting better today!Visit canadapost.ca/lists or call 1-877-281-4137

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