S&W Direct:
The Results are in on the 2009 Membership Campaigns
Jessica Harrington, Vice President
October 2009

The results are in...

…Schultz & Williams compiled 2009 results for several of our clients’ membership acquisition campaigns, and the outcome is encouraging.

Year-over-year, value-based membership offers achieved a 24% increase in response rates. Nine of our clients collectively made more than $2.6 million, and each institution generated nearly $300,000 in net revenue.

What did we learn?

• Even in this economy, people are upgrading their support. By highlighting additional benefits, exclusive opportunities and consumer value, we generated an 8.5% increase in upgraded membership sales year over year. On average 54% of members chose a higher level of support in 2009.
• Segment the list for maximum response. No question, the economy is having an impact on the size of the list universe available for direct mail acquisitions. List sources that have been strong in the past have weakened. Available names have been cut in half, or cut out completely. This situation is forcing us to use database lists—large sources of compiled names—to augment list plans for our clients. Traditionally, database lists do not perform as well as other acquired lists, however, this year, we boosted response by segmenting database files to exactly match an organization’s existing membership profile, and it worked!
• E-commerce capabilities are critical. For the first time, the number of people joining online was almost equal to the number of people who joined through the mail. For some organizations, more members joined online than through any other available channel.
• Integrated campaigns are your key to success. Having a multi-channel marketing strategy is essential in today’s cluttered and competitive marketplace. Schultz & Williams worked with several organizations to create integrated campaigns using a combination of e-mail and mail. These efforts translated into an average of 331 additional responses per campaign.
• Creative social networking opportunities can lead to new members. Several organizations supplemented their direct mail acquisitions with a “Friends & Family” e-mail campaign that went viral through parenting/coupon sites, mommy blogs and social networking pages.
• Thinking about postcards? Think again. Many of our clients are looking to cut expenses. Therefore, we tested a postcard campaign to either join online or on site. While we saved money on the postcard--the cost was approximately 70% less than the mail package--the postcard realized 75% fewer members than the traditional mail package. The return on investment for the postcard was 90% versus 115% ROI with traditional package.
• There are ways to lower your costs. We also tested less expensive mail packages—smaller sizes, fewer colors, which, in some cases, maximized net revenue by reducing printing costs.
• Direct mail maximizes your organization’s marketing power. While the number one goal for direct mail acquisition is to increase membership sales (or donations), it is also an essential marketing tool that lands in the living rooms of your most targeted demographics. When we evaluated all sales through the S&W match-back service, we found that each organization acquired approximately 2,000 additional members who received the direct mail package but didn’t use the reply when they joined. Overall, direct mail sales (both coded and un-coded match-back responses) accounted for an average of 46% of memberships sold during the campaign period.

For a complete analysis of our results, please click here to view the graphs and charts, including a week-by-week breakdown of when results were received!

We would love to help you maximize your campaign results in 2010. To do so, please contact Jessica Harrington at 215-625-9955 x101 or at jharrington@schultzwilliams.com.

Schultz & Williams is a national consulting firm based in Philadelphia; providing management, fundraising and marketing consulting for nonprofit organizations, along with full-service direct marketing, database and creative/production services.