There are so many things that Every Door Direct Mail Offers. With a wide range of specs, postal carrier routes, online tools and 100% deliverability, you are ready to conquer this holiday season.  With EDDM, you’re not limited to just postcards.  Qualifying EDDM specs include multi-page booklets, tri-fold/bi-folds, and a variety of oversized and unique size postcards. There is also no need to purchase mailing lists because campaigns are based on postal carrier routes so they are delivered to every resident or business on that route. In addition, USPS has an easy online carrier route selection tool, making it simple to saturate any local market desired. Best of all, EDDM guarantees 100% deliverability. EDDM is delivered by the postal carrier so no envelope is necessary; the piece is delivered already opened removing a huge obstacle in the direct mail world.

Now that we have solved how to get your customer’s holiday campaign in the mail, it’s worth your time to play Santa.  Let’s turn to creative ideas to kick-start those procrastinating customers into action. Suggesting EDDM campaigns to the lollygaggers will make you look like a hero and add profit to your bottom-line!

5 Holiday Marketing Ideas to Rev Up End of Year Sales

1. Start an Annual Tradition Your Neighbors Look Forward to. There is something about a once-a-year special tradition approach that customers love at the holidays. It can be a unique party, a special type of sale, de-stress at the holidays offer, special treats, and more. The key is that as long as customers like the tradition, it will work. It can even be something you already have that you rebrand around the holidays. Incorporating a charitable element or opportunity for visitors to share their personal stories makes an idea like this less about sales and more about people. The ensuing goodwill is meaningful and drives customer loyalty through the holiday season and beyond.

2. Invite Folks to Your Web Site for Special Holiday Cheer. Consider creating a special landing page to focus only on the holiday offerings. This approach delivers better-integrated campaign results because it’s very clear to the recipient what is being offered and how to take action while keeping them in the holiday spirit. Offerings can vary greatly depending on the business type, but generally, consumers look for something special to give as gifts to friends, family and even for themselves. Be sure to throw in offers that are not available every day because customers are smart and will see through this holiday ploy. Most importantly, make your web offers easy to share so that site visitors can serve as your best ambassadors. For more ideas check out these attention-grabbing holiday campaigns from the American Marketing Association.

3. Offer Free or Reduced Domestic Shipping. Although this idea isn’t as creative as decking the halls, it adds gift-giving convenience that busy buyers will appreciate. Especially for brick and mortar stores juggling inventory all season long, the sale can still be made and shipped out later even if the item sold out. This tactic is particularly effective for companies that feature gifts with a personal or local flair. People love to share a piece of their hometown with others and free shipping makes the decision to buy from you stress-free. Three Dog has you covered, read these great tips to keep shipping costs low.

4. Become a Drop-Off Site for a Give-Back Campaign. Offering your facility as a charitable drop-off site gives buyers the opportunity to interact with your company in a very different way. Trust us, the amount of loyalty and goodwill an event like this generates will shock you. Whether it’s a food drive, Toys for Tots, clothing drive, or gift drive for local military officers, make sure it’s a cause that’s close to your heart. It is a terrific opportunity to involve your employees in the selection of the cause, organization of the event, and to experience the great feeling that comes from helping others.

5. Focus on the Time of Year vs. the Holidays. If your business is not particularly relevant to the holidays, don’t force it. Focus instead on seasonal offerings or messages on starting the New Year right. In all, customers want to know how you’re going to make their lives better, so you can take this opportunity to tell them clearly.

Retail stores are not the only players. Virtually any industry can take advantage of EDDM to drive business now or in the New Year. I’m all about making you look good, below are some crazy ideas off the top of my head, go ahead, pitch these to your customers and pretend it was your idea, I’ll never tell.

Holiday Marketing Hacks by Industry

Restaurants: Promote special wine dinners, holiday catering offers, gift card deals, limited time seasonal dishes, give back to the community nights, and holiday parties.

Retail Stores: Advertise holiday sales, holiday gift sets, host special events, promote charitable initiatives, gift card offers, and recruit holiday staff.

Health Clubs: Avoid holiday weight gain specials, bring a friend for free, offer health and well-being classes, and early sign-up for New Year’s resolution offers,

Auto Service and Dealers: End of year model sales, take advantage of end-of-year tax benefits, announce new model year cars, get your car ready for winter specials, and community giveback efforts.

