Veseys Seeds tries postal code targeting to attract new customers

P.E.I.'s Veseys Seeds is taking aim at new customers using a program from Canada Post called postal code targeting.

It's a marketing technique where Canada Post breaks down the demographics from the postal codes of a client's current customer base. It then finds other postal codes with similar demographics, who could turn out to be potential new customers for their clients.

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Canada Post provides clients with a report that sorts existing customers by age, marital status, income, household structure, education and employment, said John Barrett, director of sales, marketing and development at Veseys Seeds Limited.

"Canada Post is able to, from their massive database, match as best they can demographically similar people to the customers that you enjoy," he said.

Canada Post officially launched postal code targeting in February 2017.

The idea was pitched to Veseys by Lowe-Martin, the company's long time printer, based in Ottawa.

"We saw an opportunity to say who are customers in those same demographics that they're not doing business with and so that's who we are targeting," said Wayne Mosley, vice-president with Lowe-Martin.

Privacy concerns dismissed

Barrett dismisses concerns that people who receive the flyers will feel that their privacy has been breached.

"I think people are more concerned when it's their name and their physical address, if they see their name on a piece of mail that they didn't ask for," Barrett said.

This is unaddressed material and typically we receive quite a bit of unaddressed material in our mailbox anyway. John Barrett

"But this is unaddressed material and typically we receive quite a bit of unaddressed material in our mailbox anyway."

Barrett admits he was initially cool to the concept.

"We have tested mailing catalogues unaddressed to neighbourhoods that we thought might be best suited for us, it's never been something that has worked, to be quite honest," he said.

But after a look at some of the data from Canada Post, he was convinced to give it a try.

"I thought it was time again to see if doing it this way, rather than sending a catalogue but sending a lure piece with a free item, if that might have better results."

The so-called lure piece is a flyer, each with a free package of seeds.

If the recipient orders a catalogue, they receive a second free package of seeds.

There are actually two designs to the brochure, each targeted at an age demographic: one for the 22-44 age group, the other 45 and over.

30,000 brochures

Veseys will send out 30,000 of the brochures and seeds.

"At the end of the day, we'll know what the response rate is and at the end of the season we can back-check those responses to sales as well," Barrett said.

"It's one thing for someone to ask for a catalogue, that's great but our hope is that they purchase something, too."

Barrett points out that Canada Post also has lots to gain from a successful targeting campaign.

"For Canada Post, there's the immediate gain of the postage that will be spent on mailing these 30,000 pieces, which is not a small amount," he said.

"Their hope, of course, is that the test works for us and if the catalogues convert into orders we then have to mail the parcels out to these customers by Canada Post."

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