terno times monthly
issue 008
july 2004
MARKETING:
Finding new opportunities
FORMS: Is bigger better?
NEW FEATURE IN TERNO VELOCITY
TERNO TIP: Finding optimal file size
ROUTINE MAINTENANCE: Time to clean your customer
database
FINDING NEW MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES
Where do you look for new customers? The catalog industry spends much of its marketing budget on prospecting or mailing new catalogs to purchased/rented names. Finding lists are often done by a list profile and whether similarities exist between two companies. We often forget about using our current customer database as a way of gaining marketing insight.
Simple one question surveys may be a good idea to find some untapped opportunities. This can be accomplished through the call center or on the web site. Although this may add to call time slightly, the results can be well worth it. Keeping it very simple and very short is a way not to be bothersome to the customer and not add too much time to the call.
Some example questions:
- Which magazines do you read or subscribe to?
- What other types of catalogs interest you?
- Have you been on our web site recently?
Asking at the end of the order is a non-intrusive, "by the way, we are conducting marketing research, may I ask which magazines you subscribe to?" way to do it.
Depending on your order volume, a week-long survey may be enough to notice trends or similarities in the data. This information can be formulated into a meaningful marketing plan.
If your company has a marketing tip you would like to share with others, email us to have it included in the next e-newsletter.
Is your company still utilizing the 11x 14 all-in-one form? This has always been a popular option for many catalogers who enjoy the convenience of having the in-house copy of the pick ticket, a refund check, and the customer invoice in one simple form. However, many clients have expressed interest in converting to a standard 8 x 11 laser invoice instead. Because less orders are coming across via mail, refund checks are an added expense to the forms that are not being utilized. Also, many companies no longer want to keep or store an in house hard copy of the order. If you are interested in switching forms, contact your Terno representative.
As always, Terno is constantly enhancing TernoVelocity for the next generation of direct marketers. A new feature has been added to copy previous orders from a customer record. If a customer called and wanted to get the exact same order as last time, the order can be duplicated in a matter of a few key strokes. This also works even if previous orders were voided or canceled. Joseph Pindel, Manager of Research & Development, states "this is a great feature to improve customer service and gain a competitive edge."
With modern servers having such extreme amounts of storage, many clients don’t think about purging data. However, your system may need to have files resized in order to optimize lookups and performance. Although many clients are hesitant to purge older data, it will aid in making your server run at the best speed. Another option is to have the data stored in an archive file to be accessed only when necessary. Contact your Terno representative if you need information on resizing files
Many mail-order catalogs often have lulls during the summer months. This is a perfect opportunity to take care of routine customer maintenance that often gets forgotten about.
Here are some ideas to clean your customer database:
- Void old credit slips and refund checks (many use a 1 year cutoff period).
- Send reminder emails/post cards to customers with gift certificates or credit slips past 90 days.
- Report on orders being held for insufficient payment and send reminder notices or make phone calls to the customers.
- Report on customer status messages to find out if codes need revised. A customer marked with "No checks" may have earned credit worthiness again.
Run your deduplication reports to find customers with multiple accounts on your system.
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