THEY’RE NON-RESPONDERS, NOT NON-CONSUMERS

While the bulk of this report deals with reaching direct marketing customers more effectively, I thought I’d take a look at the so-called non-responders.

The pool of direct response purchasers is finite, and during the past few years of economic woe marketers have turned to their customer bases. The prospecting that has been done has focused on an increasingly well-refined set of likely prospects, due to profiling and segmentation.

This is smart marketing practice, at least in the short run. But there will come a time when companies will have to reach out beyond their traditional bases.

Tailoring messages toward the differences between purchasers and non-responders should be worth at least a test cell or two. Yankelovich provided Direct with a series of attitudinal splits between purchasers and non-responders, which offer some guidance on how to do this.

There’s some good news within the similar characteristics: Both groups consider themselves open to new ideas. This indicates non-responders are at least approachable, albeit with a different message than one would attempt with a dedicated DM purchaser.

In the list below, the higher the characteristic, the more likely it is shared by both DM purchasers and non-responders:

• Self-sufficiency.
• Family oriented.
• Sensitive.
• Organized.
• Open to new ideas.
• Creative.
• Intelligent.
• Spiritual.
• Funny.
• Bargain hunter.

So where do these two groups see themselves differently? The next list is the mirror opposite of the other: The higher-ranked characteristics were more likely to reflect DM purchasers’ view of themselves than non-responders. Non-responders are less likely to see themselves as financially savvy, overwhelmed or always on a diet than DM purchasers.

Granted, the last may be due in part to the gender splits. Yankelovich found that non-responders are more likely to be male heads of households. As in all cases, the offer determines which of these characteristics to address.

• Always on a diet.
• Environmentalist.
• Financially savvy.
• Overwhelmed.
• Sophisticated.
• Overweight.
• Avid readers.
• Worrywarts.
• Well educated.
• Talented.

The clues on how to approach non-responders are subtle. They aren’t as likely to consider themselves avid readers as DM purchasers. Does this mean that the traditionally text- and information-heavy solicitations embodied by direct marketers aren’t necessarily appropriate for them? I make no guarantees — the actual answers are, of course, based on the nature of the product or service being offered — but it might serve to direct a test cell or two.

As always, we welcome marketers’ reactions — or, for those using this information to influence campaigns, word of the results.