Executive Summary

The rest of this Guide focuses on the following areas:

Making Telemarketing a Stronger Sales Source.

Telemarketing has the power, in the new era, to become a more profitable source of sales, with higher retention rates. But the random dial-and-smile tactics used in the past are no longer the answer. In the telemarketing chapter we’ll concentrate on how newspapers are using the telephone to communicate with customers in new ways. You’ll see how telemarketing is evolving, including the demise of market-wide sequential dialing and the ascent of customized calls to targeted prospects. We’ll explore the successful introduction of new payment options to improve retention. We’ll also look at making the information we have gathered on our customers and prospects work harder for us. You’ll see how in-bound telemarketing contributes to growth. You’ll see how telemarketing plays a role in retention, and how it fits in strategically with a more diverse portfolio of sales channels. You’ll find a combination of practical programs that have proven successful, along with cutting edge uses of technology and data.  The bottom line: telemarketing is here to stay, and despite the restrictions, it is expected to play an important role. NAA Call Center Web site.

Diversifying and Managing a Sales Portfolio.

This section addresses successful formulas in each of the sales channels.  Learn what a newspaper may expect in terms of production from each sales source based on real-world retention comparisons contributed by NAA members. Examine methods used to integrate sales sources. Just as a wise investor assures a broadly diversified mix in his or her retirement portfolio, a wise circulation executive seeks diversification in sales sources. It’s not profitable to put all your eggs in one or two baskets!  We will explore the individual sales channels, the crossover opportunities that some present, and the pros and cons associated with each channel. We’ve already established that telemarketing will continue to play an important role. We’ll also discuss effective techniques for door-to-door sales and proven ways to gain access to stores/venues for kiosk sales.  We’ll see how some papers use Classified and Customer Service representatives to sell to inbound callers. We’ll explore the affiliation process with utilities and welcome wagon groups to create an effective new- mover program. Direct mail, always a high retention source but underutilized because of its perceived high cost, is becoming a more significant source of sales, as you'll see in this chapter.

Using Analysis to Drive Success.

Circulation, more than many disciplines, is measurable. You have to go to your staff meetings and report the ups and downs of your efforts with unyielding numerical data. As finances tighten, the need to spend wisely becomes crucial. Tallying up your weekly sales pressure and crunching the cost per order tells you very little about the sustainability of your operation. So we’ll show how these numbers can be put in context with more strategic data like the cost of sustaining an annualized unit of circulation. Your ability to show data to support your programs will help you secure the resources you need. The goal of this chapter is to identify which metrics and forecasting tools are available and how to use them for Strategic Selling. This section includes simple tools that can measure and project the cost-per-unit of circulation. Equipped with these analytical tools, you’ll be in the best position to determine the right mix for your newspaper in terms of acquisition channels and retention methods.  We’ll provide a refresher on how to determine CPOs and CPUs. We'll also address the short- and long-term measurements of CPOs and CPUs and how they affect your results.  The idea is for the reader to learn that he or she needs to have forms of measurement to track success – so that you can prove whether the program that you have implemented is gaining the results you sought.  We’ll also talk about testing – a concept that is sometimes underutilized. As you’ll see, testing small pilot programs is often faster and less costly than conducting theoretical research. For many, this chapter may inspire a new commitment to measurement and testing.

Driving Toward Retention.

Can a sale ever be a bad thing? Are some orders simply not worth the time, energy, and money? What qualifies as a good order? What’s the cost of losing a customer early on? What’s a good customer worth over a long time horizon, measured in years rather than weeks? Many newspapers have to sell the equivalent of 50 percent (or more) of their subscriber base just to stay even at the end of the year. That’s quite a treadmill! The focus of this chapter will be on retention, from selecting the right prospects in the first place, to making the sale, to billing options, to follow-up after the sale. This section includes a focus on renewal marketing, including pricing strategies that work, the use of premiums, loyalty programs, letters, and the use of the Web. You’ll see how newspapers are using incentives and other methods to steer their resources to those channels that produce sustainable circulation. You’ll see the vital impact that the payment method can have on retention. The idea is to think about retention and the prospect of retaining the customer before the sale is made. You’ll also see how pre-sale and point-of-sale tactics like payment methods can have a profoundly positive impact on retention rates. And you’ll see how smart newspapers systematically move newer subscribers up the ladder of loyalty.

Summary: Strengthening Marketing Fundamentals

Success in Strategic Selling is not based on a magic bullet; rather, by a return to fundamental principles of marketing. In this chapter, review the fundamentals of a marketing-driven organization that is aligned for long-term success, from staffing to planning to training.

That’s a look at what’s to come, beginning in the next chapter with our first topic: Making Telemarketing a Stronger Sales Source. But first, try our Challenge Quiz on the information you just read. There’s no prize, but then again, no penalty for a wrong answer!

1. Which of the following would not be part of a typical diversified portfolio of sales sources?

            a. direct mail

            b. personal selling, like kiosks or door-to-door

            c. inbound telemarketing using Classified or Customer Service representatives

            d. using “bounceback” inserts in single copy editions

            e. outbound telemarketing

            f. All of the above would be part of a well-diversified sales portfolio

 (answer = f)

2. The cost per order is the most meaningful yardstick with which to compare various circulation sales sources.

            True                             False (answer = false)

4. You can’t focus on retaining customers until you first sell them a subscription.

            True                             False (answer = false. Retention needs to be a strategic part of the pre-sales process.)

Now let’s move on to our first topic: Making Telemarketing a Stronger Source