October 18, 2007

Canada Post Introduces Online Direct Marketing Service

For the over one million businesses with fewer than 500 employees in Canada, attracting customers and standing out from the competition are essential elements for success. For smaller businesses, this is particularly important in the start-up stage, when resources and budgets are limited. An additional challenge for these organizations involves adapting to technological advancements in the marketplace, which can offer important opportunities to increase performance and output, albeit it a cost. However, recent studies indicate that SMEs are increasingly adopting Web-centric attitudes, particularly when it comes to self-serve online applications.

What's more, Canada Post is introducing Direct Marketing Online at a time when Canadian small businesses are reporting improved performance and confidence over previous years, making it the perfect opportunity for owners to invest in marketing and technology. According to the most recent Canadian Federation of Independent Business Quarterly Business Barometer, released in September 2007, close to 44% of Canadian small business owners surveyed reported that their firms were doing "much better" or "somewhat better" than one year ago.

Direct Marketing Online – The One-Stop Solution To Reach More Customers, More Effectively

The first service of its kind in Canada, Direct Marketing Online is a web-based portal that allows businesses to plan, create, and distribute direct mail campaigns. Direct Marketing Online breaks new ground by helping SMEs overcome previous barriers to direct marketing, including factors related to budgets, skill and lack of quality data and list availability. The service draws on the industry-leading expertise of Canada Post and its partners, including Bluetree, Cornerstone and Generation5, to provide customers with a one-stop direct marketing solution and, most important, peace of mind.

SMEs can leverage Direct Marketing Online to target a variety of stakeholders, including clients, suppliers, business partners and individual consumers. In six simple steps, they can design and execute a direct marketing campaign tailored to their target demographic and objectives. Businesses can select from a variety of formats, including postcards and brochures, as well as hundreds of professionally designed templates, images, copy and graphics. Blank templates are also provided for businesses with existing logos and images that are looking to leverage their existing inventory.

Customer lists can be purchased online through the service, and businesses can also upload their existing lists. Targeting the right recipients is made easy through radius search capabilities and demographic and psychographic selection filters that zero in on a territory and target prospect profiles. Campaign data and performance metrics allow users to track the success of each project.

Best of all, DMO allows SMEs to be smart about using their marketing dollars. Direct Marketing is targeted and cost-effective and allows a company's marketing dollars to work more strategically for them.

"With such important benefits as direct-to-consumer interaction and measurable results, direct marketing is an ideal tool for SMEs," says Tim Skelly, Director, Direct Marketing Line of Business, Canada Post. "Direct Marketing Online provides what small and medium-sized business owners have been asking for: a truly new and innovative service that allows them to reach more customers more effectively while establishing their brand and standing out from the competition."

Direct Marketing Online is available in French and English at www.directmarketingonline.ca.