Green Options

In these tough economic times, everyone wants to save money. But what happens when money-saving options conflict with environmental stewardship?

One area of concern is paper.  As fuel costs have come down, publishers looking to save money on distribution are looking at heavier paper. Although the paper itself costs more than lightweight grades, the heavier stock allows them to take advantage of lower freight rates, which have come down significantly since last summer’s peak oil prices.

The Dead Tree Edition, for example, recently encouraged periodical publishers to consider this option in an article “Heavier Paper Can Save Money.”

But at what environmental cost? Heavier paper may cost less to ship, but it takes more fuel. You’ve got the same number of pages, carrying the same amount of information, but at a higher level of fuel consumption. Heavier paper also takes more energy to transport and ship before printing.

I’m cleaning my house this morning and I’m really irritated. What is all of this direct mail CRAP doing everywhere?

I don’t want infinite investor minutea on every fund offered by every financial company I do business with. I don’t want spring, summer, fall, and winter mini-catalogs from companies I only purchase from at Christmastime. I don’t want business solicitations from companies I already do business with.

Want to green the planet and save money at the same time? Stop sending irrelevant junk! I’m not talking about purchasing prospect lists and launching into new territory. I’m talking about irresponsible direct mail behavior with the databases and customers you already have.

Mail is a small overall contribution to a consumer’s environmental footprint. After all, according to a Pitney Bowes study on the environmental impact of mail, paper is increasingly manufactured from renewable resources, paper companies are increasingly running on renewable energy and running a single refrigerator for a year creates the same carbon footprint of delivering 5,000 letters.

At the same time — I would counter — direct mailers, catalogers, and others who produce massive volumes of mail can make a huge environmental difference (especially corporately) by making small, incremental changes individually. Simply because of those volumes. Once we start making changes at the source, the impact of the effort is magnified.

Here are some interesting nutshells from the report:

How many mailings do you make to the same office? Have you ever thought about the environmental impact this is having?

Only 15% of printers now have environmental programs in place, including certifications. Putting “positive peer pressure” on your printer can make a big difference in the environment.

Conservation group ForestEthics has released their annual “Naughty or Nice” list of corporations regarding their treatment of our forests. These ten companies continue to fill your mailbox with junk at the expense of the trees.

The list, determined by four separate criteria, includes a “Checking Twice” category for companies in a gray area. JC Penny has decreased their direct mail use but still supports logging companies, so while they stay out the top 10 snail-mail-spammers, but still aren’t free of all charges.

Check out the rest of the list, along with 10 other companies who are being nice to the trees, below:

PrintingForLess, a highly environmentally conscious printer, now uses 100% wind power for all of its printing processes.

By cleaning up your database, you not only save money and increase the effectiveness of your campaign, but you can dramatically decrease your carbon footprint and impact on the solid waste stream, as well.

Most of us have heard the popularly cited statistics that given the choice between two similar products, 83% of consumers will chose those that are “environmentally friendly” and will pay more for them.

According to the DoubleClick study, not only are consumers interested in green products and companies, but nearly half are willing to pay at least 5% more for them.

It’s not a new study. It came out in April, but [...]

In my “Greening Print Marketing” posts, I’ve looked at a wide variety of reasons (and ways) for marketers to see their print marketing projects as green. But what about the flip side? Why do printers market their green initiatives?

The number one reason seems to be a reflection of their own personal commitment. In a recent survey by What They Think (Source: “Economic Outlook Webinar with Dr. Joe Webb” 3/26/08), 43% of printers said that their green initiatives were “more important to our company than to our customers at this time.” Only 8% felt that it was more important to their customers than it was to them.

Thirty-five percent felt that promoting their environmental sustainability initiatives was good for their business image. Nearly one-quarter (24%) saw it as a necessary cost of doing business in today’s climate.

Are you ready for the holiday mail season?  Maybe this is the year to trim your DM waste.  The fundamental problem is that direct mail marketing is inherently inefficient. 44% of all direct mail is thrown in the trash without ever being opened and that which is opened only yields an average of a 2.77% response.  So, if you want to get 1,000 customers to respond to your direct mail piece, you have to mail, on average, 36,101 pieces of mail.  Multiply that by millions of customers and millions of companies and you can see the problem. The good news is that a March 2008 Aberdeen Group study found that direct mail waste reduction is an area where “environmental concerns and shareholder interests coincide.” But, you may already know this. They also found that 40% of companies said direct mail waste reduction was one of the top two areas being focused on for improving eco-friendly business practices.

The goal is to achieve the greatest precision with the lowest number of pieces mailed, but there a lot of other benefits. You can save money and enhance customer satisfaction which will in turn improves customer loyalty, purchase behavior and profitability. Here’s 9 ways:

#1: Maintain good list hygiene. Updating your mailing list to remove unwanted, duplicate and undeliverable addresses regularly and thoroughly is a cheap, quick and effective way to reduce waste. There are several ways to verify mailing lists and all outside list mangers are able to perform this function or you can buy your own address verification software. You will mail fewer pieces and, under some circumstances, lower your mailing rates. Consider offering incentives (such as the offer of a discount on their next purchase) for notification of duplicate mailings and incorrect addresses.