Magazine renewal notices usually are rather cordial, often with an inducement --- such as a token gift --- to spur prompt action from subscribers, but mailed messages from Better Homes and Gardens border on something that would originate from the IRS or a collection agency, finds Grumpy Editor.
Scolding and threatening valued readers are sure ways to deter renewals.
Think subscribers would “re-up” to the magazine, a Meredith Corp. publication, that first mails an “urgent notice” from the “collections department” that reads:
“As you know, we have been very patient, but your bill is now seriously delinquent.
“We fully expect you to resolve this situation as honorably as you began it…please pay your debt now.”
(The “account balance” on the form shows $12.97. The bill is not delinquent and there is no “debt” since no renewal is happening.)
Then a month later, a follow-up mailed greeting arrives in a yellow envelope labeled “TELEWIRE, electronic message”:
Inside, a yellow sheet from “accounts receivable,” all in capital letters, reads:
“ALTHOUGH WE HAVE REPEATEDLY ADVISED YOU OF YOUR DELINQUENT ACCOUNT, WE HAVE NOT YET RECEIVED PAYMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF $12.00 FOR THE BETTER HOMES & GARDENS MAGAZINES YOU ORDERED.”
(Note: The renewal is not ordered and the pitch incorrectly uses an ampersand in the magazine’s title, rather than and.)
“IN ORDER TO PREVENT ADDITIONAL MEASURES, WE URGE YOU TO REMIT YOUR PAYMENT AT ONCE.
“YOUR IMMEDIATE RESPONSE WILL BE AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN DETERMINING OUR COURSE OF ACTION.
“DO NOT DELAY. REMIT YOUR PAYMENT TODAY.”
(Note: On the follow-up pitch, the “Status: past due amount due: $12.00”--- that’s with two “dues” in the pitch --- shows 97 cents less than in the month-earlier scolding.)
Also, unlike other magazines that provide postage-paid envelopes for renewal payments, envelopes from both Better Homes and Gardens pitches require readers to affix stamps.
Bottom line: Would a normal subscriber renew after those tongue-lashings?
By the way, going “cold” to Meredith’s Web site to order a similar 12 issues of Better Homes and Gardens costs half the “overdue payment”: $5.99. And with that comes a free “All-Time Favorites Cookbook.”
Comments