Do not get overwhelmed by the headlines in the media, look at the facts. There is much positive economic news that surrounds us! If you miss the real data then you will not respond appropriately with your advertising budget.

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Some examples:

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• “Consumer confidence (index = 69.2) in the economy holds steady in April” says the Conference Board.  “It is well above its all time low (index = 25.3) in February 2009”.  (Source: Associated Press, 4/24/12)
• 72% of corporate earnings reports in April beat expectations according to Yahoo Finance.  Some highlights:
• Apple profit rises 94% (4/25/12)
• Caterpillar profit up 29% (4/25/12)
• Harley Davidson profit up 45% (4/25/12)
• Disney earnings rise 21% (5/9/12)
• Macy’s earnings spike 38% (5/9/12)

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These companies all hire people and fuel the economy!

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• Auto sales “On pace to best year since 2007.  Automakers are adding overnight shifts and cutting workers vacations to meet demand.” (Source: Bloomberg, 5/10/12)
• “Over the last twelve months, the government estimates retail sales totaled $4.3 trillion, nearly 6% more than during the twelve months ending July, 2008 when sales peaked before the credit crisis and the recession caused sales of nearly everything to fall.” (Source: New York Times, 4/24/12)
• Consumer spending in the first quarter “increased at a 2.9% rate – the fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 2010.  That compared to a 2.1% rise in the fourth quarter of 2012.” (Source: Reuters, 4/27/12)
• In the week ending April 28, the number of people still receiving unemployment benefits fell to “the lowest level since July, 2008.” (Source: Reuters, 5/10/12)
• Unemployment in April fell to 8.1% from over 9% just prior to our convention in November.

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Translation?  Not perfect.  Not a booming economy.  But a growing and strengthening economy that yields positive growth and profit from those who are aggressive and targeted in marketing their customers! Don’t sit on the sidelines and miss the recovery. The decisions made right now will determine the fate of your success over the next 10 years.

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Great article on which covers math on daily deal sites versus direct mail offers.

“My original Groupon post was written when Groupon turned down billions from Google, and I wrote they would fail or have to adjust their deals. Fail is a strong word and the headline ‘Why Groupon Will Fail’ has served me well in getting people to read then stop and think about the fact that Groupon is bad for small business, especially restaurants. When the horror stories come out in the press the Groupon defender’s response is ‘the business is responsible for doing the numbers and making sure the deal they offer makes sense for them.’ So I decided to look at the numbers and do a comparison.

There is value in being able to reach a large group of people and entice them to buy with a discount. That value has been demonstrated for decades with direct mail companies and it is very well defined.

Here is that value structure: Mail an advertisement in a community direct mail coupon book to 10,000 homes for a fee of $650/dollars, offer $10 off a food purchase around a minimum of $40 (two entrees) and expect two hundred or so coupons to return for an additional cost of goods of approximately $600 ($2000 discount times 30% food cost) this results in a total cost of $1250. That $1250 brings in a minimum of $6000 (200*30) in food plus $2000 in beverage sales (conservative numbers: half the industry average of 40% of sales) for a minimum total of $8000. Bottom Line: Spend $1250 and get back a minimum of $8000. Largest possible loss: $650 if no coupons come in.

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Now compare that to Groupon:
Two hundred Groupons that saved a customer $20 ($40 Groupon sold for $20) would bring in $2000 to the restaurant. But with no minimum sale required the restaurant will be liable for providing $8000 worth of food/drink for a mere $2000 in revenue. That $2000 of revenue will cost at least $2400 to produce. Remember a $400 loss requires $2000-$2500 in sales from regularly prices items to break even. Some Groupon bearers will spend little over the value of the offer, but many will spend more.

In this case the total group must spend as much as 31% more than their Groupon value to break even, unlikely that as a whole this happens. So you lose money on 200 Groupons.

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Where does it get really bad? They sell thousands.

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You could feasibly serve 200 more people over the next two weeks and not have to hire more staff or schedule more hours, but having 2000 Groupons out there you are going to make sure you have plenty of people working. You payroll goes up. You were losing money before, now you are really losing money.

Add that to disgruntled service staff, regular customers that get worse service or displaced, and you have the recipe for a bad year or worse. I believe that competition will likely lead to a better split of the coupon sale price which will help make the equation work better. To some extent this is happening already as the Groupons of the world compete, and take less. Some big questions remain: Are the deals going to get skimpier and cause lower interest among consumers? Are the consumers going to get fed up with the email overload (I know I barely look at them all anymore)? Are the restaurants going to grow tired of the hordes who do not tip well, spend well, and displace full price customers and as a result cheapen their offers and restrict them so much that the customers lose their zeal for them? Will they be worth all the added effort if they result in a small profit? If something is too good to be true like a customer regularly getting 50% off prices meant to be competitive already, a company selling a restaurant’s products for 50% off and only passing on 50% of that, or a company being able to sell its products for 50% off and make money, it is too good to be true and the equation has to adjust.” http://spirocks.com/tag/groupon-bad/

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Professional baseballs champion team, the St Louis Cardinals will sell more tickets this year using the nationwide shared mail program by Money Mailer. Money Mailer users are exposed monthly to a wide variety of valuable local business offers ranging from restaurants to dry cleaners to home improvement. For the Cardinals, with a Money Mailer special you are able to purchase field tickets for just $12 when they visit http://www.cardinals.com/moneymailer

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Dave Prokupek doesn’t like the high price of gasoline either. But business is good enough at Smashburger that the chain where Prokupek is CEO opened its 150th restaurant Wednesday, and plans to open up 75 more this year, even though eating out is theoretically the first thing gas-strapped consumers would trim.

