DM Jul-Aug 2021

❱ 4
Tackling
Negative
Reviews
❱ 10
Four DM
Ideas You
Should
Steal
PM40050803
VOL. 34 • NO. 7 • JULY/AUGUST 2021
THE AUTHORITY FOR THE DATA-DRIVEN BUSINESS
Interview:
Doug Stephens,
Retail Prophet on
The Future of Retail

3
Vol. 34 | No. 7 | July/August 2021
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Steve Lloyd - steve@dmn.ca
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Contributors
Billy Sharma
Jay Hinman
Stephen Shaw
Michael Morris
Laura Tyson
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ON THE COVER
INTERVIEW
❯ 6
The Future of Retail:
An Interview with Doug Stephens,
Founder and President, Retail Prophet
❯ 4
Ten Tips for Tackling Negative
Customer Reviews
❯ 10
Four Good
Direct Mail
Ideas
to Steal
From
CUSTOMER SERVICE
DIRECT MAIL
STRATEGY
❯ 12
Why the Cause is Now a Cornerstone
of Marketing
TRANSACTIONAL DATA
❯ 14
How a Customer-Centric Business
Model is Driving Growth in Canada
for Afterpay
JULY/AUGUST 2021 DMN.CA ❰

CUSTOMER SERVICE
// 4
Ten Tips for Tackling Negative
Customer Reviews
BY JAY HINMAN
Ask any marketer
today how he or
she feels about
customer complaints and there’s
a good chance you’ll hear, “They’re
never fun,” “They’re part of the job,”
“There’s just so many of them,” or
even, “We can’t make everyone
happy.” Feedback that customer
support and operations teams used
to own has shifted to customerobsessed
marketing teams and
evolved into a key component of
the overall customer experience.
Customers today are more
empowered than ever before. With
just a few taps on their keyboards
or phones, they can leave reviews
online that linger in place and shape
public perception of a company
or a brand — for better or worse.
Negative customer feedback is
particularly worrisome as it poses
a threat not only to a company’s
reputation but also its bottom line.
Online reputation management
has never been more important.
When you consider that nearly 95
percent of consumers now read
online reviews before making a
purchase, you start to understand
the pressure marketers face. While
they often feel like they’re playing
defense, marketers should take
heart.
The silver linings of complaints
Online reputation management
can certainly be a tricky dance,
especially given the everincreasing
number of channels
where customers can share their
experiences. While marketers can’t
control what customers say about
their companies or brands online,
they are more empowered than
they often realize.
For starters, marketers can
control how a company responds
to customer complaints online.
They can also choose to employ
online reputation management
software to better understand the
voice of the customer and act on it.
Specific tools even offer customer
complaint management systems.
Marketers also have the ability to
influence the sentiment customers
— and potential customers — take
away from a brand online.
Customer complaints offer
important silver linings to
marketers savvy enough to
leverage them. Complaints indicate
problems and when customers
raise their concerns, companies
learn how to improve their
products. What’s more, when
customers take the time to leave
a review, marketers gain a unique
opportunity to engage with them
directly. By listening to and acting
on customer feedback, companies
can improve their overall customer
experience, foster customer loyalty
and gain new brand advocates.
How to tackle negative reviews
Instead of fearing customer
feedback, marketers should use
it as an opportunity to shine.
When it comes to negative reviews
in particular, marketers should
develop a process for online
reputation management. While
the nature of customer complaints
will vary, the best practices
marketers should follow to tackle
them are consistent:
❯ Avoid the urge to delete: As
unfair as a review might seem or
as negative as a customer might
be, marketers should resist
the urge to delete customer
complaints. Negative reviews
actually reveal an authenticity
consumers have come to expect.
They understand it’s impossible
for any company to make
everyone happy, so only positive
reviews could appear suspect.
Instead, marketers should focus
on effectively responding to the
complaints they receive and
boosting the credibility of their
companies along the way.
❯ Respond swiftly: Tackling
customer complaints quickly
shows a company is responsive,
cares about the customer
experience and values the
business of its customers. In
today’s digital age, marketers
have no excuse for not
responding in a swift manner,
particularly with online
reputation
management
technology
available.
❯ Apologize
and empathize:
Complaining
customers often just
want to be heard. After
all, their perceived experience
is their reality. This is why
marketers should always
apologize for the customer’s
experience and try to empathize
with him or her. When
applicable, companies should
also admit their mistakes. Doing
so can not only reassure the
customer but also help build
or repair trust. Brands that go
on the defensive run the risk
of being cast as arrogant or
uncaring.
❯ Be polite and professional:
Marketers are representing their
companies when they respond
to complaining customers, so
it’s imperative to stay polite
and professional, regardless of a
customer’s behavior.
❯ Highlight the company’s
commitment to service:
Marketers who are responding
to customer complaints may
be doing so from a reactive
position but that doesn’t mean
they can’t weave in important
key messages. When crafting a
response to a negative review,
a marketer should absolutely
highlight his or her company’s
commitment to customer
service and frame the customer
experience in question as a oneoff
experience — an anomaly.
Doing so shows potential
customers that the negative
review in question doesn’t
accurately portray your company
or services.
❯ Move the conversation
offline: Once a prompt and
empathetic initial response has
been sent, marketers should
try to move communication
with complaining customers
offline, to private channels.