Lawn Care: Plant before it gets cold, prep yard for winter, or offer discounts on early sign-up for spring lawn care contracts.

Spas/Hair & Nail Salons: Buy gift cards and you get a gift offer, girl’s night out, holiday party prep, thank you gifts for teachers/babysitters, and discounted advance visit coupons for the following year.

Community Organizations: Annual holiday or community event calendar, recycling or trash pickup schedule, or holiday church services and special events.

Non-Profits: Tell your story and ask for support at the holidays and throughout the year.

Ready to get your holiday groove on and give EDDM a try? Set-up is a snap and we offer dedicated support every step of the way. Remember, at Three Dog Logistics we take the bite out of postage and freight. Visit www.threedoglogistics.com or call 410-284-5494 ext. 220 to schedule a complimentary consultation today.

The post 5 Last Minute Holiday Marketing Ideas to Kick-Start Procrastinating Customers first appeared on Three Dog Logistics.

Average Sales per Purchase Calculation:

Total sales over date range / total purchases made over same date range

See all 6 tips here

The post #4 Six Critical Numbers to Know for a Powerful ROI and How to Calculate them first appeared on Three Dog Logistics.

Customer Churn Rate Calculation:

Total customers who have not purchased/donate over date range/total new and existing active customers over same date range

See all 6 tips here

The post #5 Six Critical Numbers to Know for a Powerful ROI and How to Calculate them first appeared on Three Dog Logistics.

Conscious Decision-Making vs. Reactionary Choices

Conscious decisions are thoughtful; they are made prior to an event occurring, and not due to it. While it is inevitable that some decisions will be made based on unforeseen circumstances, consistent conscious decision-making is critical to the success of a business. What business owners want, and need, is to choose partner companies carefully, and consciously. Business owners need to seek out partners who will help them further their vision and help them meet their goals. So, how can a business make these important decisions well? By knowing and understanding their key metrics to ensure that decisions about expenditure, partnerships and new campaigns are made with the right information in mind. Here are a few important metrics to keep an eye on.

Sales Revenue – not just total $ but cause and effect

Sales revenue is a metric that measures income from customer purchases of goods and services, minus the cost associated with things like returned, lost/undeliverable or stolen merchandise. Further inspection of this metric provides key insight into the details of your revenue increases and decreases. This can be critical, as an example, for determining the success of advertising campaigns: does your business experience a marked increase in sales revenue during and immediately after a marketing campaign? Or, are revenues staying stable; even decreasing? Your answer to this question will help you make vital decisions regarding marketing campaigns. Perhaps your marketing mail isn’t making it to the intended destination on time. Perhaps the size or design is causing it to get lost in the shuffle. Maybe you’ve spent most of your efforts on online marketing, and let direct mail fall by the wayside. Whatever the case, by knowing this metric, and the implications thereof can help optimize your marketing strategy. Three Dog Logistics works with your team to help optimize every aspect of your marketing plan to reduce your cost of delivery, whether by drop shipping, employing direct mail strategies, tweaking mailer sizes to help ensure that both your spending and earning metrics are meeting their intended goals. This dedication to understanding metrics and making conscious decisions also allows Three Dog to make quick, nimble decisions that help you save money: help us help you!

Customer Loyalty and Retention

Getting customers in the door is one thing, but getting them to return time and time again is even more vital. This too will have much to do with your marketing campaign strategy, and can be measured through customer surveys, direct feedback at point of purchase or on an ongoing basis and purchase analysis. Knowing this metric will help you know which strategies pull customers in, and encourage them to make repeat purchases.

As mentioned above, Three Dog can be an invaluable asset in improving your marketing campaign results and decreasing costs. This also applies to premiums and samples, whether front-end or back-end: a classic customer loyalty and retention strategy. Whether a business or non-profit, Three Dog is ready to help you with parcel consolidation, mitigating the expense of premiums and samples, making both you and your customer happy. Our Premium Fulfillment service will pick up, package and get your premiums into the hands of your recipients and donors at the lowest possible cost. But knowledge of how your premiums’ strategy—or lack thereof— could impact customer loyalty is the necessary first step to taking advantage of these savings. With this knowledge, Three Dog can create a customized strategy that best help your unique needs as a business.