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“I was very worried about gas prices,” said Prokupek, adding that traffic in existing stores is up 9% this month from last year and growth is accelerating. “But while gas is going up, unemployment is going down. With a couple of dollars in their pocket, they’re letting loose a little. They’re off their diet.”

You can see the impact of rising gas prices everywhere — except, so far, in the economic statistics.

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As the surge in at-the-pump costs nears its fourth month, the data show people aren’t yet making the spending cuts they’ve been expected to make. One reason is that the mild winter and cheap natural gas prices are saving them a bundle on heating bills. And that’s making some economists relax — a little — about the effect of gas prices on the recovery.

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read full article at http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2012-03-14/gas-prices-consumer-spending/53536216/1

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Why do I get the feeling that many marketers today look at direct mail the way people look at the Jurassic Period?

Sure it’s nice to imagine what life was like all those millions of years ago, and hey, maybe a movie about it would be nice, too, they would say. But does it have any relevance in today’s digital world? Not really.

.Well, to those marketers I would simply say beware of the dinosaur, because T-Rex is not only not dead, he is still very relevant and very important. Last year I wrote an article in this very space, In This Land Of Digital, Let’s Not Forget The Physical, which touched on a survey conducted by by Millward Brown, a leading global research agency.

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Their survey revealed that ”physical media–AKA direct mail–left a ‘deeper footprint’ in the brain.” In other words media that consumers can touch and feel resonated and touched more emotions than those of the digital variety.

And those consumers that are affected by “physical media” are not just the older demo, as many marketers believe.

“Direct mail surprisingly transcends the age demographic, with younger consumers (the 18- to 34-year-old demographic) preferring to learn about marketing offers via postalmail rather than online sources, according to national survey research from ICOM,” said Lisa Formica, president of FMI, a direct mail marketing and advertising firm.

Yeah but then there’s the whole USPS nightmare to deal with, right?

Will they raise rates again? Will they file for bankruptcy?Maybe direct mail isn’t worth it because of having to deal with the United States Postal Service?

“The USPS has may many advances over the years that has made direct mail more measurable and an even better value for marketers,” added Erik Formica, also of FMI and an executive member of the Greater PhiladelphiaPostal Custom Council. “For example, the introduction of the Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) has opened a range of new services and cost savings for marketers.”

Ok, so people like to touch and feel and presumably open direct mail, and it’s not just for the older demos, either. And even the USPS is doing their part.

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So why aren’t more marketers using it?

According to The Kern Organization, it comes down to a matter of training and experience, or lack thereof–as explained in their blog post, Is There Still A Place For Direct Mail in This Digital Age?

• Few marketers these days have had the training required to produce winning packages time after time.
• Many marketers lack the experience and confidence needed to design an effective testing strategy.

I can tell you as one who cut his marketing teeth in the world of direct mail marketing, training and education play a huge role in producing successful direct mail campaigns.

And as anyone who has ever initiated a direct mail strategy, testing is paramount.

read full article at http://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2012/03/11/direct-mail-alive-and-kicking/2/

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Coupons are HOT, that’s for sure! But what do you, Sacramento locals, want in your Money Mailer envelope?

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Restaurants, nail salons, hair salons, dry cleaners, home improvement, services? Be specific, let us know your favorite places and bsuiensses to use. While you are at it let us know what kind of offers prompt you to buy now.

Let your voice be heard and help make Money Mailer Sacramento your best source of local coupons. Place your vote in the comment section of this post.

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With a total circulation of 230,000 of the best homes targeted by upper income and home ownership. We have sorted out the list for you to eliminate waste and bring you more of the quality customers you need. Reach up to 23 targeted neighborhoods in Sacramento of just 10,000 homes each with a full color jumbo sized ad (5.5×8.5). Don’t have artwork? No problem! Money Mailer has a complete team of designers who can handle this job for you. With over 33 years of experience, we know what we bring you the response you want.

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Why Shared Mail?

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1. Cost Effective: Direct mail cost pennies per household
2. Measureable: You see it working through on-site redemption
3. Targeted: Sent to your target demographic
4. Tangible: Something for the consumer to keep and has a longer shelf life than traditional advertising
5. Synergy: With all these things working together direct mail builds top-of-mind-awareness, name branding, community recognition and direct response.

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Money Mailer Sacramento Shared Mail Brings More Response

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TARGETED

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1. On local business categories consumers want
2. On a select number of reputable, family friendly, businesses
3. To high end, savvy, upper income, home owners & families

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MARKETED

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1. On TV, Radio, Online, On Phones & Of Course….In the mail
2. With sponsorships like the Sacramento Capitals World Champion Tennis, Sacramento River Cats Champion Baseball & With giveaways & promotion on the  back of envelope

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DELIVERED

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1. With a larger, full color ad format
2. With personal attention – No competing with ad on other side or on same page
3. Online across a huge network of websites for massive internet exposure
4. On cell phones via on NEW Money Mailer applications on iPhone and Android

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Money Mailer shared mail in Sacramento delivers the response you need. Just check out some of our testimonials on this site.

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What are you waiting for? Give us a call today to get started or to simply schedule a face to face meeting. Call (916) 296-0545