#14 Putting Customers into Bimbo Mode

 

http://dennyhatch.blogspot.com/2018/07/14-putting-customers-into-bimbo-mode.html

Issue #14 – Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Posted by Denny Hatch

Putting Customers into Bimbo Mode

Peggy and I have taken six Viking Cruises, two of them with a high-powered estate/trust attorney with a major law firm in Philly and her husband, a retired surgeon.

Our lawyer friend—in her 60’s—once said, “When I arrive at the destination airport, get our luggage and see the people with the big VIKING signs awaiting us, I immediately go into bimbo mode.”

She knows during the entire coming week, the Viking team will take exquisite care of her. She won’t have a worry in the world.

CRM

The term CRM was no doubt originally coined by a bean counter: “Customer Retention Management.”

Somewhere along the line, CRM was softened a bit to become “Customer Relationship Management.”

Later I came up with CRM: “Customer Relationship MAGIC."

“The sale begins when the customer says yes”

This is the mantra of copywriter Bill Christiansen of Ellicott City, Maryland. Care and feeding of customers is everything. 

Christiansen was echoed by the late Joan Throckmorton, who wrote: “As direct marketers we’re not here to primarily make a sale; we’re here to get a customer.”

Viking: No Sticker Shock on River or Ocean Cruises

• Free:  Wi-Fi

• Free: At least one guided shore excursion a day.

• Free: Wine and beer included with lunch and dinner.

• Often Free or half-price airfare

Free Goodies!

• Free: Worldwide Electrical Converter              •Free: Dopp Kit Bag

• Free: Leather luggage tags      • Free: Faux suede documents case

• Free Laundromat on ocean ships for smalls and wrinkle-free’s.

• Free: Daily news briefings for each of the nationalities making up the lion’s share of Viking travelers.

• Port taxes paid.

• On ocean cruises dine in any ship restaurant at no additional cost.

• River Longships dock conveniently in the middle of towns and cities.

• In short order the waitstaff knows you. ("Your usual Grey Goose gimlet on the rocks, Mr. Hatch?")

• No casino.

• No children.

• No umbrella drinks.

• Premium cabins for returning customers.

• This very day Viking was voted the world's #1 Ocean Cruise Line by readers of Travel & Leisure.

Takeaways to Consider

• “The sale begins when the customer says, ‘Yes.’ ”

• “As direct marketers we’re not here to primarily make a sale; we’re here to get a customer.”

• No matter what your product or service, always think CRM: Customer Relationship Magic.

• Continually research your competition and dream up ways to make your product or service superior.

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Word Count: 391

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#13 The 800-year History of Direct Marketing

 http://dennyhatch.blogspot.com/2018/07/13-800-year-history-of-direct-marketing.html

 

Issue #13 — Monday, July 2, 2018

Posted by Denny Hatch

The First Direct Marketing Campaign 800 Years Ago

  

CHARTRES, France, June 15, 1194 — Lightning struck and kindled a massive fire. Chartres Cathedral burned to the ground. The only elements intact were the façade, west towers and the crypt.

        

For the community of Chartres this was a catastrophe. The very symbol of the city was in ruins. Worse, lost for all time was one of Christianity’s holiest relics—the robe believed to have been worn by Mary when she gave birth to Jesus Christ.

The Bishop of Chartres, Regnault de Mouçon, wanted to start rebuilding immediately. But the townspeople, devastated by the huge loss, had no stomach for such an undertaking.

 

Bishop Regnault de Mouçon (d. 1217), Chartres Cathedral
 

Mary’s robe was not only holy, but also had the mystical aura of being the city’s amulet—or good luck charm. It kept everybody safe. To the residents of Chartres, rebuilding was a non-starter.

        

A couple of days after the fire, Bishop de Mouçon was at the smoking ruins delivering a passionate plea for rebuilding to a small collection of villagers. Suddenly a procession of monks, nuns and priests appeared, slowly marching up through the smoke from the crypt bearing the reliquary with Mary’s robe intact. It was saved!

        

To Regnault de Mouçon and the God-fearing folk of Chartres this was a sign from the Almighty the cathedral must be rebuilt. The bishop launched a furious letter-writing campaign to French nobility and rich people all over Europe. 

In addition, Regnault cut a deal with Richard the Lion Hearted (with whom France was at war) enabling him to send fund raising mailings into England.

The  winding Labyrinth in Chartres' nave 
with its atmosphere of myth and mystery 

The rich noble families of France and England responded with cash and gifts. So did the many guilds of workers, the equivalent of unions back then—shoemakers, wheelwrights, bankers, vintners, coopers, furriers, bankers, etc.

        

Chartres was rebuilt bigger and better than before. As an eternal “thank you,” the donors’ portraits and coats of arms were included in the magnificent 2600 square meters (172 bays) of stained glass windows of the new Chartres, where you can see them today.

 

Chartres' Glorious, Eternal Thank-you to:
(left) Vintners' Guild, (right) Furriers & Drapers

 

This was the very first instance of direct mail marketing.

Takeaways to Consider

• Direct Mail/direct marketing is a discipline going back more than 800 years.

• No other advertising medium can claim 800+ years of testing what works and what does not.

• Direct mail is “intimate advertising.” 

—Stan Rapp, Rapp & Collins

• Direct mail is theater in print.” 

— George Duncan, freelancer

• "Always say "Thank You! It's the polite thing to do."  —Roger Craver, Legendary fundraiser

 

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Word count: 447

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