Mailbox or Pre-Recycle Bin?
Why I do this I have no idea. Unless it is my birthday (which is rare), I am inevitably disappointed with the daily haul. In fact, I could ALMOST skip getting the mail and never miss it. Note that I said ALMOST. There are a few things that I need from in that little box which is why I fire up the old GMC and roll the 9 yards to the mailbox. I catch my breath and examine the day’s delivery.
1. A couple of catalogs from some retailers from whom I bought a gift years ago and have never bought anything since, and I do not intend to. Those go right into the recycling bin;
2. A couple of direct mail postcards. If there is cool personalization (not just my name or even a PURL – been there, done that) or an obvious offer too good to pass up , I might look for a few seconds. If the offer is good enough, and easy enough, I might even take action. But if I see “Resident” or “Our Friends” as the addressee, it’s going right into the bin, unopened, unexamined and a total waste to the sender who probably paid a decent amount to design, print and mail the piece. Sorry.
3. A package of coupons, presumably from local service providers, addressed to “Current Resident” (very warm). I never even open the envelope any more. I don’t have to. I can tell you what’s inside because I used to open them looking for a great deal, but found that it was the same junk every time. Worse, much of it did not even apply to me. It goes, unopened, into the bin.
4. An Explanation of Benefits from my health insurance company. That I keep to look at later. I want to make sure that there is not some claim wrongly denied, so I will review that thoroughly.
5. A few bills (my homeowner’s insurance, a car payment and a few of the store-brand credit card statements my wife insists on getting at every location she shops. Those I keep and look at. Closely. I will spend more time reviewing one those transactional documents than I spend on the half-dozen pieces of unsolicited mail. I NEED these bills (that why I said “ALMOST” earlier). I have to pay them on time or have to pay late fees, interest and penalties which up until recently, the small print in my card holder agreement said could have included the forced donation of a kidney or one of my children. The CARD Act (written about at White Space University) puts a halt to forced organ harvesting. With the exception of section six thousand eighty two, Sub-Chapter Y, paragraph h(6) which allows for the organ to be harvested so long as that term is prominently listed in a 14 point serif font within the first 26 pages of your 87 page card-holder’s agreement. You did read your card holder’s agreement, didn’t you?. Here’s one one if you are looking to cure insomnia.
I do not just say all of this because I am in the statement business. OK, that’s not entirely true. If I were a school teacher or an astronaut, I probably would not have written a post about tossing mail and reading statements. But I digress.
The point is that I throw away the vast majority of my mail without even looking at it. And I bet you do the same! In fact, I am almost sure of it. That is why TransPromo messaging works so well. It puts the right message in the hands of the right person on a document they will review closely and carefully.
Putting your messages where they will be read seems like a pretty good idea. How many ways could your business benefit from having almost every recipient see your targeted, personalized message? I know. It’s a lot. Let White Space MARKETING help you