This prevents drawn-out, backand-forth
exchanges potential
customers could see. Giving
the customer a direct means
of contact, such as a phone
number or an email address, will
usually help marketers move the
conversation out of public view.
❯ Find and execute a solution:
Once a marketer has moved
the conversation with the
complaining customer offline,
he or she needs to get more
detail on the customer’s problem
to find a solution and execute it.
❯ Be genuine and authentic:
While a marketer is working
to get to the bottom of the
complaint, he or she needs to
communicate with the customer
in a genuine and authentic
fashion. This way, customers feel
acknowledged and valued. After
all, they did take the time to
leave a review.
❯ Send specific, personalized
responses: Similarly, marketers
need to send specific,
personalized responses to
complaining customers. Avoid
the temptation to automate,
as one might do for certain
positive reviews, because vague
or canned responses could be
seen as impersonal and further
inflame the situation. Recent
research indicates 90 percent
of businesses understand the
importance of personalization
and respond to reviews
manually.
❯ Don’t forget to follow up:
Finally, don’t leave customers
wondering. A marketer who
has followed the above best
practices would be remiss if he
CONTINUED ON page 13
❱ DMN.CA JULY/AUGUST 2021

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6
The future of traditional retail looks bleak.
Many more stores are expected to close as
online shopping continues its sharp upward
climb, expected to account for 20 percent of
total retail sales just three years from now.
Doug Stephens, Founder and President, Retail Prophet
❱ DMN.CA JULY/AUGUST 2021

INTERVIEW
// 7
The Future of Retail:
An Interview with Doug Stephens,
Founder and President, Retail Prophet
STEPHEN SHAW is the Chief Strategy Officer
of Kenna, a marketing solutions provider
specializing in delivering a more unified
customer experience. Stephen can be reached
via e-mail at sshaw@kenna.ca
BY STEPHEN SHAW
For some time now traditional retailers have
been staring down a gun barrel. The pandemic
killed off the weakest retailers in the herd,
while pushing consumers who were eCommerce
holdouts into the welcoming arms of Amazon. But
even prior to this calamity, stores had been shutting
down everywhere due to changing shopping habits
— pressure on profit margins — the closing down of
shopping malls — and blind adherence to an industrial
age model that was too reliant on foot traffic.
The future of traditional retail looks bleak. Many
more stores are expected to close as online shopping
continues its sharp upward climb, expected to account
for 20 percent of total retail sales just three years
from now. Much of that spending will be soaked up by
Amazon and an expanding galaxy of online merchants.
Infinite aisles and same-day delivery have become
the bullets in the gun, aimed at the heart of any
conventional-thinking retailer whose imagination fails
them.
The old retail model is defunct. The question,
of course, is what takes its place. Do retailers look
to China for answers, where shopping and buying
have become a truly seamless experience due to the
convergence of online and offline channels? Or is there
a hybrid model better suited to North America where
the end-to-end shopping experience involves many
multiple channels and a more decentralized value
chain? Either way, retailers who want to stay solvent
better share the same mindset as Jeff Bezos who once
said: “If you lean away from the future, the future wins
every time”.
Brick-and-mortar stores are unlikely to go away
anytime soon. There is still a large role for them to play
as the face-to-face stage of the shopping journey. But
the mundane store experience of today will need to
improve dramatically to draw people away from their
screens. Store shopping can still be an enjoyable way to
pass the time — still be a gateway to discovery — still
be the best way to experience a product first-hand — if
retailers begin to think differently about what brings
shoppers joy and value.
One of the industry oracles retailers can turn to
for help in reimagining their business model is Doug
Stephens who is a master at predicting consumer and
retail trends. The author of several highly readable
and provocative books on the state of retail, he offers
retailers a clear prescription for survival, warning
them of the even more disruptive changes ahead,
while providing hope in the form of an alternate vision
rooted in the idea of putting customers first.
Stephen Shaw: Is this a good or bad time to be a
retail futurist?
Doug Stephens: I don’t think there’s ever a bad time
to be focused on the future. You always have to have
someone in the crow’s nest looking out at the horizon.
For example, people think the pandemic was a black
swan — that no one could ever have anticipated it
happening. Well, there were organizations that did
anticipate it — Intel being one of them. After the
SARS epidemic in 2002, Intel established a pandemic
committee. And ever since, they’ve been building
contingencies in the event of another pandemic. This
pandemic was foreseeable — so planning for the future
should be important in every organization.
Shaw: Is that why you started Retail Prophet?
Stephens: Absolutely. After having spent 20 odd
years in retail, I knew firsthand how short-sighted
this industry was, and how they operated quarter to
quarter. What they don’t realize is that decisions they
make today are going to impact their future success,
not just next quarter, but five to ten years from now.
Shaw: You make the point in your latest book
that this pandemic is a catalyst for change. Is
this an extinction event that wipes out mediocre
retailers?
Stephens: Yeah, I think so. Somebody asked me the
other day, “Who do you see being the winners and
losers coming out of the pandemic?”. Who’s going
to survive this crisis? Frankly, it depends on what
their view of retail is. I think there are two camps.
There are those for whom retail remains an industrial
occupation: it’s all about sourcing a product and
getting it into the hands of the consumer — pretty
much retail as we’ve known it forever. And then
there’s another, more enlightened camp which accepts
that society has fully moved into the digital era. Our
JULY/AUGUST 2021
DMN.CA ❰

INTERVIEW
// 8
primary concern as consumers is
no longer, “Will I be able to find
the things I want?”. In fact, we now
live in a world where we can have
anything we want. What we want
in the digital era is inspiration;
what we want is information; what
we want is a fusion of commerce
and entertainment.
