Census incorporates direct mail marketing techniques
By: Mark HaslanMarch 19th, 2010
As U.S. Census forms begin arriving in mailing envelopes to 120 million mailboxes across the country, the Census Bureau has taken the time to explain its approach and its goals. The agency claims that the 2010 census is the largest single mail delivery ever undertaken by the United States government – one that hopes for 100 percent participation. Though the census is certainly different in many ways from marketing, a mailing campaign this large has some lessons to offer.
The 2000 census was the first to use paid marketing rather than solely relying on donated public service announcements, and helped reverse a three-decade long decline in response rates. The bureau reports that marketing is "a wise investment that reduces the overall cost of the census," pointing to years of research showing that more people return completed census forms after receiving an advance marketing letter, compared with those who receive only one envelope containing both the form and the request.
Just as in business practices, direct mail marketing offers a far greater return on investment than other strategies. More specifically, the census website claims, "for every one percent increase in mail response in 2010, the census will save $85 million that would otherwise have to be spent on door-to-door follow-up with households that didn’t respond."
Further, the census is an example of direct mail marketing helping to prevent fraud and establish an organization’s legitimacy. Scam artists rarely do repeat mailings, and in fact mostly operate through email. Recipients of mail marketing are more likely to trust the company that sent the material .
An article at RISMedia recently came to many of the same conclusions regarding business mailings. Like the Census, mail marketing has to identify target markets and check its practices to make sure it is reaching the people it needs to reach. Furthermore, the Census Bureau’s approach incorporating multiple mailings holds true in business, as well.
"Most consumers need to hear from an agent multiple times before they decide to act," RISMedia points out. "Build a contact plan to make sure that customers see your message multiple times–focusing on the time of year when they are most likely to use your products. This will make it more likely that you are in their consideration set when they are ready to take action."
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