Cost of Customer Acquisition

Cost of customer acquisition measures the total cost associated with creating new customers, including all aspects of marketing and sales. Customer acquisition cost is calculated as total acquisition expenses divided by total new customers over a specific period. This will clue you in on whether your marketing and advertising investments are paying for themselves. If they aren’t, it’s time to make some careful decisions. We are all about the details at Three Dog: need to cut costs on postage of direct mail? We’re on it. What about the costs of shipping online purchases? We’ve got that covered too. If you get us the numbers for your marketing and sales costs, we can help you improve them—as far as postage and shipping is concerned.

Three Dog’s Pledge to You

Sound too good to be true? It isn’t. We want to help you slash costs for your postage and shipping needs, boosting marketing and sales metrics. Bring us the numbers, and we’ll find a solution. For more information, or a complimentary consultation, contact us today!

The post The Value of Knowing Your Business at a Metric Level first appeared on Three Dog Logistics.

Keep Your Lists Clean

Reduce mail to the wrong address or those who requested to be removed from your mailing list. Maintain strict list hygiene procedures including regular National Change of Address (NCOA) and CASS certification to improve deliverability. In addition, create a suppression file for all mailing list deletion requests; de-dupe every mailing against the suppression file to reduce mail that will end up in the landfill.

Purchase Green Shipping Supplies

When possible, purchase shipping containers and supplies from vendors whose products meet the certification standards from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Forest Stewardship Council. Approved products ensure sustainable manufacturing processes, which extend the life of precious natural resources thereby reducing long-term environmental impact. The selection of eco-friendly options is vast and priced low enough to preserve profit, all while being a good global citizen. Examples include:

• Shipping supplies made from 100% recycled materials. Includes boxes, cartons, shipping labels, packing tape, filler materials, and padded/poly mailers. Use paper, cardboard, or paperboard containers whenever possible.
• Filler products made from biodegradable cornstarch or plastic that decomposes when exposed to sunlight.
• Packing tape that is plant-based and biodegradable or consider paper tape. In all cases, use the highest quality eco-product available. If it requires tons of tape to replace the standard choice, it is clearly not better for Mother Earth.

Use Smart Packaging Design

Use the lightest box required for shipping, less bulk leaves a lighter carbon footprint from manufacturing through shipping to the post-recycling process. Less is always better. Select a vendor with the capability of creating packaging that is just the right fit reducing the need for extra filler and possibly reducing overall shipping cost.

Contract Packagers or Co-Packers are specialists on what it takes to create, fill, pack, and produce packages of all types. For particularly complex, expensive, or perishable items, it pays to pair up with an expert from the start. To support your green initiative, engage a Co-Packer that specialized in socially conscious practices. There are companies that specialize in custom external boxes, others offer packaging solutions for bulky, expensive items, and some have even developed a cooler with biodegradable foam/plastic for items requiring refrigerated shipping.

Find a Green Shipper

Saving fuel is the single biggest way to conserve energy throughout the shipping process. Less driving equals less petroleum product usage, reduced air pollution, and expedited delivery. Sophisticated shippers with extensive transportation partners that utilize drop-shipping and commingling strategies are by far your best choice.

Drop Shipping works by cutting out the first three delivery requirements of the standard USPS delivery process and loads pre-sorted mail directly onto a freight truck, which arrives at the final destination postal facility expediting delivery to the recipient. A commingling service consolidates millions of pieces of mail, pre-sorts to the closest destination point, and processes them through a high-speed delivery point barcode scanner directing the piece to one of 294 USPS pockets. It’s not the same as combining mail together in one bin and drop shipping from a bulk mail unit; way more sophisticated stuff. Commingling is a mail optimization tool that does most of the work for the post office, thereby getting it close to the end delivery point so USPS barely touches it. Reduced touches mean fewer vehicles and people in the process, reducing overall carbon emissions.

Recycle, Recycle, Recycle

The Environmental Protection Agency recognizes all mixed paper waste as recyclable, if not already offered by your county, enact a recycling program at your business. Put your money where your mouth is, buy recycled raw materials and products for your office wherever possible, for ideas see the EPA’s Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines. Always recycle electronic products including computers, cell phones, and printers, view this quick list of electronic recycling centers near you or visit earth 911.

Offer customers the option to recycle your products with free return programs, convenient drop-offs, and programs that offer credit to those who recycle. Encourage recipients to recycle by marking packaging with simple “Recycle Me” instructions. For lots of other great ideas download the Green15 Toolkit from the Direct Marketing Association.

