Electronic Retailer’s February 2010 issue featuring the 2009 Direct to Consumer Marketer of the Year, Jenny Craig is available online now!
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
February 2010 Issue Now Available Online!
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
Repeater Toll-Free Number Delivers 69% More Calls
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010In this ERA Minute, Scott Richards, “The Optimizer” and CEO of Dial 800 explains how a repeater number can deliver dramatically improved results for a DR campaign.
Shine Your Light for Beacon of Hope: Time Is Running Out!
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
It has been over four years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. As we’ve been so poignantly reminded in recent days with the devastating earthquake in Haiti and its aftermath, such disasters can seem overwhelming, yet there is also a sense that if each individual contributes something of their gifts to the greater good, that the collective effort will aid those in need in some small way. That’s why I hope you’ll join at least 60 other ERA colleagues who have signed up to support Beacon of Hope, which assists neighborhoods still devastated by Hurricane Katrina. On Sunday, January 31, before the Great Ideas Summit kicks into full gear, members of the direct marketing community will band together to help homeowners with such tasks as painting, landscaping, minor demolition, clearing and general rebuild work. No experience is necessary and lunch, transportation and a donation to Beacon of Hope will be provided. Only a handful of slots remain, so if you’d like to be a part of this team, contact Jamie Hill at jhill@retailing.org or 703-908-1026.
Soft Trials and The Bottom Line
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009On most days I wake up and the first thing on my mind is: “Who am I going to make more money for today?” Now, I say most days because Saturdays I wake up and first thing on my mind is “Ahh, it’s Saturday!” and on Sundays the first thing on my mind is “Dear God! You must be a Giants fan, after all you made the sky blue. So how about a win today?”
Monday through Friday however I am constantly focused on bringing more dollars to peopl’s bottom line by helping them pay attention to what most do not: the recovery of consumer receivables.
I think that in today’s turbulent economy and in the face of quarterly losses by even the biggest in our land, it’s more than time to start watching the bottom line from every possible aspect especially the collections.
I am finding more and more companies in the DR segment are trying to acquire more sales by offering soft trial offers for very little amounts of money. This is increasing their bad debt to rates that are 4 and 5 times higher than the average. This average being defined as standard multi-pay offers where you get 1/3rd of the money in the first installment as opposed to 1/5th with a 30-day no questions asked return. People are taking advantage and the DR Marketer is losing profitability. How can we resolve this?
One answer, if you’re insistent on keeping your offer to the consumer with the soft trial, is through a competent and detailed recovery process. If you know the bad debt will mount into very high percentages than you can be better prepared to handle it. Here are some tips to do this:
Have your fulfillment house and agency on the same page - nothing will hurt you more than inconsistent dates of service on the portfolios.
Have the portfolios run through the recovery scoring models and predictive metrics are to ensure maximum liquidation - the informed you are about the consumer you are attempting to get your money or product back from, the more you will get either of those.
Are bad addresses and phone numbers being appended? What service?
Are bankruptcies and deceased claims being validated? What service?
What is the dunning strategy? How are letters and impacts being measured?
What is the calling strategy? How many times a week is my portfolio being dialed? Attended? Unattended?
There are many more questions to ask of your agency or a prospective agency and be sure to do so.
As for the money that’s out there right now to be collected; my advice is simple:
Go get it. It’s yours and it can be obtained with the right partner.
As for me, I am going to make my partners more money as soon as I am done typing. They earned it and they deserve to have it.
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