Finding Your Next Control – Part Two

by Tom Gaffny, Tom Gaffny consulting

As I wrote to you in my first installment, there are 7 ‘take it to the bank’ rules to remember which will help you find that next control package.

In that first missive, I concentrated on your target audience – and the paramount importance of understanding who they are, what they want, and how you might connect with them in a memorable way:

Rule #1: Always Remember … It’s Not About You.

Rule #2: It’s all about ‘them’ … and meeting their needs.

Today, we get to talk about someone who’s probably a little more near and dear to your heart – you.  And the 5 Rules you can start implementing now to ensure your blockbuster success in 2012.  You ready?  Let’s do it….

Rule #3:  Fix your current winner.  Then fix it again.

Want to know where you’re most likely to find your next great acquisition winner? The first place to look is your current control.

After you’re done reading this article, try something you probably haven’t done in a while.  Grab three people from your office (preferably people who look and act like your target prospect), usher them into a room … and then ask them to open your control. Then watch.  Do they even read your envelope teaser?  Do they look at the reply slip first before anything else?  How do they react to the letter?  Do they read the first few words and put it down? Do the older people in your audience excuse themselves so they can find their glasses (a sure sign your stuff is too hard to read).  How does your audience  react?  A sigh … a smile … a yawn?

Once you’re done collecting this information, then take another look at your control, and ask yourself – is this package clear?  Does the opening line grab them enough, or am I hoping the recipient will read the whole letter to get my point (oh-oh).  Is my photo grabbing the recipient, or just taking up space … and what could I replace it with.  Does my reply slip headline scream ‘return me now!’   In other words, could I dramatically improve what I have so far by making it bigger … shorter … more visual … less crowded.  Chances are your next control is already sitting right in your hands.

Rule #4:  Stop the Insanity … do something truly different.

You know the definition of insanity, right?  Doing the same thing again, and again, but expecting a different result.   More often than not, charities whose control is a window envelope/4-page letter package choose to test the exact same format again and again, hoping for a breakthrough.

Recently I worked with a great overseas relief agency whose control package (a #10 window envelope with a 4-page letter inside) had run out of steam.  They asked me to ‘write a letter to beat it,’ but I instead gave them a totally different approach – a personalized greeting card with a short message inside, supplemented by 4 Polaroid photos that told the mission’s story on the back of each one.  This new approach covered the same ground as the 4-page letter, but broke up ‘the story’ into easy-to-digest, bite size pieces – and was a clear winner.  An aberration?  Hardly.

Last fall, the good folks at the Pine Street Inn (a homeless shelter) in Boston asked me if I could ‘write a letter’ to beat their 10-year control (which featured a long letter).  My suggestion – a personalized greeting card that told the Pine Street Inn story in easy to read, bite size pieces.  The results skyrocketed almost 50%.

The moral?  After you’re done following through on Rule #3, and tweaking/improving/messaging your control to death, make it a point to ‘test big.’ Turn your program on its head.  Think differently.  If you’re always testing long letters, test a slip with a strong headline and a compelling photo instead.  Or an index card with multiple photos alongside.  Or a one-page letter, with a long personalized handwritten message that spills over to the other side.

Rule #5:  You’ve got 3 seconds before you die (direct mail-wise, at least).  Make every second count.

Here’s the hard truth in a nutshell: even though you will probably spend 10, 20, 30, or even 100 plus hours developing your next acquisition package, the typical prospect is going to give you 3 seconds to decide if she likes it … maybe.  Unless your package does something to provoke/incite/inspire/attract your prospect, all your hard work is going to end up in the wastebasket faster than you can say ‘I-can’t-believe-she-just-threw-my-package-away.’

What to do?  Begin each new package assignment with the assumption you’ve got three seconds to make your case, and make it as strongly as you can.  That means, if you have a fantastic offer – scream it on the outside envelope. If you have important news that will really provoke your prospect’s emotion?  Show it on the outer envelope, or the first line of your letter.   Got a photo that will make someone’s blood boil … a story that will leave a prospect shaking her head … a real opportunity to make a once-in-a-lifetime difference?  Make sure you whack your prospect over the head with it right away.

Remember – prospects don’t have the time, or the inclination, to patiently wade through our packages, searching for something to excite them.  Don’t hide your good stuff!  Unless you hit them with it quickly, they’ll hit the road.  And you’ll lose an opportunity to find a new friend.

Rule #6: If you want the prospect to treat you special, then treat them special.

The process of acquisition is pretty incredible when you stop to think about it.  Every time you send out that package you’re asking someone to stop what she’s doing … listen to what you’re saying … and then thank you for intruding on her life by reaching back out to you with a check.    So it’s fair to ask – are you doing enough on your end to make the experience as special as it can be?

As direct marketers, we sometimes become jaded about personalization, because we’ve seen it so often.  But guess what – leveraging its power is still one of the most powerful ways to find a new friend.   Examples?

• When was the last time you tested a closed face envelope in acquisition?  Simply using this kind of envelope, which makes your outer envelope look truly personal, often lifts response in acquisition 25% and more.
• What about using a cornercard namesticker on your outer envelope, or a commemorative stamp created for your mission?  One of my longest running control packages saw results jump over 10% when I introduced those simple concepts.
• I’ve seen instances when real-looking, handwritten imaging on an outer envelope increases response 25%.  And if you image that type in 18 point type (so it’s the same size normal people write their address blocks), it can increase response another 10%.
• A handwritten teaser on the back of the envelope?  A personalized post-it note on the reply slip?  A long, handwritten P.S. which starts at the bottom of the page, and runs vertically up to the top?  I’ve seen these simple, highly personalized approaches increase results in acquisition 20% and more.

And you know those name labels you’re going to include in your next acquisition package?  If you simply indent and bold the name … make the type bigger (just mail to prospects with three line addresses!) … and add gold foil … you could easily lift results 20% or more.  ‘Making it special’ can make a truly special difference in getting results.

Rule #7: Focus on the right side of the brain first, second, always.

More often than not, there’s a direct correlation between how much emotion a package creates, and how much response it generates.

Next time you’re ready to drop a new test into the mail, stop for a moment and ask yourself this simple question – does my package touch a nerve?   Is this likely to make the recipient feel (and that’s the operative word) anger?  Guilt?  Compassion?  Hope?

Our donor public is filled with good and caring people who feel even better about themselves when they can help a fellow human being in need.   So the more you can touch a prospect’s heart, and let that prospect share in the miracle of making a difference for someone touched by your mission, the more successful you’ll be. Always remember – people don’t give to you because you have needs.  They give to you because you meet needs, most of all the human need we all have to make a difference in the world.  Is your prospecting mail doing that today?

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