Exciting progress has been made! The wood and paper industry plants 1.7 million new trees every day — over 650 million each year, more than making up for all the products made of wood/paper. In fact, since 1987 U.S. forests have increased by 12 million acres to 755 million nationwide — about the same as 100 years ago. Why not become part of the solution today?

Ready to develop a green shipping strategy? At Three Dog Logistics, our consultants will help develop a plan that delivers client solutions at the lowest cost and fastest delivery speed possible. Remember, we take the bite out of postage and freight. Visit www.threedoglogistics.com or call 410-284-5494 extension 220 to schedule a complimentary consultation today.

The post 5 Ways to Green Your Shipping Strategy first appeared on Three Dog Logistics.

What is First-Class Mail?

First-class mail is for any small package, postcard, letter, or large envelope (known as a “flat envelope”) that weighs under 13 ounces with the contents being personal in nature. The rate to send mail or packages via First-Class is higher than standard class, but the value of that higher cost is that First-class mail is given priority in delivery. Mail sent via First-class should arrive at a local destination in one to three business days, and to a national location in three to four. It is important to note, however, that these delivery times are not guaranteed. If the recipient has moved, the mail will be forwarded at no additional cost up to a year after they have moved. If a piece of mail is undeliverable, it will be sent back to the sender’s address free of charge, and should include the reason the piece was not delivered. First-class mail offers faster delivery times and a higher standard of service than standard mail.

If a small package or a flat envelope is over 13 ounces, the First Class Postage is converted to Priority Mail Postage, with a National Delivery of 1 to 3 days.

What is Pre-Sorted First Class Mail?

If you or your organization have 500 or more First-class-eligible pieces of mail, a postage discount is applied, potentially saving you up to 20% on shipping costs. The name “pre-sorted” is used because the sender must pre-sort the mail before shipping. Pre-sorting makes the Post Office’s job easier, which allows them to pass along a discounted price to the sender. In order to receive the largest discount, pre-sorted mail must be NCOA-updated (a database that provides a national list of changed addresses for businesses and residents), CASS certified (the acronym stands for Coding Accuracy Support System—the address and 11-digit zip code must be matched against the USPS Address Matching System) and grouped by zip code. This option gives you the speed of First-class mail with a discounted price tag.

What is Marketing Mail (aka Standard)?

Marketing mail, the mail of many names: previously known as bulk or Third-class mail, and most recently Standard mail, requires only 200 pieces at 3.3 ounces or smaller to get a marketing rate. Pieces over 3.3 ounces can ship via marketing mail for a slightly higher rate. Unlike First-class, marketing mail has no expected delivery date. Local mail usually takes one to fourteen business days, and national mail can take anywhere from one to three weeks. Marketing mail, while approximately half the price of First-class, is not the best choice for those who are sending pieces related to a soon-to-occur event or providing offers that have expiration dates. Marketing Mail must have contents that are not personal in nature. If the mail piece has personal information, the USPS requires the mail piece to me sent via First Class or Priority. Marketing mail is also neither forwarded to recipients who have moved, nor sent back when undeliverable—instead, Marketing mail is recycled by the post office when it is undeliverable.

What is Non-Profit Marketing Mail?

If your organization has non-profit status, you should take advantage of non-profit marketing mail, formerly non-profit standard mail, when shipping or mailing. Reduced rates are provided when you complete PS Form 3624, and discounts can be up to 70% off First-class mail prices. Besides the discounted rate, non-profit marketing mail is treated similarly to standard mail. Contact your local USPS if you have any questions regarding non-profit status.

How Can Three Dog Logistics Help?

At Three Dog Logistics, we understand how confusing and expensive mailing options can be. While First Class mail sounds enticing, the price point can really take a toll on your ROI. From our years of experience, we have found Marketing and Non-Profit Marketing mail along with our logistics capabilities and connections get our clients a similar speed of delivery, at a reduced cost. In fact, we saved a client $4 million annually by switching to Marketing mail, all while maintaining similar speeds to First Class! It is our mission to make mailing and shipping easier for businesses large and small; to reduce costs and increase efficiency and productivity. Give your business a boost—to speak with one of our dedicated mailing and shipping experts and learn about the ease and savings Three Dog can provide, please contact us online or call 410-284-5494 extension 220 to schedule a complimentary consultation today.

