18:08 04/02/2010
It’s not just what you say, it’s the way you say it. In one of the conference rooms at the Carat media agency in Oslo, the word WHY (HVORFOR) is displayed in enormous block capitals on the wall.
What’s the ideal media mix for my particular company? This is a question facing most marketing people. And it doesn’t make life easier when new channels are constantly appearing. So why not use an old one – the invoice?
Communicating is something we all take for granted. “Communication and marketing in several channels is something we take for granted. We make active use of the invoice and it’s an important element of our dialogue with the customer,” says Line Hofsæth at Get, one of Norway’s biggest providers of broadband, TV and telephony.
A new, modern, colour invoice with messages adapted totally for the individual. Could this be the way to achieve enhanced customer loyalty and higher sales? “If you ask the general agents and dealers, they say that it’s one of the best things that’s happened in the last ten years in the field of targeted customer communication,” says Peter Ahnell at DNB Finans.
Marketing and brands are decisive. Not the technology. So, how does this technical development work in practice? What does the industry think?
"More things are being printed now than before,” says Jeffrey Scott Saunders from the Institute for Futures Studies. “But the percentage share of letters and other printed communication is still falling. The explanation is, quite simply, that we’re communicating more and we’re using all of the channels available to us.”
Every week, Norwegian publishing company Egmont Hjemmet Mortensen sends weekly newspapers and magazines to 770,000 subscribers. The single biggest challenge is getting them all out on time.
You’ve just looked at a video clip online. Do you forward it or not? “That’s the basis of a relationship,” says Cathrine Felix, doctoral candidate in Practical Philosophy.
Market research is difficult. How should you really interpret the results, and what are people really thinking? “It’s getting more and more difficult to get to the core. People in general are tired of questionnaires, and there are lots of armchair experts,” says Ali Farokhian, business developer at Tobii Insight.
Logistics and Fulfilment are a strategically important element of every company’s customer communication. “Stralfors operates between us and our customers. They take care of everything from outgoing packages to return flows and service. The partnership has developed over time,” explains Stein Nordbø, Nordic Logistics Manager at Canal Digital AS.
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