Presentation Tool...

A power point presentation encompassing many of the programs posted to this blog is now available. It's another tool available for the exchange of information, training, and to prompt idea sharing. If you would like a copy of the presentation, drop me a line at jlazzeri@journalregister.com

John Lazzeri
Circulation Director
The Oakland Press

Send Us A Text Message...

In our continuing effort to improve communication channels with our customers, we created the means for customers to send text messages to Customer Service. The message can be specific regarding missed delivery, vacation stops, etc. or general in nature. The text message is handled through our host, MessageMedia, and sent in real time directly to our Customer Service e-mail address. Text OAKPRESS to 57682 with a message and we’re on it!

TV Book Gatefold Offer…

We created and ran a TV Book Subscription offer using a gatefold on our Sunday edition (the TV Book is an add-on subscription). We received 30 starts as a result. Just goes to show that gatefolds can be an effective tool despite being generally disliked by our readers. We’re planning more gatefold promotions down the road.

Assistance In Recruiting...

We sent an e-mail blast to subscribers letting them know that our Editorial department was looking for interns. The idea was that subscribers would be a good group to tap due to many of them being interested in engagement with the product. Sixteen people to-date have expressed an interest with several of them looking like good candidates.

Alternative Delivery Plan...

If tonight’s blizzard prevents some home delivery of the print edition, the subscribers impacted will be given temporary access to the e-paper. An in-paper article was published (the day before the storm) on the front page informing subscribers of the e-paper option if they do not get a paper delivered. Subs get their paper and as a bonus we collect e-mail addresses in the process. One way or another…, We Deliver!!

Testing a Free Survey Tool...

As part of an Idea Lab project, we surveyed a group of our print subscribers testing a free tool from ZOOMERANG. Five-hundred and fifty seven subscribers were invited to complete the survey. We prompted people to respond by offering to add one free week to their subscription term. Within 48 hours, 61 or 11% of those invited had participated.

Some valuable insight was gathered regarding which products they use, their use of social media, how they use the print and web products, their favorites, and more. Additional customer comments can be viewed under question #12. The process is simple, both outbound and inbound, and can be a valuable tool with a multitude of applications.

Click on the link below to review the configuration, questions asked, and the complete results.

http://www.zoomerang.com/Shared/SharedResultsPasswordPage.aspx?ID=L24MGS255AE6

Feel free to contact me if you would like more information regarding how the process works.

John Lazzeri

Follow Us On Twitter...

As part of our continuing effort to increase engagement with our readers we delivered a message (via e-mail) to our subscribers inviting them to follow the OP on Twitter. A simple link in the display took them directly to the site. Since sending the invite we’ve secured nearly 100 new followers with the number growing every day.

Our Marketing department helped with the invite while our IT department set up the e-mail blast to all of our subscribers with an e-mail address on file. We expect the increase in engagement will add value to our product and help retain customers.

Marketing Tips...

Some amusing yet relevent tips from Yogi!!

http://www.melissadata.com/enews/marketingadvisor/articles/1012b/3.htm

Targeted e-mail offer...

We’ve all gone after previous subscribers with telemarketing, mail, samples, etc. to get them back in the fold. New in our efforts was the test of an e-mail message program incorporating our current Holiday Bonus Sale graphics along with the special offer. The e-mail was delivered to previous home delivery customers.

To-date the program has generated 6 restarts incurring very little, if any acquisition expense. We’ll continue developing and testing ways to use e-mail as a tool to help us reach our goals. More to come…

Reader Engagement…

As part of our effort to increase engagement with our readers we delivered a message (via e-mail) to our subscribers inviting them to friend the OP Facebook page. A simple link in the display took them directly to the page. Since sending the invite we’ve secured 42 new fans with more joining every day.

Our Marketing department created the invite while our IT department set up the e-mail blast to all of our subscribers with an e-mail address on file, approximately 17,000. Although we don’t classify the results as hitting a home run, every new friend is welcome and will help spread the word. We expect the increase in engagement will add value to our product and help retain customers.

New QR Code Application...

We begin testing a new QR Code placement on OP home delivery invoices next week. The code, once scanned, will take a subscriber directly to the JRC web pay site. The goal is to add another convenient means for customers to pay their bill and renew their subscription. The QR Code application will be offered to all publications currently using the JRC web page site.

Using e-mail to prompt web payments…

In addition to sending out a Welcome Message and a 30 Day Checkup using e-mail, we recently started an e-mail messaging program covering payment options and reminder notices. We’re showing steady increases in the number of web payments since the option became available in August and the e-mail program was launched(invoice inserts are also being used to reach those without an e-mail address on file). Jim Geottes spearheaded the program and has been tracking the results.

