Why Snail Mail Isn't Dead

If you haven't had a chance to read the most recent Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report by Marketing General, Inc. you should.  You can find it HERE.

One key finding, and there are many, is that snail mail is not dead.

While we live in a real-time, social world, sometimes direct mail is just the right formula to get in touch with your members and non-members alike.

I talked about membership recruitment vehicles in a previous post HERE. The point I'd like to get across again is that there is not one silver bullet.

You must test all:

  • Direct Mail
  • Member-get-a-member campaign
  • Email
  • Social media
  • Etc.

Notice that direct mail is at the top of the list.  It scored the best in the study. It might not be your number one recruitment tool, but don't discount direct mail.

For a blog post on direct mail from the folks at Marketing General, Inc. go HERE.

For the most recent Marketing General, Inc. Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report go HERE.

Good luck!

Empowerment: Turn Your Employees Loose

There have been many articles written about hiring people who are smarter than you.

And by the way, I subscribe to that theory.

So why would you not want to turn your employees loose?

Yes, it's important to set some ground rules, give them a framework from which to work from and turn them loose!

You'll be fascinated by what your employees can do.

I do have one rule -- no surprises, please!

While I don't need to know the details of every aspect of their progress, give me periodic updates so when my manager asks "do you know what John and Mary are doing?" you can respond absolutely and I support it 100%.

In addition, celebrate your team’s victories and learn from any failures and move on.  I love this quote by Henry Ford:

"One who fears limits his activities.  Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again."

Don't limit your staff.  Celebrate and acknowledge their successful work. Give them the credit and watch their backs.

The possibilities for your chamber are endless!

For a previous blog post titled 4Tips For Onboarding New Staff go HERE.