Pforzheim – Even in the age of the Internet, print media as an element of high-performance marketing is anything but a thing of the past. A decisive element for being successful in the mail-order business is the right mixture of the individual channels. This in short was the conclusion of the top-notch direct marketing symposium FORUM PFORZHEIM, which was held at the premises of the Pforzheim-based media providers Meyle+Müller and Stark Druck on 10 March. "High-performance marketing – new paths to customer networks" was the motto of the event.
Meyle+Müller CEO Eugen Müller opened the FORUM with 300 participants and pointed out during his welcome speech the development that the economy benefits from as a result of these new online opportunities: "The base is becoming broader and the top even smaller.”
The opportunities that social media and various mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs bring about are becoming more abundant. "Those betting on just one single sales channel are simply doomed to fail", warns Stefan Mues, executive member of the Weltbild publishing group (Augsburg). There's absolutely no way around a multi-channel strategy. Also Robert Schumacher of the Schweizer SAS Institute recommends: "Off with huge campaigns, it's several small actions that do the trick." Schumacher goes on to explain that companies must command the customer process throughout all channels.
"Quick, reliable and close to the customer" – this is how CEO René Otto of specialist mail-order business Rock’N’Shop (Hamburg) describes his efficient marketing concept. For him the key to success is meeting customer requirements fast: "We want the customer to come back - not the goods. And the faster the goods go out, the quicker the customer will come back." The business is currently already making 11 percent of their sales via Facebook. Originally a pure online mail-order business, the Hamburg-based company has now also produced a catalog to expand their business activities.
Traditional mail-order businesses nowadays tend to reduce the editions and the volume of their catalogs and move part of this budget into the online marketing sector. Christian Martin of Baur-Versand (Burgkunstadt) continues to regard the catalog "as the most successful means of creating demand". This is however within the framework of a complex multi-channel marketing approach in which the personal contact to the customer via e-mail, newsletter, call center and even social media plays a significant role.
Gudrun Aydt of 3Pagen-Versand (Alsdorf) however thinks advertising has to try a lot harder. She describes a lot of the advertising she finds in her mailbox as "Sad and dull". Some online offerings also need a definite breath of fresh air. Women in particular want to be "surprised, aroused and tempted" by advertising.
According to Martin Groß-Albenhausen, Senior Editor of the "Versandhausberater" (The Mail-Order Advisor), who also moderated the program, social media will impact the mail-order marketing mix sustainably. "But this will not revolutionize basic principles", he judges. Social media is currently being overhyped by many people, but underestimated in the long run.
The FORUM was completed with an exciting report by extreme sportsman Andreas Niedrig, who truly thrilled the participants with his enthralling life story and endurance sports performance.
