Besides having your financial portfolio in cash assets, there is another green
revolution going on. Cities are organizing recycling. Paperbacks abound with
conservation tips. Companies are wrapping themselves in biodegradables.
Consumers seek “recycled” designations.
In the world of direct marketing, most suppliers and providers hail embracement
of green – after the fact. That is, after the horse has already left the barn. I
suggest a view from a different perspective that offers a more brilliant shade
of green – before mailing.
If good use of our limited resources means using less to do more, then we need
to be smarter and wiser about whom and how we send our enticing offers. In
brief, direct mailers need to:
ü Dedupe, merge/purge files prior to mailing
ü Comply with new postal regulations by assuring addresses are properly updated
ü Stop “spray & pray” mass mailings that encourage the junk mail moniker
ü Produce on equipment that virtually eliminates plate making, uses earth friendly inks/toners, and minimize
excessive make ready waste
ü Fine tune mailings thru modeling for more targeted list selection
ü Use dynamic content to match images, offer, and text thereby making more relevant appeals to recipients
Isn’t it better for the whole circle of recycling and conservation if we mail
10,000 pieces garnering a 10% response, than 100,000 pieces getting a 1%?
And you know what, it’s better for your own ROI too!
If you’re really ready to go GREEN, do it on the front end. You’ll see more
black on your bottom-line and you’ll feel better about all those trees and
landfills you saved.