Direct Mail Still Delivers

One of our clients challenged us this week to find a way to call out a product they had improved. The perception (and the truth) was that this particular product—in this particular niche industry—was indeed subpar for a while. And our client fixed it. Really, really well. What brand doesn’t slip now and then? From large, global corporations accused of being environmentally negligent, to the small online retailer that suffers an inventory issue, most businesses, at one time or another, experience the Unhappy Customer Moment. The good news? There is such an abundance of feedback channels and data now to provide immediate and rich information on how our customers are experiencing our products and our brands. The even better news? This information provides us with an extraordinary opportunity for change. To respond. To fix the problem. read more at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/unhappy-customers-and-unexpected-opportunities/

Following a near-record peak this summer as retailers stocked up before tariff increases, import cargo volume at the nation’s major container ports is expected to steadily decline for the remainder of the year. That’s according to the most recent Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. The report follows the implementation of reciprocal tariffs across the globe, with a number of key trading partners being subjected to tariffs higher than the earlier 10% tariffs, noted the NRF. Also, more and more sectoral tariffs are impacting a wider scope of products “Tariffs have had a significant impact on trade,” said Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett said. “The trade outlook for the final months of the year is not optimistic.”

It’s time to add a new scent to your direct mail to increase your response rates. Our sense of smell is extremely powerful. A scent can elicit vivid memories that take you to your mom’s kitchen growing up, to the beach, or just about anywhere you’ve been before. In fact, research shows that people recall smells with 65% accuracy after a year, while visual recall is around 50% after just three months. Our sense of smell is the most emotionally powerful sense, even above sight and sound. That’s because scent is processed in the limbic system; the part of the brain responsible for memory, emotions, and behavior. This neurological connection is why we react so strongly to fragrance and why it can make such a compelling impact in direct mail. Marketers are leaning into sensory experiences now more than ever. In a study by the USPS and Temple University’s Center for Neural Decision Making, tactile and scented direct mail outperformed digital ads in terms of brand recall, engagement time, and emotional response. Scented mail pieces were especially effective at sparking memory retention and increasing time spent with the piece.