Saturday, August 31, 2013

7 Ways to Maximize Fulfillment and Collateral Pieces for Profits

 My latest article in Target Marketing...

Sure, fulfillment and inserts aren't as sexy as other forms of marketing, but they can be viable ways to bring in steady, ancillary revenues.

I've seen some online publishers bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars with a carefully thought-out insert program. For instance, taking a direct mail control piece and adding it in customer fulfillment packages as an insert. A no-brainer, right?

Wrong! You'll be surprised how many businesses are leaving money on the table by not doing this.
Are you leveraging your fulfillment kit? Do you have a strategy for your inserts?


Here are some simple ideas, when applicable, for print and electronic fulfillment that help encourage sales (cross-sells) and help customer lifetime value:
  1. Personal Welcome or Thank You Letter (whether it's for newsletters, products or services. It could highlight all products OR current top sellers). This is the first thing a new customer will see. Make sure it is written in a personal, comfortable tone—welcoming the customers and reiterating what a good decision they just made and thanking them for their purchases. You can also add a little verbiage about your core values and what makes you unique in the marketplace. Be sure to reiterate any product guarantees you have, as well as customer service contact information.
  2. Cross-marketing Piece. This can be a current direct mail piece edited for insert purposes. A flier highlighting a current hot product OR a natural, synergistic upsell from the product ordered. Or a "customer favorites" catalog. This encourages continued purchases now and down the road.
  3. Coupon or special discount offer. (or if electronic, coupon/promo code for online ordering). Consider offering a special "thank you" coupon or a "share this with a friend/family member" coupon for additional sales and viral/word of mouth marketing.
  4. Free Sample. (Women may remember Avon used to include tiny little lipsticks or perfume with their order. This approach can be translated in most any business—it could be a small, economy/sample size product, a bonus report, or more. Customers love, love, love freebies!
  5. Renewal at Birth. This is a popular publishing term. If you're selling a subscription service or continuity program, you can include a renewal order form with your first issue at a special early discount rate.
  6. Packing Slip. Many people overlook this fulfillment piece, but it can be used for more than printing out what is being sent to your customer. You can print your return policy/instruction on this piece of correspondence, as well as adding several product return reasons to help evaluate customer satisfaction and product refinement, going forward.
  7. Feedback/Testimonial Form. Have a form to solicit customers' feedback and testimonials. This information could be priceless, as far as customer service, marketing, and new product development. Make sure your testimonial collection process is compliant so you can use stellar comments in future marketing efforts.
As most direct response marketers know, the first zero to 30 days is when a customer is red hot—as legendary entrepreneur and best-selling author of, "Ready Fire Aim," Michael Masterson,Opens in a new window would say—in their "buying frenzy." So don't leave 'em cold. Give them cross-sell and upsell options.
Leverage this timeframe with your communications and turn your fulfillment pieces into another way to increase sales and relationship-build with your customers.
You may just turn on an additional revenue stream for your business!

8 comments:

Twitter Followers said...

Really i appreciate the effort you made to share the knowledge.The topic here i found was really effective to the topic which i was researching for a long time.

Social Media Exchange said...

Thanks for sharing the idea there would be some apprehensions from segment but i am up for it.

H Romareo said...

Great and valuable post "7 Ways to Maximize Fulfillment and Collateral Pieces for Profits" will apply gained info for my personal use. Thanks from Mobile Marketing

Unknown said...

Exactly what u said is corrrect.....
This is the first thing a
new customer will see. Make sure
it is written in a personal,
comfortable tone—welcoming the
customers and reiterating what
a good decision they just made
and thanking them for their
purchases. You can also add
a little verbiage about your
core values and what makes you unique in the marketplace. Be
sure to reiterate any product guarantees you have, as well
as customer service contact
information.
Amazing! I am hoping best writings from you in the future as well.
Astounding! I am definitely bookmarking this to come back and read later


free articles submission


Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

“… inserts aren't as sexy as other forms of marketing,” That made me laugh. I also think that inserts aren’t as popular as the tried and tested forms of indirect marketing techniques, but this made me see a lot of potential in them. It’s like connecting with customers on a personal level by playing the trump card when it comes to influencing human psychology. The acknowledgement of individual differences, which is exemplified in your first and last tip. This is a great read and I bet you’ve helped a lot of readers starting out with their business marketing strategies. More power to you and your blog!

Marta @ canyonmarketing.com

Unknown said...


Email marketing is one of the easiest and inexpensive ways to spread the word about a product or service. For the most part, marketing with this method doesn't cost anything except time.



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Internet Marketing Terbaik said...

bookmarked!!, I like your Internet Marketing blog!

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