Shaw: Coming out of this
pandemic, many people have
a changed outlook on life.
What are the ramifications for
retail? One stream of thought
is that shopping may no longer
be seen as a pastime. Will we
see a so-called “new normal”
where shopping is less of an
obsession?
Stephens: Oftentimes, we
have to look to the past in order
to understand the future. After
the SARS pandemic, China’s
retail economy was completely
reinvented. Companies like
JD.com, now one of the largest
retailers in the world, were born
out of the SARS pandemic. So, is
it likely that we are now going to
spend a disproportionate amount
of our spending online? Yes, it’s
quite likely. We may use stores
very differently going forward. I
don’t think that stores are going
to become less important. But I do
think that we are going to use them
very differently than we do today.
Shaw: You also describe in
your book a fairly apocalyptic
vision of the retail future. On
one hand, you’ve got “apex
predators”, as you call them
— like Amazon and Walmart;
on the other, competing
retail giants playing catchup,
creating their own online
marketplaces. How does that
battle play out?
Stephens: Yeah. It’s an
interesting question, and this is
the reason I reject the idea that
everything we’re seeing is simply
an acceleration of what would
have happened anyway. I don’t see
it that way at all. I think that the
pandemic has not just accelerated
the future of retail, but altered it
completely. Here’s the interesting
thing: Amazon actually lost market
share in global eCommerce. And
the reason was simple: the rest of
the world was catching up once
and for all. This is now going to
motivate companies like Amazon
We may use stores
differently in the
future. I’m not
saying they will
go away.
to move into other sectors of the
economy that are vulnerable to
disruption and incredibly lucrative.
Like education. Like banking, a
huge opportunity. In fact, Alibaba
owns Ant Financial, which is the
15th largest bank in the world.
Insurance is another sector open
to attack — same with healthcare.
Amazon has launched nine
concerted efforts over the last
three years to break into the health
care market, consummating with
an online pharmacy. So, imagine
five years from now: you’re not
just ordering running shoes and
electronics from Amazon —
they’re your child’s education
platform; they’re your health
insurer, your bank. Everybody
gets one bill every month, and it’s
payable to Amazon and it covers
virtually every aspect of your life.
So, if you’re a retailer, now you
have to ask yourself, “How on
earth do we compete with that?
How on earth do we draw that
consumer out of that ecosystem
and get them to our website?”. And
so, large international retailers like
Costco, Target, Kroger, are feeling
the heat too and are building third
party marketplaces just to try and
keep up with this expansion of
Amazon and Walmart.
Shaw: Hudson Bay announced
that it was creating its own
marketplace.
Stephens: A third party
marketplace gives you the ability
to scale up your offering very, very
quickly, with virtually no capital
investment. And sales through
third party marketplaces can
actually be more lucrative than
selling that same product in your
own stores. Retailers are realizing
it’s not good enough anymore
to just be a grocery store, or just
be a building material store —
they have to build out a minimarketplace
of their own in order
to give consumers new reasons to
shop with them.
Shaw: You use the term
“habitats” to describe these
ecosystems. Does retail
eventually become a battle of
the habitats?
Stephens: Yeah, it’s a good
question. Every morning, I read
some article that talks about
retailers trying to become “omnichannel”.
In fact, omni-channel is
a zombie concept. Omni-channel
was a recognition that most retail
companies had these two divisions:
nerds who worked over in
eCommerce and retail people who
worked over on the physical side
of the business. They didn’t talk
to one another, they didn’t share
data, and they certainly didn’t
have a single view of customer.
Omni-channel at it’s inception
was an effort to knit together
those two parts of the business.
It was never about reinventing
the shopping experience. And
then in 2016, Jack Ma, who is
now the chairman of Alibaba,
came up with a term called “New
Retail”. What Ma was saying is that
we, as consumers, don’t operate
in channels. We don’t say to
ourselves, “I’m going to go online
and do some shopping.” We are
shopping now in the moment. So
I watch a video on TikTok and that
becomes a shopping experience. I
read a post on Facebook and that
becomes a shopping experience.
I connect to a QR code in a
magazine to get some information
and that becomes a shopping
experience. Ma recognized that
consumers bounce from moment
to moment in their life. And at
various moments, retailers need to
be available to serve those needs.
And at the same time, we need
to build what my friend Michael
Zakkour 1 calls “power sources”.
These are new delivery systems,
new technologies, to allow for new
retail formats and experiences.
And what we see now is Amazon
starting to take pages from
Alibaba’s playbook.
Shaw: Some people say that the
future is already on display in
China.
Stephens: Yeah, absolutely.
And the rails of commerce are
incredibly well oiled in China.
There’s very little friction in
terms of one’s ability to shop and
in particular to buy and pay for
things in the moment, because so
much of that activity is centralized
across very few channels. WeChat
is one of the primary avenues for
commerce. Everything that you
need is there: you can hail a taxi,
order your meal, buy a few things,
pay your rent, buy an airline
ticket, all without ever leaving
WeChat. So, it is a system that
has been designed without even
thinking about conventional retail
channels, or conventional methods
of payment. It’s a model that was
created for the digital age. And so
to your point, yes, I think that if
we want to divine the future five
years from now in North America,
we should be looking at China.
