Like many Americans, my typical morning routine includes breakfast, a workout, and then a stop at my local Starbucks  (or I settle for Dunkin Donuts if I don’t have access to Starbucks) for my morning dose of “good morning caffeine.” Every morning I visit either the same Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts around the same time and order the same thing (for the most part)- a venti, unsweetened, black iced coffee, of which I add a very small splash of cream to.

Here is where the problem comes in- because I order the same thing “most” days, the wonderful staff at both Starbucks and Dunkin often have my coffee waiting for me when I arrive.  Great! But what about the mornings I want to change it up? Maybe a nice late or a delicious green tea.

My point is that these days companies use a variety of tools to understand their customers. Millions are spent on predictive analytics and behavioral targeting profiles. Customers are segmented, labeled and dropped into buckets. But at the end of the day these methods of targeting will not work if companies insist on having a one-way conversation between their brand and its customers.

I don’t mind that the staff at Starbucks and Dunkin knows what I want (it is great they remember me); I just want them to talk to me. Ask me what I want. Don’t assume and don’t take away my ability to choose what I want.

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December 4, 2009 Pawtucket RI- We are pleased to announce that Tara Flanagan has recently been elected to the Providence PCC Executive Committee as the new Membership Chair.

Tara, a Senior Account Executive at Mercury and Communications Director for the American Marketing Association, brings more than 12 years of direct marketing experience to the PCC. Tara says “this will be a great opportunity for Mercury and me. It will be an unbelievable learning experience and will give me the chance to directly affect the industry I work in.” For Mercury it means we will continue to have a voice in the mailing industry in Providence as it continues to evolve over the next few years.”

“At Mercury we have noticed a huge change in the print and mail industry. As a company it is all about data, strategy and technology. It is where this industry is going. And it is where Mercury is going.” stated Steve Cronin, President/ CEO of Mercury. Cronin went on to say “Tara has always been one of Mercury’s forward thinkers. I know her great ideas, experience and drive will bring great things to the PCC and I am excited about the year to come.”

The Postal Customer Council (PCC) program began more than 40 years ago with the hopes of improving communication between postal customers and local postal managers. Over the next year Tara hopes to use her consultative approach and vast knowledge in the mailing industry to stimulate growth and awareness for the Providence PCC. Her focus within the PCC will be in areas such as member acquisition and retention, development of creative campaigns and increased participation.

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Recently Mercury’s strategy and analytics team had the opportunity to work with the Manchester Monarchs on an integrated direct mail campaign that was designed to drive attendance to the opening night game and the 2009 season. The Mercury team used traditional direct mail methods and new on line technologies to drive a 5.75% response to the campaign.

To read the full case study click below.

Monarchs Case Study

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http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1901188_1901207,00.html

Although Twitter was originally intended for communication among individuals, a number of companies have begun to actively participate on the platform. Some are “tweeting” and some are just listening but many are trying to find their niche. Some companies are using Twitter as a marketing channel. They will post about company accomplishments. Others are using it as an opportunity to accept feedback from their customers. Feedback and customer service go hand in hand. I’m reminded of a page-layout software company that had the most popular product in the industry not too long ago. Their only problem was horrendous product support. If they had taken the time to listen to and inform their user base, they would not be lagging way behind the current leader in market share just a few short years after being on top. Twitter and other social networks tend to strengthen relationships. In this competitive business climate, relationships are very important. An impromptu survey was done here at Mercury by sending out a tweet asking the question: “Who offers the best customer support:” and two vendors were named. One responded quickly, “We do!”, the other…we’re still waiting for a reply. With whom do you want to do business? In this era of instant information and business partnering, you don’t want to be late. You want to be first and reliable.

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