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From: WMartin@SIMTEL20.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: Byte reader service cards
Message-ID: <16666@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 8-Feb-84 14:07:51 EST
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.16666
Posted: Wed Feb  8 14:07:51 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 18-Feb-84 04:17:05 EST
Lines: 58

From:  William G. Martin 

Aha! One of my "pet peeve" buttons has been pushed!  ALL advertisers
in a magazine with a Reader-Service card provded should be COMPELLED
to use the Reader-Service numbers.  This must be a condition of the
acceptance of the advertising by the magazine.  Far too many advertisers
have been allowed to drop the use of R-S numbers, which dilutes the
value of the Reader-Service program as a whole.  (I speak here mainly
from experience in the audio/high-fidelity magazine area.)  One of the
prime purposes of the very existence of most technical magazines is
to serve as a conduit of information between manufacturers/dealers
who are the advertisers and the consumers who are the readers. Most
of the non-ad contents in such magazines are discussions about 
advertised products (reviews, product surveys, etc.) or interpretations
of technical literature for the consumer (articles like "What do
amplifier specs mean?", etc.).  The whole Reader-Service process is
a vital part of this, getting a direct conduit between vendors and
reader/consumers.  The basic purpose of this is to transfer the
costs from the readers to the vendors.  Without Reader-Service, the
only way for the consumer/reader to contact the advertiser is to 
pay postage or telephone charges, invest time in composing cards or
letters or making calls, and generally expend much effort. Having
Reader-Service consolidates the communication path into a single
card sent by the reader to the contractor who handles Reader-Service
[I believe the entire population of Clinton, Iowa is in this business]
and puts the cost where it belongs, in the vendors' advertising budget.

The vendor can deduct the costs involved, but the consumer cannot;
therefore, Business Reply Mail R-S cards should also be mandatory.
(I note that Byte's cards are not; this is a major failing on their
part.)  The statement that "many people would send in the card every
month, circling any numbers for any ads that looked even halfway
interesting" is correct, but that is what SHOULD happen!  The whole
idea of the process is to snag the attention of POSSIBLE prospects,
and then send them more information than the ad itself could possibly
contain, in the hope of enticing them to buy.  It is perfectly
normal that the percentage response is low -- it will always be so,
unless the vendor is selling something in high demand at an
unusually low price.  (Even then, many readers will suspect that
it couldn't be legitimate, and will not respond due to wariness.)

If a new, small firm cannot afford the costs of handling large
Reader-Service responses, they should not be advertising at all,
or they should be placing classified ads.  That is the main difference 
between regular display ads and the classifieds (or those little
display ads in the classified sections); the former all should have
Reader-Service, and the latter are cheaper and do not have R-S.
Some vendors may not like this; they are merely unrealistic.  To
sell your stuff, you have to expect to pay for getting your firm
and products known -- distributing large amounts of literature,
whether by mail or at trade shows, without seeing direct or
immediate responses, is one of the expenses. That's just the way
it is.

Flame dying down...

Will Martin
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