Shaw: The other aspect of it
that strikes me is how important
social commerce is in China.
And of course, we’re seeing
moves by Facebook now to
take advantage of, as you put it,
shoppable media, using social
channels to buy things, connect
with influencers, and during a
live streaming event, buy stuff
in real time. It’s quite a futuristic
picture you draw.
Stephens: It is indeed. What
we’ve seen in the Chinese
market is a complete collapse
of the boundaries between
entertainment and commerce.
❱ DMN.CA JULY/AUGUST 2021

INTERVIEW
// 9
So much of the entertainment
landscape has commerce built into
it. Opportunities for consumers
to connect with, as you say, key
opinion leaders or influencers in
the market — to connect with
specific products that may be
embedded within a movie or a
television series. Again, Alibaba
is a great example because
they have this ecosystem that’s
made up of video production,
shipping, commerce, banking, and
payments. All of these things are
stitched together very elegantly,
so that consumers can watch
a TV show that’s produced by
Alibaba — they can shop that TV
show while they’re enjoying that
entertainment — and they can
pay for it all, using Alipay. It’s a
complete ecosystem.
Shaw: With more and more
streetside stores shuttering,
the retail industry is in need
of “remodeling”, as you put
it. The answer, you say, is for
retailers to adopt what you call
a new “store archetype” and
deliver something that the apex
predators cannot. Is that a fair
summation?
Stephens: That’s a very good
summation. I don’t believe there’s
room anymore for mediocre
brands. There’s no surplus market
share for them to subsist on.
What every retail brand needs
to do now is define its purpose
in this new world. Purpose
is the new positioning. But I
don’t mean positioning from
the traditional standpoint, like
luxury or discount. What I mean
is a pretty simple litmus test.
And the test is this question: if
your brand is the answer, what’s
the question? That sounds like a
pretty simple question. But I’ve
asked it of executives at Fortune
500 companies and oftentimes
you don’t get a clear answer. And
so, I provide in the book 10 retail
archetypes that retailers can
choose from. They are divided into
four categories. One is culture:
brands that can tell interesting
stories, and turn those stories into
movements. And so here you find
brands like Nike, a real storytelling
brand, or Patagonia, a brand
that espouses environmental
responsibility. The next quadrant
is entertainment. What brands do
here is surround their products
with a theatrical and entertaining
experience. The next quadrant
is expertise where you offer
the deepest knowledge in your
category. And the final quadrant
is product, where it’s the product
itself that is the differentiator.
Shaw: What’s a good example
of a retailer getting their model
right?
Stephens: Go back to Patagonia,
an activist brand which puts
environmental causes right at
the center of its business. They
offer differentiated products
by virtue of their recyclability,
and the fact they’re made from
recycled materials. They also
offer a differentiation in their
expertise. They hire people who
are enthusiasts — who absolutely
love the outdoors. Everything
Patagonia does is aligned with its
environmental positioning. It’s a
brand with a strong position as an
activist. And they enable it with
people who are enthusiastic about
the things they sell.
Shaw: I happen to be wearing a
Patagonia shirt today. You also
give another example in the
book of a camera store in New
York City.
Stephens: It’s called B&H Photo
Video. If you’re a photography
buff, you pretty quickly hear
the name B&H talked about
online. They have a tremendous
reputation for knowledge. Unlike
what you find on the Best Buy web
site — a stock image of a bunch
of people in blue polo shirts called
the “Geek Squad” — on the B&H
site you see individual bios of all of
their resident experts. And these
are people who have spent decades
as professional photographers,
videographers, sound technicians.
And so, is expertise a commodity
that can be delivered by any
trained store associate? Or
do you actually hire experts?
Photographers from around the
world will order things from B&H
which they would never dream of
buying from Best Buy. So, identify
what your strength is, and go really
deep so that Amazon will never
ever dream of chasing you down
that rabbit hole. It’s just not worth
their time or effort.
Shaw: As far as Canada goes,
there are two companies that
have done very well through
this pandemic. One is Shopify,
now Canada’s most valuable
company. Scott Galloway 2
calls them the anti-Amazon.
And then on the other side of
that digital divide, you have
Canadian Tire, which has had
a fabulous year, and yet is very
brick-and-mortar based. How
do you see those companies
evolving?
Stephens: Shopify is a remarkable
company, for sure. They’re now
the second largest marketplace
in North America, just behind
Amazon. The gross merchandise
volume pumped through the
Shopify platform is pretty
staggering. But I believe their
next move should be to provide
a cohesive shopping experience
Today I am deluged
by algorithms
feeding more
of the same
products I like.
across all of their merchants. Make
it a shoppable marketplace where
you discover brands that you can’t
find on Amazon. Canadian Tire
has done very well through the
pandemic, largely because they’ve
been allowed to stay open, whereas
so many other merchants have not.
But the challenge for Canadian
Tire is overcoming resistance from
franchisees to support a uniform
level of online sales and delivery.
I don’t dispute that Canadian
Tire has evolved to a point where
they now provide eCommerce and
logistics services to consumers
to a greater extent certainly than
they could even five years ago.
But it’s not up to the level that it
needs to be. And frankly, service
levels in their stores are not, in my
opinion, where they need to be
either — just go online and look
at their online reviews. Canadian
Tire has thrived because it did
a very good job decades ago of
putting stores in close proximity
to consumers. Over the long term,
they are going to have to make
some very significant changes to
both their in-store experience and
their online capabilities in order to
withstand the kind of change that
is coming.