Feel free to contact Jim at james.geottes@oakpress.com if you have any questions, suggestions, or would like more information.

Getting Our Message Out!

As part of an Idea Lab project, I have compiled a data file of ex-print subscribers (permanent stops) from 17 JRC daily print publications. It contains 860,879 records. It will serve as a marketing data base of individuals who at one time relied on us for printed news and information, and valued our brand.

The goal of the project is to reestablish a relationship and an engagement with these previous customers and win them back by using new tools and offering a full menu of (current and future) JRC products and delivery platforms.

I'm currently researching several options to get an effective marketing message out to these individuals/households beyond traditional means (mail, phone calls, etc). E-mail append programs and data hygiene services are available to run and match against the records but can be expensive.

Also new in the data broker world is the option for a Social Media append including facebook, twitter, and other SM sites. The opportunity to contact customers and spread the word (marketing message) through social media outlets would expand our reach dramatically.

I'm currently looking for free tools or some type of partnership to help us avoid (or reduce) the cost associated with data/information processing. Any ideas or suggestions regarding available tools, access to broadcast networks, leveraging contacts, or other resources that could help us get there would be helpful, and appreciated.

Thanks!
John Lazzeri

Hybrid Rule Change On Hold...

ABC defers new pricing rules on Hybrid subscriptions. No changes necessary at this point to your hybrids as long as you collect the minimum $0.01 for the subscription.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/Headlines/abc-board-defers-implementation-of-hybrid-subscription-rules-62681-.aspx

News from our friends at ABC...

Check out the notes from the July, 2010 ABC Board meeting.

http://www.accessabc.com/press/ma0710us.htm#news

Interesting new 5% pricing rule for counting mutiple products (bundling), including mobile apps and e-readers, as paid circulation. Opportunity??

Tiered Discounting

Retaining customers is an objective that gets more and more challenging every day. Beyond the "touches" we use to reach out to customers, pricing models can play a vital role. Here is one we're experimenting with that seems to be paying off.

We are testing a tiered discount program where a customer gets a lower weekly rate when they pay for a longer term Even though this may not be a new marketing concept, it's a new and attractive option for our customers. Our terms are currently set up as 12, 26, or 52 weeks. The customer is notified of the option to SAVE MONEY via a message on the invoice (copy of invoice is below). Basically, if they pay for 52 weeks they will be saving 20 cents per week or a total savings of $10.40 per year. Paying for 26 weeks will be saving them 10 cents per week which is a savings of $2.60 for the term.

Early results show an increase of 80% in the percentage of customers paying for 52 weeks and a 25% increase for 26 weeks. On the negative side there is an additional discount expense incurred. However, by reducing the churn through customers paying longer terms, we will get more "BANG for our buck."

Let us know what's working, or programs you may be testing in your market to battle churn and improve retention.

Customer email Campaign

We have been on a fierce campaign to collect customer emails in order to open up a new way to communicate with our customer and visa versa. We snatch up customer e-mails every chance we get including in and outbound phone calls, new sales, web starts, web subscriptions requests, etc. We record addresses from a growing number of customer who use our customer service email to communicate with us, which btw, is increasing daily. We used an append process offered through Tower Data to secure available and permission based customer e-mails. We now have e-mail addresses on 48% of our customers & we’re convinced that these customers prefer this method of communication so we’re going to pursue them big time through this avenue which costs us nothing.

With the help of our IT guys, we designed our system to automatically send out emails. Our Marketing Dept gave us our creative Blog Name and we think it’s pretty cool. Who knew Circulation people could be so cool?

A Welcome Message is sent to new subscribers via email with a link back to Customer Service e-mail with any comments/issues they might have. As I said before, our Customer Service emails are increasing daily because of this link back.

The next e-mail goes out 30 days after their start date asking how we’re doing and once again there’s a link back to the Customer Service e-mail.

Our next move is to start sending retention emails to those who are close to expiring and need to make a payment. The email will link back to an OP Website page where customers can easily make a payment online.

The more we get into this, the more we realize the possibilities are endless. We think we’re being pretty creative but maybe you have something more creative. We’d love to hear about it.

Welcome to the “Deliver This!” blog. It’s been set up as a new means of open communication. Although its primary purpose is to share information between circulators, we encourage and welcome all suggestions and ideas from anyone wanting to join in.

Although the JRC culture is changing from legacy based to digital first, which we all know is critical to our long range success, we need to continue to excel and innovate to best serve the needs of our print customers.

With ever changing technology come new opportunities and tools to better serve our customers, promote the product, and meet company goals. Let’s use this blog to share our experiences, innovations, successes, and yes, even our missteps.

John Lazzeri (JCL)
Circulation Director
The Oakland Press