What better way to capture the attention of your customers than to incorporate your message into something they’re already opening: their monthly bill

By: Vicki Powers

One of the biggest challenges of marketing is getting recipients to open a direct mail piece. So what better way to capture people’s attention than by inserting a marketing message into a piece that many people are too afraid not to open?

Hence, marketers’ increased attention to the monthly bill.

Indeed, the monthly invoice is getting a full-on marketing makeover. Increasingly, marketers are realizing that all that white space on these must-read documents offers cross- selling and up-selling opportunities without threatening to increase delivery costs.

Research compiled by marketing experts and business consultants reveals that 95 percent of customers open their monthly statements at least once, and the average consumer spends up to three minutes reading his or her bill. No wonder many observers predict that “transpromotional” mail the newly coined term for pieces that include relevant marketing messages on transactional documents is expected to increase by a compound annual rate of 91 percent by 2010.

“If there is relevant, exciting and interesting information on those statements, then those companies gain eye- ball time and consideration to change customers’ behavior,” says E. Scott Wagner, manager of worldwide marketing for continuous – feed products at Xerox. The rate of return on personalized communication is usually three to five times that of generic direct mail campaigns, says Wagner.

Taking Action

One group using the new marketing approach is the Ford Motor Company automotive finance unit, Ford Motor Credit. In 2006, the division replaced its traditional monthly leasing invoice and inserts with a transpromo initiative using full-color, customizable invoices designed around the car brand that a customer drives. The goal: increasing sales of its Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda and Volvo vehicles.

Ford Credit uses its monthly invoices to communicate with customers on everything from vehicle service schedules to special financing offers and new vehicle promotions. Guided by info gleaned from customers, Ford Credit tailors statements with marketing messages and promotional offers targeted to its customers’ buying preferences and patterns.

The declining cost of color printing and the increasing quality and speed of printouts influenced the division’s switch from preprinted, company-branded paper. The division prints about 175,000 statements daily or about 42 million invoices each year. Ford Credit saves significantly on postage costs by reducing the number of inserts inside invoices and consolidating mailings. Although Ford executives don’t reveal specifics, they say the transpromo initiative is meeting the company’s expectations in terms of returns.