Shaw: Recently you wrote that
“discovery is dying”. What did
you mean by that?
Stephens: I was thinking about
iTunes and the degree to which it
was a catalyst for how we consume
everything today. In the good old
days, you’d buy an album because
you had a favourite song on it that
you might have heard on the radio.
But of course, you were paying for
all the other songs on the album
along with it. And oftentimes, it
was listening to those other songs
that gave you an appreciation
for the artist or the band.
Your musical sensibilities were
broadened. Today I am deluged by
algorithms, feeding me more of the
same products that I already like.
What I’m losing is serendipitous
discovery. And so, it opens up a
massive opportunity for retailers
to provide consumers with the
occasional surprise. Even in this
post-pandemic world I think we’re
still hungry for discovery.
1 A China retail specialist and author of “New Retail
Born in China Going Global”.
2 Scott Galloway is an adjunct professor of marketing
at the New York University Stern School of Business,
and popular author and speaker.
JULY/AUGUST 2021
DMN.CA ❰

DIRECT MAIL
// 10
Four Good Direct Mail Ideas to Steal From
BY BILLY SHARMA
We all have
come across
a brilliant
idea that we wish we had thought
of or which we have filed away in
order to adapt some day. Here is
my humble grab bag of ideas for
you to steal from with abandon.
Many of these simple
“swappables” are either ones I
admire or are mine, but either
way I am sharing them with you
because they have been field-tested
and have worked each time. So,
feel free to adapt, steal, reproduce,
share, or pass them on to your
friends or clients, but please don’t
just copy them blatantly.
Here’s the list of things that
work in direct marketing:
1. Use any device to get readers
involved.
2. Add an item in your direct mail
piece to tell a story.
3. Use your creativity to make a
single important point.
4. Tell a good story.
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Direct mail offers two huge
benefits. First, it has been
scientifically proven that the brain
retains information gathered from
paper for much longer than it does
from digital messaging. In other
words, people trust paper.
Second, you can practically mail
anything. This tactile nature of
direct mail, that is inherent only in
this medium, is a big plus in telling
stories and raising funds.
Here are some examples and the
explanation for each of the above.
1. Use any device to get readers
involved.
The beauty of involvement devices
is that they engage your reader and
draw their attention. And getting
their attention is crucial in getting
results.
Example 1: Here alongside is
a brilliant example by a charity
for the prevention of suicide that
gets you from the start before
opening the package. The idea of
INFO@CANADADECEASEDLIST.CA
EXAMPLE 1
using string and button envelopes
as a noose is a powerful visual
demonstration of the message. By
allowing recipients to untie the
string and free the noose around
the victim’s neck, they got them
involved in a powerful way. This
simple act drove home the point
that saving lives is that easy. This
almost forces your reader to paint
a mental picture while they read,
which anchors an image in their
consciousness.
EXAMPLE 2
Example 2: Here is another
way to get your reader involved.
A detergent company in Malaysia
mailed this package to people
who had just purchased a washing
machine. Once they opened the
package they found the product
was wrapped in a t-shirt as below:
And the message inside said it all.
Example 3: Amnesty
International. Simulated
Chopsticks. They put a clever twist
on a familiar item. Pencils instead
of chopsticks were
handed out with
these instructions:
❯ Tuck under
thumb and hold
tightly.
❯ Write the
Chinese
government to
help end torture.
❯ Don’t let human
rights violations
by the Chinese government give
China a bad name.
❯ Take further action at:
amnesty.org/china
Example 4: Talking about
involvement, here is an insert
for the Canadian Paraplegic
Association that I used to convey
what it feels like to be disabled.
Go ahead just follow the
instructions and see for yourself.
2. Add an item in your direct
mail piece to tell a story.
I have used many physical objects
to tell a compelling story: I’ve
sent brass keys to sell Fiberglass;
I have mailed a single glove to
get recipients to write back and
request the other glove; I have used
a piece of cardboard to dramatize
the plight of the homeless.
Example 1:
Here I used a
bandage to talk
about partner
abuse.
Example 2:
Or even a toothbrush to let the
reader know that when a woman is
fleeing from her abuser, she barely
has time to pack even her most
basic necessities.
Example 3: I mailed a pack of
sugar to talk about obesity in
children for the charity Food Share.
❱ DMN.CA JULY/AUGUST 2021

DIRECT MAIL
// 11
Example 4: A Boston homeless
charity mailed ID cards to their
donors to demonstrate that
homeless people lose their identity.
3. Use your creativity to make a
single important point.
Example 1: When I learned that
some young girls at the Massey
Centre became homeless due
to physical abuse, I wanted to
highlight the plight of these girls.
So, here is the letter donors
received:
The idea was to make the bold
words hard to read and to involve
the readers by making them
hold the letter up to a lamp or
window. Because most partner
abuse cases are hidden. Once it
was backlit, it clearly revealed the
words: PARTNER ABUSE, because
the other half of each letter was
printed on the back of the paper.
The main idea was to inform
the readers that PARTNER ABUSE
is mostly hidden behind closed
doors, so it needs to
be exposed. And stats
showed that partner abuse
is prevalent especially
among young mothers
from impoverished
families.
Sadly, 80 percent of
the women at the Massey
Centre come from such
backgrounds. How well
did it do? In the first two
weeks the response was
well above 18 percent with
3 or 4 weeks still to go.
