getting responses from consumers - hongkong post · and eye-catching designs, attractive gifts...

Getting responsesfrom consumers

Hkpost_Research Book_ENG 3/10/06, 6:20 PM49

Getting Responses

Relevance proved to be the main factor indetermining how receivers responded.

Findings at both the qualitative andquantitative phases suggest that as long asmail content is relevant, consumers aremore likely to respond positively towards it –regardless of whether they are existingcustomers or not, or whether the mail isaddressed to them or unaddressed.

From the qualitative phase, mostrespondents regarded relevance of theproduct or service as the most importantfactor in deciding how they would react to

The Role of Relevance

the mail – e.g. whether they would respondto it, keep it for future use, or discard it.

“most importantly it must be related to things thatare suitable for me or things I want…if it is I will

read on and perhaps keep it”

“if I don’t think I will use it in my life…I’ll throw themail away”

Contents had to be related to the recipient’sinterests or products or services which theywere looking out for.

Base: All Respondents n=500

*Note: ‘Top 2 Boxes’ refers to StronglyAgree + Agree

*Top 2 Boxes

45%

50%

54%

50 Getting the Message Across: A Comparative Media Study by Hongkong Post


Attitudes towards the Sender

Findings from the quantitative phasesubstantiated the fact that personalizedmail contributes to establishing a morepositive relationship with existingcustomers of the sender – with morethan a third of respondents reporting thatthey felt valued when they received mails

from companies of which they were anexisting customer.

However, this was not the case when thereceiver was not an existing customer of thesender.

Attitudes towards the Sender



*Top 2 Boxes

40%

18%

12%

51Getting the Message Across: A Comparative Media Study by Hongkong Post


Future Purchase Intentions

Findings indicated that more than a third ofrespondents were more likely to use theservices of or purchase products from thecompany after receiving promotional mail ifthey were existing customers or if thecompany constantly kept in touch withthem by mail – provided the mail wasrelevant!


It is worth noting that less than a third ofrespondents said they thought differently.



*Top 2 Boxes

37%

38%



Summary andRecommendations


Summary andRecommendations

Media preferred by existing customersfor receiving essentialcommunications (bills, statements &company updates)

• Most respondents preferred receivinginformation like bills, statements orcompany updates by addressed mail.

Media preferred by existing customersfor receiving marketing & promotionalinformation

• Existing customers preferred receivingaddressed mail over other channels.

• The exception was for new productannouncements, where mostrespondents also preferred TV andnewspapers/magazines.

Despite the fact that more than half therespondents had access to Internet/email

and close to 90% have receivedinformation through email, the appeal of

mail remains high.

This could be because it is easier to keep ahard copy mail for records, and no printing

is required. To a certain extentrespondents are also concerned about the

security of receiving personal mails viaemail or the Internet, especiallyinformation related to personal

expenditure.

Communicating with existingcustomers

• Customers of certain types oforganizations not only prefer mail, butexpect these organizations to send theminformation by addressed mail.

• Some other preferred channels byindustry are:

• Telecommunications – Email

• Restaurants – Unaddressed mail

• Supermarkets & Convenience Stores– TV, newspapers/magazines

• Government Organizations – TV

Communicating with non-customers

• Besides unaddressed mail, non-customers also preferred newspapers/magazines.

Among non-customers, addressed andunaddressed mail to a certain extent wereperceived to be annoying and intrusive. As

a result, other traditional channels werealso preferred for receiving advertising and

promotional information ➞

an opportunity forintegrated marketing??

Regardless of customer/non-customerstatus and organization type, electronicchannels such as the Internet, email and

SMS are not registering as preferredchannels for receiving advertising and

promotional information.



Building Relationships with ExistingCustomers

Addressed mail is largely perceivedpositively among existing customers:

• It creates a feeling of being valued

• It offers a more personal touch

• It tends to have more relevant content

Getting a Response

Relevance is the main thing that influenceshow receivers respond to mail

• Contents must be related to theirinterests or to products or services theyare currently looking out for

This looks like an opportunity forcompanies to engage in one-to-onerelationship-building with existing

customers through mail.

I need more precise direct mail activities.Perhaps I could try geographical targetingtogether with demographics targeting, or

lifestyle targeting?

I could also try tapping into an existingdatabase to find out about consumers’

interests, hobbies, future purchases andso on…




Food For Thought…

Offering Convenience

Direct Sell, Direct Delivery approach

• A good example of this is a large andwell-known retail companies’ direct mailoffering home delivery services

• there is a higher chance of purchasesbeing made because receivers tend tokeep the mail for future use

• An option for restaurants, supermarkets/convenience stores, and department/retail stores?

Offering Integrated MarketingCommunication

The top 3 most common channels are TV,newspapers /magazines and mail(addressed/unaddressed)

• Rather than being alternatives, thesechannels complement each other

• Ideal for new product announcements,general advertising and promotionalinformation

Positioning of Direct Mail

Both as a mass-market and a niche media?

Offering Precision and Relevance byDirect Mail

By using internal or client databases,senders can understand the needs andwants of receivers in different categories,and ensure they only send relevantmessages

• This can be done by conducting shortsurveys to determine what to send andwhat not to send

• The surveys might include lifestyle-relatedquestions about e.g. interests, hobbies,recent purchases, future purchases andso on.

