Pressures are mounting on the publishing industry. They can be viewed "either as the light at the end of the tunnel, or the incoming train," quipped Tom Corry, in his session at the Direct Media annual Client Summit and Co-op in White Plains, NY on Tuesday.
Direct marketers must contend with data privacy; legal and legislative challenges; postage increases; how to compete with free Internet content; decreasing interest in continuity programs; and increasing pressures from mergers and consolidations throughout publishing, said Corry, president of his own direct marketing consultancy. He offered seven survival strategies to deal with these pressures.
* Get back to basics. "The days of being a specialist [in renewal or acquisition for example] are over. You really have to be a generalist today, understanding all of the moving parts of your business," Corry said. Part of that is evaluating your systems. For example, national change of address (NCOA) is typically done during the merge/purge process, he said. "If you can NCOA 3% that's going to have a big impact on your bottom line."
* Understand your customer data. "Really understand the data in your database," he advised. "Take your statistician out to lunch." It's good business to know how your customers migrate from active to inactive status. And, in this era of privacy sensitivity, it's prudent to delve into how data is gathered on outside lists you may use. "You don't want to end up on the Real Time Blackhole List," Corry warned.
* Develop business metrics. This must include things other than just the profit and loss, he said. For instance, "understanding list migration is really important." If somebody comes in as a magazine subscriber, "you have two or three months to get them to sign up for something else." If you wait 12 months, they'll never be anything but a magazine customer, he said.
* Improve your customer acquisition and retention efforts. One good way is developing partnerships and data exchanges with non-competitive publishers and direct marketers. Hanover closed and became an acquisition source for magazine publishers, Corry pointed out. Use different media to reach prospects and use the media wisely, he added. "I don't know many people who are using the Internet to drive subscriptions," he said. "The Internet is great for customer service."
* Develop customer-marketing strategies. This means being customer driven, he said. "Many publishers develop a product, then figure out who to sell it to." Don't just send new subscribers the next direct mail piece on the schedule. Instead, send what makes sense for that individual.
* Review and update privacy and ethics policies. There are 546 privacy bills in 49 states, Corry said. "If you don't understand these issues, you'll be run out of business," he cautioned, suggesting DMers avail themselves of Direct Marketing Association policies and procedures.
* Better manage internal resources. "Home-grow your talent by hiring smart young people and then train them, " Corry said. And, promote from within. That's what Rodale Press does. "Nobody wants to move to Emmaus, PA, so the publisher hires from local colleges and trained them very well. "Get committed staff, not just involved staff," Corry concluded. "The chickens are involved, but the pig is committed."
The Direct Media conference ended Tuesday evening.