The post First-Class Mail Versus Standard: What is the Difference? first appeared on Three Dog Logistics.

Online buyers continue to grow at an incredible rate with a recent Fortune Magazine survey reporting 51% of shoppers now make their purchases online compared to only 47% in 2014. Consider for a moment holiday shopping now versus just five years ago, Black Friday online deals and Cyber Monday have virtually obliterated in-store sales for brick and mortar retailers. By 2019 digital shoppers are forecasted to reach 224 million and every single one of them wants free shipping.

While there are tons of shipping services out there, the truth is, unless you ship at a large box store level you’ll never find rates as low as an experienced parcel mail firm can offer. Shipping is not an equal opportunity business, those with the greatest volume get the best pricing, no exceptions, ever. Working with an experienced mailer grants access to volume discounts through their private shipper contracts and consolidation of multi-customer shipments into big company-like quantities. Besides saving money remember, that your job is to deliver WOW with every delivery. That means the order is accurate, well-packaged, and arrives by the date promised. Keep reading to learn the secrets of cost-effective and headache-free shipping.

Tips to Reduce the Cost of Free Shipping for Your E-Commerce Business

1. Select an experienced parcel mail firm that offers the lowest cost, warehousing, and real-time delivery tracking. Specifically, the firm must have experience with all private carriers and USPS to guarantee optimum deliverability. The more sophisticated the firm the better for your financials. For example,  Three Dog developed a proprietary processing tool that compares rates for the specific delivery zip and box dimensions ensuring the most cost-effective shipper is selected for each order. In addition, they use a drop-ship model utilizing private carriers to get the package as close to the destination as possible, then using USPS local service to drop in to the final destination. Deep USPS discounts using the drop-ship model can reduce shipping rates by 50% or more, making “free” shipping easier on your wallet.
2. Consult in advance with your mail firm to keep shipping cost low. Ask for packaging recommendations like size, weight, thickness, materials, and coating to reduce cost and guarantee your package won’t be rejected by USPS automation. A good mail firm should offer consulting expertise like this included with every project so call them in the design stage.
3. Verify shipping lists have optimum deliverability. Sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be shocked how often organizations assume their parcel was delivered all while scratching their head reviewing horrible customer reviews. Verify your mailing includes gratis NCOA/CASS certification of every list, virtually guaranteeing clean lists with 100% deliverability.
4. Avoid management of warehousing components and processes if at all possible. Warehousing logistics can play a huge factor in the cost, delivery, and success of parcel mailings, not to mention a colossal waste of time for your company’s internal resources. Select a mailer with capacity for warehousing, package fulfillment, and finishing services. I promise you’ll save yourself an incredible amount of pain and hardship. When negotiating be sure to include fulfillment services in your contract so free shipping becomes a predictable fixed expense.
5. Secure real-time tracking for every shipment. Parcel tracking is like a crystal ball, allowing verification that parcels have shipped and reached their destination on deadline, thereby fulfilling your promise to the buyer. In addition, tracking allows real-time staff planning for customer service/order-taking call centers. Again here the tighter you can project the actual dates support is needed, the less waste for the organization. Three Dog developed ObbaTrack to give their clients real-time visibility into every mailing. Available via the web, ObbaTrack allows clients to view every step of a parcels journey to its final destination.

Why not do some comparison shopping and see how much you can save in shipping expenses? Who knows, the next order that ships out from your company may feel just a little bit closer to “free.”

Ready to try Free Shipping that doesn’t take a chunk out of your bottom line? At Three Dog Logistics, our consultants will help develop a plan that delivers client solutions at the lowest cost and fastest delivery speed possible. Remember, we take the bite out of postage and freight. Visit www.threedoglogistics.com or call 410-284-5494 extension 220 to schedule a complimentary consultation today.

The post There is No Such Thing as Free Shipping first appeared on Three Dog Logistics.

Direct mail has changed, but it isn’t going anywhere.  With the saturation of Email, direct mail is still the #1 way to get your message into someone’s home and even in their hands.

The questions are just different now.

Who are you targeting?

