39 The stamp

39

THE STAMP

You can bank on everyone born before 1950 opening every letter you send them. People younger than that will assess what the industry knows as DM, direct mail, and decide whether to open it or put it straight into the recycling. Some of us put it all in a pile and save it until the end of the month when it’s time to catch up with the paperwork. Part of the problem is that brand owners are too busy trying to save money when sending out thousands of envelopes at one time, so they don’t put anything on the outside of the envelope that might tempt the receiver to open it.

How can you interest people enough to make them open yours?

The idea Send a personal letter with a stamp on it.

In projects I’ve done, using a stamp – even with a computer printed address label – we’ve had up to 12 times more responses than the organisations involved would normally expect.

Just this week I got one of those things from someone who claims to have millions of dollars and needs your bank account to put it into, and will share the proceeds when it all works out nicely. This one claimed to have done the legal work for a distant relative of mine, in China. The other several hundred of these have come by email. This one came by post, with a stamp. If the scammers have moved their evil ways to the postal system, that proves it’s much more effective than sending emails.

In practice • Letters with stamps on go to the top of the pile to be opened fi rst. • To build a personal relationship with a customer, and demonstrate that at some point a human being touched the letter you’re sending, sign it by hand and put a stamp on it. You’re a lot more likely to get a response.