Example 2: Then
there is this simple
post-undelivered slip
from JWT London
placed in the mailboxes
of selected recipients.
To communicate the
chunkiness of Kit Kat
Chunky, JWT London’s
card claimed that they
couldn’t deliver a Kit
Kat Chunky because it
was “too big for your
letterbox”. Recipients were
directed to collect their free Kit Kat
from their local newsagent.
Example 3: In an emergency,
flash the crisis as loudly as you
can. Here is an appeal I wrote for
the Canadian Children’s Fund of
Canada to send to people who
sponsored children in India. It was
very successful.
Example 4: Wedgewood created
a ceramic envelope that was mailed
to couples that had registered to
get married, because there is a
tradition among many cultures to
break a plate for good luck. When
the recipients smashed the ceramic
envelope, there was a discount
coupon inside for them to redeem
many Wedgewood products.
4. Tell a good story.
Truth be told, the power of a good
story cannot be underestimated.
There is plenty of proof in the many
novels we read and the number of
movies we watch. More amazing,
stories captivate us because we
want to know what happened next
and how it all ended. Stories have
the ability to open our eyes and
hearts to someone else’s plight.
Stories can be agents of change.
Example 1: Stories can
humanize your mission. Donors
want to see how their money is
spent. They want proof of your
fiscal accountability. What better
way to show this than by sharing
a story that embodies hope and
goodness; a story that reminds
your donors how they can help
change the lives of children who
may have a serious or terminal
illness.
Example 2: If you want to
convert more donors to monthly
donors, stay focused and be
transparent; tell them where their
last donation went. And tell them
how important they are.
Example 3: Paint a picture of the
surroundings of your main story
character and bring it to life. That’s
what I did with this dying rose, to
speak about the bond between a
dying wife and her husband.
Example 4: I have even used one
of the best children’s storytellers,
Munsch, in my letters, to show
the plight of one disabled child for
Easter Seals, Ontario. He wrote a
story about her. Twenty percent is
creative.
You can use the names of your
donors and the communities
where they live to first try to figure
out their ethnic backgrounds. But,
if you look a bit deeper, you will
find the donation amounts that
they generally give to your charity
may give you a clue too.
A person’s name may not
specifically indicate their original
ethnic origin. Many charities ask
for rounded up amounts like $25,
$50, and $100, but receive other
donations such as $18 or $36.
What these donors are telling us is
that they are probably Jewish. The
number 18 in Hebrew also means
“life” so it is customary to give gifts
in multiples of $18. If you run a
report on your database of donors
who have given a gift of $18, $36,
$180, $360, $1,800, $3,600, you
will likely find some who gave that
amount. By their giving behaviour,
they are identifying themselves to
you as likely Jewish.
Similarly, the Indian community
generally adds an extra dollar to
rounded up amounts, so they
traditionally give $51 or $101, etc,
at weddings and other occasions.
Chinese people often have
specific numbers that they regard
as lucky or unlucky. In China, lucky
numbers have pronunciations that
are similar to words with lucky
meanings. Number 8 holds huge
significance as a lucky number.
To a lesser extent 2, 6, and 9 are
considered lucky. While 4 is the
unluckiest number in China.
Different donation amounts can
give you a hint about your donor’s
ethnic background and how to best
use that knowledge.
For Muslims, 786 is a sacred
number because the Arabic letters
of the opening phrase of the Quran
add up to the numerical value of
786. Asians also go by Chinese or
Indian astrology and numerology.
For the Chinese, even numbers
are considered lucky, since it is
believed that good luck comes
in pairs. Now why is all this
important? As a charity leader, you
are always looking for good ways
to contact and steward your most
loyal donors.
So, if your donor has signalled to
you that you may not want you to
send them a Christmas or Easter
card, mark your calendar for early
August and send out wishes for a
happy and healthy New Year (Rosh
Hashana, the Jewish new year).
Or send a Diwali greeting to those
who celebrate the Indian New Year
in October, or the Chinese New
Year in February.
To ensure better stewardship,
CONTINUED ON page 13
JULY/AUGUST 2021
DMN.CA ❰

STRATEGY
// 12
Why the Cause is Now a
Cornerstone of Marketing
BY MICHAEL
MORRIS AND
LAURA TYSON
Cause-Related Marketing is
based on a very simple and
honourable practice, which
is partnering your campaign or
product with a charitable cause.
This might seem straightforward or
easy to do, but it’s hard to get right
and it comes with considerable
demand for expertise on a number
of fronts.
We are living in a time of
conscientious consumers — people
are caring more and more about
their social impact on the world.
How effective is CRM?
A recent study found that Causerelated
marketing is exceptionally
effective and becoming more
critical. Millennials and Gen Zer’s
may respond especially strongly to
marketing for a cause.*
❯ Earn more. Brands that people
believe are making the world
better earn more and have
higher purchase intent;
❯ Avoid losing customers.
Sixty-four percent of people
avoid brands that they don’t
believe have an excellent social
responsibility;
❯ Attract new customers,
especially among young
people. Sixty-nine percent of
Gen Z is more likely to buy from
a brand that contributes to a
cause;
❯ Take a stand. Sixty-six percent
of consumers think that brands
should take stands on political
and social issues; and
❯ Embody what North
Americans think is important.
Seventy-two percent believe
that it is important to buy from
companies that reflect their
values.