Area Mailing

• Senders can link up with organizations ina particular area to mail out targetedadvertising or promotional informationrelevant to the community

• For example, a large and well-knownshopping centre in Kowloon Tong couldlink up with Hongkong Post to mail outmarketing or promotional informationrelevant to the community in the Kowloonarea

• This would increase the level of relevanceand reduce sender costs

Summary and Recommendations (cont’)


Appendix



Sample profile

Education level

Primary or below 47

Secondary 256

Matriculation 85

Degree or above 107

Not given 50

Monthly personal income

Below HK$4, 000 40

HK$4, 000 - 9, 999 89

HK$10, 000 - 19, 999 146

HK$20, 000 - 29, 999 43

HK$30, 000 or above 41

No Income 128

Not given 13

Location

Hong Kong Island 103

Kowloon 150

New Territories 237

Outlying Islands 10

Total 500

Age/ Gender Male Female

18-24 35 34

25-29 34 33

30-34 20 36

35-39 29 34

40-44 35 44

45-49 26 29

50-54 31 26

55-59 16 17

60-64 15 6

Total 241 259



Attitudes towardsPromotional Information

23%

34%

*Top 2 Boxes

20%

21%


*Note: ‘Top 2 Boxes’ refers to Strongly Agree + Agree



General AttitudesTowards Mail



Cutting Through The Clutter

The Physical Appearance of Mail

The qualitative phase suggested thatattractive physical appearance – colourfuland eye-catching designs, attractive giftsenclosed etc. – helps items stand out fromthe rest of the day’s mail – grabbingattention.

“if the design is unique…my interest inlooking at it will be higher”

“if they attach useful items such as acalendar or vouchers or coupons, better

still…I will look at the mail”

But…these qualities alone are not enough toinduce consumers to react to direct mail, asindicated in the quantitative phase.



*Note: ‘Top 2 Boxes’ refersto Strongly Agree+ Agree

23%

27%

*Top 2 Boxes



Addressed Mail vs Unaddressed Mail/Existing Customers vs Non-Customers

The qualitative phase indicated thataddressed mail sent to existing customersboosted existing relationships – it wasperceived to be relevant, more personal,and it created a feeling of being valued.

Cutting Through The Clutter (cont’)

“…showing that the company values you”

At the quantitative phase, most respondents(44%) who were existing customers said

Attitudes towards receiving promotionalinformation that is addressed

they either enjoyed receiving personallyaddressed mail or found it useful. Onlyabout one in ten respondents found suchmail annoying or intrusive.

Most respondents who were non-customers, however, did find such mailannoying or intrusive.

But…as indicated in the qualitative phase,this type of mail was perceived aspromotional mail, and respondents stilllooked through it to see if it was relevant tothem.




Attitudes towards receiving promotionalinformation that is unaddressed

Unaddressed Mail

As revealed at the qualitative phase, mostrespondents perceived unaddressed mail aspromotional mail, and glanced through it todetermine its relevance to them.

“…will look at it if related to my dailylifestyle needs”

At the quantitative phase, close to half ofrespondents said they were not botheredwhether the mail was unaddressed or not.

However, only 17% of respondents saidthey found unaddressed mail to be useful,and about a third said they found it annoyingand intrusive.




Source of Name and Address

More than half of respondents were concerned about how their name and address wasobtained. However, knowing how the sender obtained their name and address did not in facthave a major impact on their behaviour towards the mail or their opinion of the sender.

At the qualitative phase, most respondents perceived Hongkong Post as trusted and well-established, part of Hong Kong’s heritage and to be relied on in handling the names andaddresses of consumers. It was not therefore an issue if Hongkong Post was the source oftheir name and address.


*Note: ‘Top 2 Boxes’ refers to Strongly Agree + Agree

66%

23%

*Top 2 Boxes

30%


Email vs Mail



Internet andEmail Access

Hong Kong has high Internet and email penetration. Most respondents with access belongedto the younger and middle age groups, and most had access from home.

Access to Internet and Email?


Internet Usage

Internet users displayed high informational usage and low transactional usage.

(Among those with Access)

Gender Male 54%Female 46%

Age 18-24 20%25-34 31%35-44 30%45-54 14%55-64 5%

Usage Home 95%Office 39%

Others 17%

Base: Among those with access to Internet and email n=309



Online Purchasing

Online purchasing is yet to take off – currently it is mostly limited to the purchase of books/magazines/newspapers and cinema/concert tickets.

Base: Among those who make purchase online n=59



Base: Among those who have received anyinformation via email n=269

Printing out Emails

Do you usually print outemails containingimportant information, athome or office or school?

Have you received any ofthe following informationvia email?

Information ReceivedThrough Email

Types of informationreceived via email:

Base: Among those with access to Internet and email n=309


HKP cover_A/W_ENG_V1 3/10/06 6:28 PM ›¶ 3

,�� -"��.�/�� %��&�� '��

0102 3456(((7��&��7��8 �

getting responses from consumers - hongkong post · and eye-catching designs, attractive gifts...

Documents