Publishing For Customer Centricity

Emily Fovargue, head of publishing at Royal Mail, fights the corner for customer magazines as a successful and sophisticated form of communication and marketing.

Over the past couple of years there has been much disillusionment concerning effectiveness of customer relationship management and customer service. CRM has gone from being the marketing buzzword to an increasingly maligned acronym because many industries, having spent millions apiece, still remain unable to show clear return on investment.

However, latest thinking reveals that a CRM solution cannot be expected to perform if measurable objectives haven’t been determined at the offset. And actually the disenchantment hasn’t been all bad. In fact, it has led marketers to realise that customer relationship management isn’t all about sophisticated technology and fancy analysis, but is also about a pragmatic approach – the necessity to communicate with customers and prospects in the most relevant and pertinent way possible.

As a result one such answer for many organisations lies in customer magazines, and the industry is flourishing. The key to the success of customer publishing lies in the fact that it offers a flexible medium through which companies can deliver on a range of marketing and customer service objectives. The most commonly cited objective behind customer magazines is “encouraging loyalty” with “providing information to customers” coming a close second. This demonstrates that keeping customers loyal is closely allied with keeping them updated on products and services. “Selling more to existing customers” was the third most frequently cited objective, followed by “ensuring the magazine entertains its audience”.

Additionally research commissioned by the trade body in the UK responsible for promoting customer magazines, the Association of Publishing Agencies (APA), provides compelling statistics for directors considering a customer magazine. For example:

Customer magazines increase share of wallet by 8%

Stimulate brand loyalty by an average of 32%

Improve brand image by 9%

Provoke response – 44% of readers were found to interact with a brand as a direct result of reading the customer magazine

Furthermore, the fact that many publications are posted means that the medium guarantees reach, unlike many other channels that are continuing to fragment and lose share of audience. In addition, because Royal Mail delivers to every address in the UK, posted titles can be personalised for specific audiences to ensure that the reader receives relevant and interesting messages through the publication. For example, a utility company recently sent its environmentally conscious consumers tailored magazines concentrating on ‘green issues’.

It therefore isn’t surprising that on average consumers spend 25 minutes reading a customer magazine – the equivalent of 50 traditional TV slots. This combined with the fact that according to The Henley Centre consumers are being increasingly turned off by blatant advertising and crave deeper relationships with their suppliers means that more aggressive marketing techniques are being replaced by more subtle, customer centric methods. Customer magazines provide an effective and sophisticated form of communication, with millions of readers enjoying well-targeted editorial. The CRM lesson learnt is that customer experience is crucial. Retention and brand building are essential and customer magazines play to this agenda.