Transcript Lifting the lid on communication channels in the Digital Age: the real story.

Lifting the lid on communication channels
in the Digital Age: the real story.
A completely new way of looking at mail
• New independent research reveals how to reach
customers and influence them to consider a
purchase, and to actually purchase.
• Produces insights into which communication
channels are actually most effective.
• Debunks a common view that email and SMS
might work better than ‘old hat’ paper-based
communications
• Personally addressed, paper-based
communications by mail remains among the most
effective tools available to reach and influence
customers and the outcomes business wants.
Research Methodology
Qualitative
Quantitative
• 32 in-depth interviews with
senders of communications
 1,550 computer-aided
telephone (CATI) interviews
• 8 focus groups with personal and
business communication
receivers
 Australia wide
 4 respondent groups
– personal receivers
– business receivers
– senders to personal
– senders to business
Media Channels Studied
We included 11 key media channels in the research that represent most
marketing communication activity and spending in Australia:
Paper
Electronic &
Telephony
Mass/ Traditional
Media
Other
– Personally
Addressed Mail
– Email
– Television
– Door-to-Door
– Telephone
– Radio
– SMS
– Newspaper
– Generic “To the
Householder”
Addressed Mail
– Catalogue /
Brochure
– Magazine
Channel Attributes
Communication channels were compared on the basis of the following attributes
• Easy to reject
• Convenient
• Appropriate
• Enjoyable
• Acceptable
• Objectionable
• Trustworthy
• Entertaining
• Annoying
• Informative
• Reliable
• Time
consuming
• Difficult to
ignore
• Disruptive
Two Perspectives
Spoke with both Receivers and Senders of Marketing
Communications
− Consumer segment
− Business segment
Are there mismatches between what receivers prefer and
what senders think receivers might prefer?
Perceptual Map of Communication Channels and Their Attributes –
Receivers in the Consumer Segment
0.35
Email
objectionable
House Letter
0.25
▲easy to reject
annoying
Mail
0.15
SMS
convenient
0.05
-0.9
-0.7
-0.5
-0.3
Phone
-0.1
informative trustworthy
Catalogue reliable acceptable
enjoyable
0.1
-05
0.3
time consuming
disruptive
0.7
TV
-0.25
difficult to ignore
-0.35
0.9
Radio
Newspaper
Magazine appropriate
-0.15
Door-to-door
0.5
entertaining
Perceptual Map of Communication Channels and Their Attributes Senders in the Consumer Segment
House Letter
0.45
▲easy to reject
Catalogue
0.25
convenient
annoying
time consuming
-0.9
SMS
Email
-0.7
-0.5
-0.3
-0.1
Phone
Door-to-door objectionable
0
-0.15
difficult to ignore
-0.35
-0.55
Newspaper
informative
0.05
0.1
0.3
TV
enjoyable
Mail
0.5
0.7
Magazine
appropriate
trustworthy
reliable
entertaining
Radio acceptable
0.9
Perceptual Map of Communication Channels and Their Attributes Business Receivers
0.4
SMS
0.3
0.2
annoying
Radio
objectionable 0.1
disruptive
entertaining
TV
enjoyable
Door-to-door
-1
-0.8
-0.6
convenient
-0.4
-0.2
0
Work Letter
difficult to ignore
-0.1
Phone
time consuming
Newspaper
Magazine
-0.2
0.2
Email
0.4
Brochure
trustworthy acceptable
reliable
appropriate
informative Mail
-0.3
-0.4
0.6
0.8
1
Perceptual Map of Communication Channels and Their Attributes Business Senders
0.4
SMS
0.3
annoying
0.2
entertaining
Radio
TV
Work Letter
Email
disruptive
-1
-0.8
convenient
0.1
objectionable
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
Door-to-door
difficult to ignore
0
Magazine
0.2
Phone
0.6
0.8
Newspaper
trustworthyenjoyable
-0.1
reliable acceptable
Brochure
appropriate
-0.2
time consuming
0.4
Mail
-0.3
-0.4
informative
1
Part Two: A Designed Experiment
• Why - to assess the relative effectiveness of media
channels for:
• Promotional offers
• Transactional communications
• How - created two credible hypothetical sales
propositions, both of which might reasonably be
promoted through any or all eleven media under
consideration
• Who
• Current customer (25%)
• Current non-customer (75%)
Designed Experiment – Consumer Scenarios
Scenario 1: Superannuation Promotion (50%)
Scenario 2: TV Product Information (50%)
Scenario 3: Mobile Phone Bill (100%)
Designed Experiment (cont…)
Scenario 1: Superannuation Promotion (50%)
Imagine that a superannuation provider wants to communicate to
you a promotion where new members of a particular fund are
charged no fees for the first 12 months. Over the last ten years,
the fund has returned an average of 7.5% per annum.
Scenario 2: TV Product Information (50%)
Imagine that a department store wants to communicate to you
information about a new wide-screen plasma TV. The TV is not
expensive, 42 inches (105cm) wide and capable of displaying
high-definition images.