As recent as 10 years ago, I remember getting direct mail pieces that clearly didn’t target my demographics.  I wasn’t in the market for baby food, I wasn’t a recent college graduate, and the local watering hole was not my weekly stop.  Today, talented marketers have figured out the secret of success – choosing the right list… and getting granular.  Knowing your target is key – what age, hobbies, interests, buying habits or online behaviors they have.  Why waste money sending an expensive furniture catalog to a recent high school graduate or baby promotions to an 80-year-old man? It is important to be smart about your list spend.

Is the list clean?

No matter where you get the list, recognize it is already outdated.  According to Melissa Data, the Census reports that an average of 14.19% of people move annually.  Another shocker to us is even when the client keys in their own address, the return rate for the undeliverable address is high. Imagine how data collection practices can easily produce inaccurate information.  Getting it delivered to the right person and the right address is important after you spent all that time making sure you targeted them correctly.

At Three Dog, we added a service to our Pick, Pack & Ship process as an added benefit to our clients. We cleanse the data, even if provided by the purchaser, to reduce the return factor on the items we ship.  Who would have guessed people don’t know how to key their own information… but it happens every day!

Have you invested in deduplication?

With all of the technology available, I am still amazed at how many well-known, successful catalogers send multiple, identical catalogs to my house.  What a total waste of money for the printing and the mailing.  Don’t go through all of the trouble in list selection and cleansing and not dedupe.

It’s open, now what?

Three Dog’s “Retriever” product has been a success because it can’t help but be opened.  Once it is opened, the marketer must make sure that the message is compelling and the call to action captivating.  Don’t forget that the best success is reached by cross promotions between direct mail, websites, social media and even telemarketing. No matter the vehicle you choose, open rate and response rate are the final measures of success.

Have you saved all you can?

Three Dog’s business is built solely on the idea that the mailers highest campaign cost is postage and we know how to save them millions a year.  We keep up with the latest changes to USPS regulations and programs so you don’t have to.  It’s an ever changing world and we are committed to being your resident expert.

So like many things in life – what is old is new again – just new and improved.  Direct mail will always be impactful because by its nature it is more personal. The key is capturing that.

The post Direct Mail has definitely evolved over the years, but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s gone.  first appeared on Three Dog Logistics.

You can literally survey people about any topic, but most businesses focus on feedback after purchase or collect data related to a specific product or behavior. For example, I happened to be on the Ulta web site (for holiday gifts) and was prompted to take a survey focused on my behavior and rationale for shopping on Black Friday. The best surveys are short, simple, and focused on very specific goals. Surveys provide valuable intelligence for your business including a gauge of customer satisfaction, ideas for new products or expansion opportunities, marketing campaign feedback, and, most importantly, a connection to better understand and learn about your clients.

Surveys can be delivered by many avenues, what’s best really depends on your audience. Options available are email, website, social media, mail, phone, in-store, and inserted with package. Obviously cost is a large factor to consider with email and web as the most cost-effective portals. As a general rule you can expect feedback after purchase surveys to generate anywhere from a 2-15% response. How easy it is to access and complete the survey is key to a good response rate. Industry experts recommend no more than 10 questions per survey and it should take less than five minutes to complete; anything greater will erode results. Be sure to include space for free-form comments throughout the survey so customers can tell you the story behind their ratings. Effective surveys regularly open the lines of communication with your customers leading to a loyal following and greater satisfaction levels.

Don’t forget the incentive.  Send the survey in advance with a gift or offer a thank you gift after their submission.  Partner with a fulfillment provider to make this seamless to your process.

Survey DOs and DON’Ts

• Don’t ask overly general questions with no purpose. It’s a waste of time on both sides.
• Don’t force survey takers to give their information. Anonymous surveys make people more comfortable and deliver more truthful answers.
• Don’t forget to thank responders and if negative input is sent respond quickly and try to make it right.
• Do make the survey easy to get to, less than 10 questions, and a simple return (for mail)
• Do add an incentive for responding. Monetary or free gift incentives can boost response by an astounding 19.1%!
• Do add a progress bar for web surveys such as % complete or 2/7 questions done. The greatest web survey erosion occurs when responders quit midway because they don’t know how much more time they have to spend.
• Do send the survey out as close to the interaction as possible. Waiting even a few days reduces response and makes it hard for the customer to remember relevant details.
• Do consider a “Take our Quiz” vs. “Take our Survey” approach, people love quizzes and response rates are typically double.

