Customer magazines are becoming increasingly important as communication tools. Despite this trend, no empirical evidence has yet been submitted on the impact potential and impact parameters of customer magazines. In view of the greater demand for effectiveness and efficiency of corporate communications, the shortfall in knowledge about customer magazines is to be viewed as a considerable disadvantage.
PSD Bank Berlin-Brandenburg eG is a regional cooperative bank, set up as a direct bank, with a head office in Berlin. The bank uses the customer magazine “GELD + GEWINN” as a central communication tool for the purpose of maintaining its close dialogue with customers. In view of the importance of the magazine for the corporate success of the bank, a project has been conducted to optimize the use of “GELD + GEWINN”, in collaboration with the SVI Foundation Chair for Marketing and Dialogue Marketing of the School of Management and Innovation at the Steinbeis University Berlin.
In a field trial, the influence of optical and haptic acti vation (high / low) and also the presentation of the content (editorial / promotional), the delivery date (Monday / Friday) and shaping of product group involvement (high / low) was reviewed. Eight test versions were produced from the combination of cha- racteristics of the object-related parameters (visual impression, tactual impression, content). A total of 32,000 customer magazi- nes manipulated in this way were sent by post. Three to four days after delivery, 30 recipients randomly selected from each of the total of 32 test groups were surveyed. Accordingly, about 1,000 test subjects were included in the study.
On the basis of the results, the SVI Foundation Chair developed a manual which will lead to impact-optimized utilization of the customer magazine with simultaneous cost savings. As part of the collaboration, fi ndings have now been obtained for the fi rst time which make it possible to extend statements on the effectiveness and impact parameters of customer magazines beyond the magazine in question.
Dipl.-Betriebswirt (BA) Carsten Rasner
School of Management and Innovation (SMI) at the Steinbeis University Berlin, Berlin