March 2009

Canada Post invites business
customers to “Think Inside The Box”
CPC hosts special event, releases white paper to help marketers understand today’s trends, build their business. Laurene Cihosky

Laurene Cihosky is one of those rare senior executives who can sum up her mandate in one sentence: “My business is to stimulate the mail stream and get the mail going,” she says matter-of-factly.

While this goal is certainly clear enough, achieving it is not as straightforward as it sounds—particularly in light of the challenging economy. (The recession has already taken a significant toll on the US Postal Service, which suffered a net loss of US $2.8 billion in 2008, largely due to a decline in mail volume.)

As senior vice-president, Direct Marketing, Advertising & Publishing Business, Canada Post, Cihosky is in an ideal position to respond to the informational needs of business marketers—many of whom are struggling to understand this country’s rapidly changing market conditions and need to devise effective strategies within this environment. As luck would have it, by responding to their needs Cihosky can meet her own mandate. In fact, she is doing just that.

“In these economic times, we have a lot of clients [business marketers] who say to us ‘How do I get the necessary intelligence into my teams when I have no training budget or conference budget?’”
In response to this and other important queries, Canada Post is hosting “Think ‘Inside’ the Box: Trends Facing Direct Marketers” on March 5 in Toronto.  Chaired by Stephen Brown, senior vice president, general manager, FUSE Marketing Group, this all day event is expressly designed to enable business marketers to gather expert advice from “brand name” speakers—some of the most creative and experienced minds in the business —on topics aimed at making marketing campaigns more effective and efficient in the current climate.

What’s in the box
For example, Designers Inc. president Billy Sharma leads a session called Get Creative: Innovative Approaches to Increase Your Direct Mail Effectiveness. “It [the presentation] really shows how to improve results in the not-for-profit segment in these tough economic times,” he explains.

Martin Traub Werner, vice president and cofounder of Raybec Communications, will focus on presenting relationship strategies to improve short-term results. “With uncertainty in the markets and having done everything we possibly can with price and products, focusing in a strategic and planned way on our customer relationships is a proven method for being successful,” he stresses.

John Watts, general manager of Retail Solutions, Exchange Solutions Inc., is participating in a session on the future of loyalty programs, during which a panel of experts will discuss trends, best practices, and the new currency in consumer loyalty. “To achieve significant corporate results, companies will need to truly collaborate with each other and negotiate behaviour change directly with customers,” Watts asserts. “If you are happy with the old ‘one percent’ response rate, you better look over your shoulder! ”

A cocktail reception sponsored by DMAT will conclude the day.

Not surprisingly, response to this event has surpassed all expectation. (At press time, “Think Inside the Box” is already fully subscribed.) Nevertheless, those who won’t be in the audience need not despair. Canada Post has developed a white paper: “Marketing in a Downturn Economy: 5 Strategies to Survival and Success,” which is available free of charge to answer business marketers’ most important questions. Cihosky says that there’s a pressing need to spread the word.

“I’m observing the messaging that is out in the market from our associations and the people who are out there selling. We all need to be collectively shouting right now: ‘Go into those measurable, accountable media.’”

Cihosky says that during past economic slowdowns, this message used to be front page news. “I just get the sense we’re being a bit silent right now,” she adds, noting that marketers need to return to the basics and invest their media dollars where they have always yielded the best return on investment. Those basics can be summarized in five, clear strategies that are fully explored in Canada Post’s newly released white paper:

1. Keep your customers
2. Invest wisely
3. Monitor your spend
4. Focus on your value proposition
5. Be compelling & relevant

“Marketing in a Downturn Economy: 5 Strategies to Survival and Success” is now available free of charge from Canada Post. To obtain your copy, send an e-mail to factbook@canadapost.ca.