Benefits of cause-related
marketing
CRM has wide range of benefits.
Practically any business can
take advantage of this form
of marketing. Cause-related
marketing may have a special
meaning for online retailers,
eCommerce of all kinds, and any
other company that may be lacking
in natural attention-getting.
From boosting service and
product sales to improving the
public’s impression of your
business’ dedication to social
responsibility, there are many
reasons to team up with a great
non-profit organization.
Get attention and build
credibility
Statistics state show that
millennials make over half of their
purchases online, however, only 6
percent of them think that online
advertising is credible. Causerelated
marketing is another way
to reach clients online without
directly advertising their product
or service.
By promoting ethically
responsible initiatives, your
company can build brand
awareness and loyalty. This is
especially important for companies
that operate entirely online.
Millennials are more receptive to
relevant online advertising, Which
involve their current values. Sixtysix
percent of young consumers
view a brand more positively, if
it is associated with a cause, and
fifty-eight percent are more likely
to buy from that brand, according
to DoSomething Strategic.
A well-targeted social media
campaign that can explain how
your business WILL help the good
cause that your consumers already
care about can get a lot of positive
attention for your business,
quickly and inexpensively.
Win the race for loyal
customers
ALL businesses want more
customers. Loyal customers
bring in more loyal customers by
telling friends and family about a
company, displaying brands, and
supporting each Cause-related
marketing campaign.
You may not want to wait
around in the race for loyal
customers. Corporate giving has
increased by 15 percent in two
years. Cause-related marketing is
growing, and you don’t want to be
left behind. Brands win out with
each customer. (Yotpo 2019) If
you want to be in the handful of
companies that have a customer’s
loyalty, you need an edge over the
competition.
A third of customers have
already stopped purchasing
favourite brands by 2019 because
they lost trust in the brand. You
want your customers to trust YOU
more thanks to your commitment
to a cause, not to change
brand loyalty because they lost
confidence in your brand.
Stable revenue growth
Cause-related marketing doesn’t
just raise awareness for your
cause and business — it increases
income. 71 percent of Millennials
are willing to pay more for
something if they know some
profits will go to charity.
Furthermore, sixty-seven
percent of people are happy to pay
more to have a great experience.
The satisfaction of contributing to
a good cause can aid customers’
experiences and will make them
even more willing to pay more.
Cause-related marketing can
dramatically improve customer
loyalty. Customers are more likely
to be loyal to a brand that they
believe is committed to a nonprofit
organization or cause. Increasing a
customer’s loyalty by just 7 percent
can increase lifetime profits per
customer as much as eighty-five
percent.
Loyal customers are more likely
to keep purchasing from a brand.
Increasing retention of as few
as five percent of customers can
result in an increase in revenue
from twenty-five to ninety-five
percent.
Starting a campaign
If you’re ready to start a campaign,
your motivation can include
helping your business stick in the
minds of your customers, building
trust and loyalty, but most of all by
doing something good in the world.
A campaign built around a cause is
a great choice. Find a partner who
will ensure your campaign will
work to successfully raise money
for your charitable cause and
incorporate powerful marketing
campaigns for your business.
LAURA TYSON is Director of Communications
of Social Strategy Group and Michael Morris is
Founder of Social Strategy Group.
https://www.socialstrategygroup.com/
(*contact us for details about these statistics)
Michael Morris was born in
Manchester England in 1945.
He joined his family owned
Ladies fashion retail-business
in 1961. After 30 years as a
successful manufacturer/
retailer in both the UK and
Canada, Michael realized
that to be successful in the
fashion industry, one had
to change the way they
conduct their business. In
1993, Casually Yours, was
formed as a workplacefashion
fundraising program
which benefitted over 50
hospitals across Southern
Ontario. This successful
fund raising initiative lasted
until 2003, when the SARS
outbreak forced a shutdown
of all hospital events. The
epidemic closed Casually
Yours down for over 12
months. It was during this
period, Michael Morris
collaborated with Angelo
Mantenuto, president of
Stix Brands International, a
company that manufactured
quality soap products.
Together, they created Clean
Freak Patrol, to help educate
children and parents with
the importance of hand
sanitation and hygiene.
“Spread the word not the
germs” was the campaign in
support of Sick Kids Hospital,
which was distributed
nationally through Shopper’s
Drug Mart.
❱ DMN.CA JULY/AUGUST 2021

Resource Directory
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CONTINUED FROM page 4
or she didn’t follow up with the complaining customer. By following up to
ensure the customer’s problem has been resolved, the customer might be
inspired to update his or her original review, or, potentially even, delete it
altogether.
How companies respond to customer complaints online is incredibly
important and visible, and marketers play a pivotal role. One bad experience
doesn’t have to be the final say for that customer. Each customer interaction is
an opportunity. With the right online reputation management strategies and
tools, companies can differentiate themselves and show they’re willing to go
and beyond to ensure a great customer experience.
JAY HINMAN is the head of corporate marketing at Birdeye. He has over 25 years of B2B marketing leadership
experience at global companies, such as Opera Software and MobiTV, and helped lead two startups to
acquisition as vice president of marketing at Neumob and Skyfire
Four Good Direct Mail Ideas to Steal From
CONTINUED FROM page 11
you can build your donor base to reflect your research. Through customizing
your stewardship and your giving levels, you can show your donors that you
13-07-04 10:43 AM
are paying attention to them. They will appreciate the personalization and
your thoughtfulness, and you will be able to appeal to them more effectively.
