garey@ut-ngp.UUCP (riggs, austen) (02/11/84)
I too fill out reader service cards when I'm "half-interested". I've also bought about $1500 worth of mail order stuff this past year. My gripe is that the info sent in response to these reader cards is useless about 90% of the time. This is because they usually send a glossy copy of the ad that was in the magazine. Sometimes they include a price list, but I find it rare to get more info than was in the ad in the first place. This makes it difficult to get enough info on a product if it isn't available locally.
seaburg@uiucdcs.UUCP (seaburg ) (02/17/84)
#R:ut-ngp:-29100:uiucdcs:10400111:000:21 uiucdcs!seaburg Feb 16 15:58:00 1984 My experience also.
mats@dual.UUCP (Mats Wichmann) (02/21/84)
.
.
Reader service cards? I work for a company that has used these for quite
a while now, and I think I understand the reasoning behind them....they
are a quick way to get hold of names of people who MIGHT have a interest
in your products. They should really be called VENDOR service cards. Many
people genuinely are looking for information on a product; but an even
larger number routinely circle anything that sounds remotely of interest.
Mailing costs are so high these days that it is entirely unfeasible to send
any kind of a complete literature package. Companies that send nothing but a
reprint of the ad burn me up too; given the restricitons, the appropriate thing
would be to send a data sheet and a list of dealers. As a whole, experience
has shown that the actual return rate on the so-called `bingos' is extremely
low - like only a few percent even get to the point of following up, so we
understandably will not put a tremendous amount of money into sending out
literature that will just be discarded. If the company has a lot of manpower,
there will be some sort of attempt at a followup; usually, however, it is up
to YOU to indicate further interest. If a company fails to send enough
information to tickle you into further queries, they got just what they
deserved!
Mats Wichmann
Dual Systems
{ucbvacx,amd70,ihnp4,cbosgd,decwrl,fortune}!dual!mats