The survey space is huge, there are many simple and cost-effective tools available to help get you started. Here are just a few popular survey tools to consider:

SurveyMonkey, QuestionPro, Survey Anyplace, Snap Surveys, Survey Gizmo, Customer Thermometer. So, what are you waiting for? Resolve to partner with your customers and work together to make 2017 the best year ever!

Call Three Dog Logistics to help develop your plan for sending the thank you premium.  Remember, we take the bite out of postage and freight. Visit www.threedoglogistics.com or call 410-284-5494 extension 220 to schedule a complimentary consultation today.

The post How Businesses Can Leverage Customer Surveys to Their Advantage first appeared on Three Dog Logistics.

A Brilliant Replacement for Your Next #10 and #14 Mailing

As you know, we typically use this space to share industry insights instead of Three Dog Logistics promotions, but “The Retriever” is a brilliant idea we just had to share! Imagine if you will a plain brown box the same size as a #10 envelope, one-inch thick, sealed with a plain white label containing a return address and generic bar code. It looks just like your package has arrived from a recent online shopping spree. Wait – it gets better! When the package jiggles, it makes noise; something is in there and we must absolutely find out what it is. Meet The Retriever – your next replacement for #10 or larger size mailings with a 100% open rate and ROI results that will blow your mind!

The Retriever is available in standard #10 size and the Mega-Retriever in #14 size. Both the same size as the standard envelope, one-inch thick, and finished product must weigh one pound or less. Due to it’s weight, The Retriever mails as a marketing parcel qualifying for postal rates generally 30-40% less than standard parcel service. For non-profits, there’s an extra bonus. Under special USPS rules, mailed nonprofit solicitations afford even further reduced rates. Real-life example to share, a nonprofit client used to mail in tubes and replaced their tube campaign using The Retriever. They saw a $20k savings with a typical price-per-piece around 40 cents. With response rates as high as 8-10% and a 50% increase in average donation amounts. Seriously – what else could you ask for?

To take full advantage of The Retriever you have to think “inside the box”. What can you fit in the box and be sure to take advantage of the “shake effect.” Insert an item that makes noise when inserted in box to encourage 100% open rate. As always, include a strong call to action and/or BRE for optimum campaign ROI results. Don’t forget Three Dog Logistics can track in real-time the exact in-home parcel delivery date and BRE response so you have up-to-the-minute results for nimble decision-making and staff planning.

For quick and easy sampling programs, The Retriever is an excellent option at a reduced cost. Sampling campaigns should include in-store coupons, online promo code offers, or “share free samples with a friend” options to engage the recipient once they’ve opened the box. The confidential look of the box will encourage 100% open rate even for consumers who may not engage with your product typically. The Retriever is seeing initial response rates of 8-30% depending on call to action with a higher spend/donation per response that standard direct mail campaigns. Why not give The Retriever a try? Get inside the box, be creative, and watch your results skyrocket. Your team will think you’re a genius and we agree.

Let’s Make Some Noise – Creative Use of The Retriever

Ideas to Make Noise

• Sturdy items like coins, keys, balls, pens, candy, post-it notes, fridge clips or other packaged promotional items.
• Folded large items, such as a reusable shopping bag, requiring the recipient to further interact with the package once open.
• Small booklets like calendars, instruction guides, coupon books, etc.
• Smaller cardboard/plastic/tin containers that could also contain relevant campaign items
• Items restricted only by your imagination and package weight limit of one-pound or less.

Retriever Item Considerations

• Select an interesting item that is relevant to the campaign or recipient.
• Package items so they make noise, but won’t get too beat up in transit.
• Nothing that could be dangerous or injure the recipient when removed.
• Ensure items are packaged in the box to maintain their order and easy to remove.
• Include a strong call to action or BRE to track response rates. Calls to action can include online actions, phone calls, mail-in cards, in-store coupon redemptions, and on-site contest matching of mailed item for prizes.
• Create your best marketing message, and let the Retriever take care of the rest.

Ready to be out in front and try The Retriever? At Three Dog Logistics, our consultants will help develop a plan that delivers your parcel at the lowest cost and fastest delivery speed possible. Remember, we take the bite out of postage and freight. Visit www.threedoglogistics.com or call 410-284-5494 extension 220 to schedule a complimentary consultation today.

The post Exclusive Sneak Peek of "The Retriever" first appeared on Three Dog Logistics.