June 3, 2010
FOX Radio, affiliate of AM 1270 KBZZ in Reno, Nevada interviews AIS Media CEO Thomas Harpointner regarding businesses use of interactive marketing and why it serves as one of the demises of the United States Postal Service.
“Many consumers and businesses alike have found ways to do without mail. If the idea was proposed today that there would be an accessible box in front of your home for people to put your secure information in, it would never happen,” says Harpointner.” As it turns out, a mailbox is the most unsecured location where personal information is stored. Consumers have found a more secure alternative to this, email.”
“Email is not only convenient for consumers but it has many benefits for businesses. Using e-mail marketing, businesses can measure how many e-mails are sent, opened and where people go after they click on them. Companies can also put into place performance metrics to track the email marketing campaigns success.”
Harpointner’s Interview Points on the Postal Service Included:
- Halt on Saturday Mail: Shutting down the Postal Service on Saturday will reduce the amount of money the USPS is losing. Consumer’s lack of use of the Post Office is causing inconveniences. Today’s consumers are conditioned to opening their postal mail over the trash and turning to their email and online billing to save time and money on postage.
- Update the Business Model: Facing a $7 billion deficit this year amid dwindling mail volume, the Post Office must make an adjustment in their business model. Now, the USPS is expected to decline another 30 – 35 %. As a whole – the USPS needs to reinvent themselves, implement smarter strategies and realize the customer holds the fate of the Post Office’s survival. Privatizing, restructuring and educating consumers on how to use the Postal Service effectively could be the only thing that saves them.
- Interactive Marketing on the Rise: Interactive marketing has been emerging for 10 years now and is expected to double by 2014, reaching 55 billion dollars. Interactive marketing makes it easier for businesses to track and measure their return on investment (ROI) when visitors go to a company’s website.
- Advantages of Email vs. Postal Mail: Today’s consumers receive so much mail that they usually open it over the trash can and some mail never even gets opened. The benefit of sending out an email blast is performance metrics. The DMA recently reported that email marketing delivers over a $40 ROI for every dollar spent. With an email you can immediately see when it was sent, delivered, opened and clicked on. The Post Office simply can’t manage what they can’t measure and it’s very difficult to measure direct mail marketing without an Interactive tie-in. With digital marketing you’re able to measure the amount of traffic a website receives much more easily then how many people open a paper envelop.
- Multi-Channel Strategy is Key: Single channel strategy isn’t effective today. According to a DMA study, customers who buy from two channels (vs. just one) are between 20 – 60% more valuable, while triple channel buyers are 60-125% more valuable. Studies show that the average consumer must be exposed at least 12 times to an advertisement before it becomes effective or is even remembered. When a customer can see a direct mail piece or email, and receive information at their own convenience it provides greater brand awareness and builds confidence in their customer.