You can ask them in certain amounts and during appropriate holiday periods
that are a better fit for them.
And that is what smart fundraising is all about.
MelissaDirect.com
1-800-MELISSA
BILLY SHARMA is President & Creative Director of Designers Inc. He started his career in the advertising world
and have worked in four major cities — Munich, Montreal, New York and Toronto for some of the largest
advertising agencies. For the past three decades he has run his own company, Designers Inc.

TRANSACTIONAL DATA
// 14
How a Customer-Centric Business Model
is Driving Growth in Canada for Afterpay
How a Customer-Centric Business
Model is Driving Growth in Canada for
Afterpay
Afterpay is the leader in “Buy Now, Pay
Later” (BNPL) payments, helping millions
of users get the products they want fast and
with responsible spending in mind. More than
this, Afterpay has proven to be a valuable
marketing tool for retailers when it comes to
reaching young and engaged shoppers. Afterpay
is one of those rare “win, wins” for both
consumers and merchants, helping the brand
see unprecedented success since entering the
Canadian market.
We spoke with Afterpay’s General Manager
of North America, Zahir Khoja, to break down
what Afterpay is, how it helps merchants and
retailers understand their shoppers, and how
the brand’s customer-centric business model
has spurred Canadian growth so far.
Tell us about Afterpay. What is it and how
does it work?
Afterpay lets consumers receive products
immediately and pay over time using their own
money — always interest-free — at thousands
of retailers across the globe. Purchases are paid
in four installments due every two weeks. Since
launching, Afterpay is now offered by over
86,000 retailers and used by 15 million active
customers around the world.
How does buy-now, pay-later drive
marketing?
The benefits of using BNPL for merchants are
far reaching. For one, merchants have access
to millions of global shoppers, mainly in the
Millennial and Gen Z cohort, who are turning
away from traditional credit cards, debts and
fees. Merchants see a service like Afterpay as
a marketing vehicle, as many of our customers
will start their shopping journey on the Afterpay
platform. An average of 35 million merchant
referrals are generated globally per month from
our Shop Directory, providing a source of new
traffic to our retail partners and an increase in
cart conversation by twenty per cent on average.
What’s the cost for the merchant?
For merchants, it’s as simple as paying a small
transaction fee for the service which, in turn,
gives their brand exposure to millions of users.
Once a product is bought, the merchant ships
the product immediately and Afterpay pays the
merchant in full the next day, minus the fee.
Afterpay assumes the full risk of non-payment
so the retailer doesn’t have to worry.
Our goal is to give its
customers the ability to budget
their own money and pay over
time, instead of turning to
expensive loans with interest,
fees and revolving debt.
There’s a connection to
loyalty as well.
Afterpay has a highly tailored
user platform, which has
influenced customer loyalty
and acquisition. Tell us a bit
about how Afterpay helps
retailers understand their
overall customer demographic
and keep them coming back to
shop.
Overall, we’ve found that a
more personalized consumer
shopping experience delivers
strong value. In the US, we’ve
seen this especially with our
Favourites feature — which
allows customers to keep track
of all the items they want to
Afterpay in one place. With
this feature, shoppers return
more frequently to track saved
items, merchants see increased referral traffic
from return shoppers, and Afterpay get insights
to make better recommendations. We look
forward to bringing this feature to Canada in
the near future in our newly launched app.
We also aggregate and share purchasing
data with retail partners to help them better
understand what people were buying, when,
and why — see our latest Trend Report here.
Tracking massive shifts — like the move to
more transitional dressing as consumers emerge
from lockdown — helps savvy retailers adapt to
retail in a post-pandemic world.
How is Afterpay using its buy now pay later
service as a discovery tool for retailers?
Afterpay’s Shop Directory is a destination where
customers can find our newest merchants, and
can filter brands by category, trends, values,
and those offering sales. Whether customers
are looking to browse through our thousands of
retailers or they have a very specific item they’re
looking for, our app and website are designed to
support them through their shopping journey.
Our Shop Directory is also an important
marketing channel for our partners, connecting
the best brands in the world with a powerful
demographic of young and engaged shoppers.
Zahir Khoja is General Manager of North America for Afterpay.
Afterpay has seen great success since its
launch in Canada. What are some successes
or results you’ve noticed from your
Canadian partners?
Despite Afterpay’s relatively recent entry into
Canada, it is the most used and visited BNPL
service in the country with the highest customer
intent, according to a February 2021 Citi
Research report.
This success is benefitting Afterpay’s retail
partners in a big way. For example, recent
data shows Afterpay owns 30 per cent of cart
share with Herschel Supply Co. This is a result
of bringing approximately 150,000 shopper
referrals to Herschel between September
2020 and March 2021 from Afterpay’s Shop
Directory.
As of late, Canadian retailers such as Urban
Outfitters, Lululemon, Pandora, NARS and
Shiseido have recently partnered with Afterpay
to reach a younger demographic of consumers.
ZAHIR KHOJA is General Manager of North America for Afterpay.
Founded five years ago in Sydney, Australia, Afterpay has millions
of global customers and tens of thousands merchant partners
now using the platform globally across Australia, US, Canada, UK
(where it is called Clearpay) and New Zealand. Afterpay’s global
team is currently made up of more than 700 people and growing.
❱ DMN.CA JULY/AUGUST 2021