Designed Experiment – Business Scenarios
Scenario 1: Temp Agency Promotion (50%)
Scenario 2: Portable Projector Information (50%)
Scenario 3: Catering Invoice (100%)
Outcomes for hypothetical scenarios
Attitudes
Interest
Purchase Intention
Welcome, Pleasant
Consider, Investigate
Act on the offer
Personal Receivers
Attributes that increase business results when sending to
PERSONAL RECEIVERS
–
–
–
–
–
Enjoyable
Entertaining
Reliable
Appropriate
Not objectionable
Purchase
Consider purchase
Pay bill on time
Purchase Intentions of Receivers and Senders by Channel
– Personal Receivers
Receivers
Senders
1
Regression Coefficient
0.5
Phone
0
-0.5
-1
-1.5
Newspaper
DM media
Mass Media
Email
SMS
Channel Matrices – Personal Receivers
Most Effective
Seek further
information
Consider as a
purchase option…
Purchase…
Pay bill by the
due date…
- Radio
- Magazine Ad
- Newspaper Ad
- Catalogue /
Brochure
-Personally
addressed letter
- Television
- Newspaper
- Radio
- Magazine
- Catalogue /
Brochure
-Personally
addressed letter
- Television
- Radio
- Newspaper
- Magazine
- Catalogue /
Brochure
-Personally
addressed letter
- Television
Less Effective
Least Effective
- Email
- SMS
- Telephone call at home
- Door-to-door
- Generic
addressed letter
- Email
- Door-to-door
- Telephone call at home
- SMS
- Email
- Door-to-door
- Telephone call at home
- SMS
- Email
- SMS
- Generic
addressed letter
- Generic
addressed letter
- Personally addressed letter
*Channels highlighted in blue are paper-based channels
Business Receivers
Attributes that increase business results when sending to
BUSINESS RECEIVERS
• Convenient
• Acceptable
• Appropriate
• Not disruptive
Purchase
Consider purchase
Pay bill on time
Purchase Intentions of Receivers and Senders by Channel Business Receivers
Receivers
Senders
1
Regression Coefficient
0.5
Phone
0
Magazines Newspaper DM media Mass Media
-0.5
-1
-1.5
-2
Email
SMS
Channel Matrices – Business Receivers
Most Effective
Less Effective
Least Effective
Seek further
information…
- Radio
- Magazine
- Personally
addressed letter
- Brochure
- Television
- Newspaper
- Generic
addressed letter
- Door-to-doorl
- Email
- Telephone call at work
- SMS
Consider as a
purchase option…
- Brochure
- Personally
addressed letter
- Radio
- Television
- Magazine
- Newspaper
- Email
- Telephone call at work
- Generic
addressed letter
- SMS
Purchase…
- Radio
- Personally
addressed letter
- Television
- Magazine
- Newspaper
- Generic
addressed letter
- Door-to-door
- Telephone call at work
- Email
- SMS
Pay bill by the
due date…
- Personally addressed letter
- Email
-Door-to-door
*Channels highlighted in blue are paper-based channels
- SMS
Major findings
• It cannot be assumed that a
communication channel is more
effective because it is used
more.
• Age is no barrier - regardless of
age, mass media, personally
addressed letters, catalogues /
brochures and generically
addressed letters outperform
email and SMS.
• Disruption or ‘cut through’ does
not influence business outcomes
in this study
Understanding the Effect of Disruption
Case Study:
A respondent explained that he had recently
defected from a mobile service provider to
an alternate supplier.
As the end of his mobile phone contract
neared, the mobile service provider sent
him an SMS message to encourage
contract renewal.
Sometime later and without a reply, another
SMS message was sent with a similar
message. These messages continued
intermittently as the contract neared its end.
Despite being a satisfied customer of the
provider, the respondent decided not to
renew his contract because he had been
“annoyed” by the SMS messages.
Senders beliefs of which channels are best for
different communications
Senders to Consumers
Promotional
Comms
Branding
Comms
29
Phone
Senders to Business
Operational
Comms –
Operational
Comms –
bills/invoices
Promotional
Comms
Branding
Comms
15
75
35
17
69
2
0
0
4
0
1
Email
16
4
20
17
5
28
Web
5
3
4
3
2
1
20
41
0
14
34
0
Catalogue
4
2
0
3
3
0
SMS
2
0
0
0
0
0
Radio
4
5
0
2
3
0
Newspaper
9
18
0
7
17
0
Magazine
2
6
0
5
8
0
Door-to-door
4
1
0
8
3
1
Other
5
6
1
3
7
1
Mail
TV
bills/invoices
Effectiveness of Paper
Paper-based communication:
• is the preferred channel for transactional
communications - far ahead of SMS and email.
• produces very positive outcomes for senders
to both personal and business receivers, be
they marketing or transactional
communications.
• Payment of a bill on time more likely
• Product / service purchase more likely
Personally / generically addressed letters outperformed
email for all business outcomes
Summary of Outcomes
SMS / email
Mass Media
• Lags behind paper via mail • Performs very well
on delivering business
against SMS, email,
outcomes
telephone
• Email unable to match
• Generally equivalent
paper’s reliability,
to paper-based
trustworthiness, tangibility
media
• SMS rated unfavourable
against paper on all
dimensions
• Produces lower purchase
intentions
Paper-based via mail
• Performs very well against
SMS, email, telephone
• Receiver is “in control”
• Paper is tangible,
trustworthy, reliable
• Delivers superior business
results compared with
digital channels
Questions