Credit card direct marketers are experimenting more than ever with the type and number of response mechanisms offered to recipients in an effort to boost response rates, according to research released yesterday by Comperemedia.
Comperemedia, a media monitoring company in Chicago, found that because of the rise in the total number of credit card offers being mailed, the number of ways to respond also has increased. In 1999, the majority of credit card offers provided one or two types of response mechanisms, while the majority of offers this year give three to five types.
The study found that the most popular combination of response mechanisms were toll-free numbers and some type of application to complete and mail using a business reply envelope.
Many offers also provide an 800 number and a Web site address. Recipients can apply online, though they might not find the same offer that they received in the mail. In some cases, recipients can enter their invitation identification number to receive the exact offer received through the mail. This also lets the marketer track responses better than a marketer that sends recipients to the home page.
