Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Does anyone have experience marketing through valpak.com?  If so, I would be grateful if you could share your experience (what worked, what didn`t, etc.).

If you haven`t advertised through valpak mailers, I am also interested in customer feedback.  Example: If you receive these mailers every month, do you even bother opening it and scanning the content? 

The customer segmentation is very attractive and seems like a worthwhile partnership.  Seems like would need to do tons of market research (test messaging, design) and conduct pilots before I could expand the campaign to get the best bang for the buck.

Thanks!


-------------------------

Brion Lau
Executive Publisher
http://www.financialfitnesspro.com

My toddler loves Valpak.
She rips that envelope right open and sprinkles it all over the living room.

Quite honestly, I`ve never received a useful coupon in that envelope and I wish they would stop wasting all the trees on me.

It`s interesting you should ask.  I know some about Valpak but there are more effective and economical marketing and advertising vehicles for small businesses than Valpak

Great.  Open to other suggestions.  I`ve also been experimenting with online marketing (i.e., free online classifieds, online chat boards, squidoo).  

-------------------------

Brion Lau
Executive Publisher
http://www.financialfitnesspro.com

I haven`t used Valpak for marketing purposes as it probably wouldn`t be the most efficient for the business I am in.  However, as a consumer, it`s a hit or miss thing.  Sometimes the whole envelope gets thrown out and other times I`ll quickly scan through it.  The one`s I tend to use are coupons for restaurants/food.  I like to eat haha.  Seriously though, I`ve noticed that for some industry types that advertise in Valpak there seem to be 3-4 coupons/ads for the same industry.  Depending on what you are marketing, it may be a good source, especially if you are a unique business type within the mailer.  Just like print media in magazines, I`m sure it`ll take a couple of runs with Valpak before you can do any major analysis on it`s effectiveness for your business.

-------------------------

Oliver Mupas
United Bank Card
866-207-6007 ext 303
omupas@ubcnetworkonline.com

Also keep in mind, it`s usually housewives that look through these val-paks...you may want to cater to the female crowd.  To make yourself stand out, you may want to study some copywriting and put an overt attention grabbing headline 

-------------------------


"Discover How I`m PERSONALLY Helping Entrepreneurs Make Money On The Internet..."

I was partner with a company that used Valpak and Advo. You can target specific zip codes and households that fits your business model. Great tool since Newspaper readership is declining.

I know of a business that used ValPak and it was extremely expensive for very little return.  ValPak also required a commitment of several mailings.   I can quite honestly say I`ve used 2 coupons in the past 18 years.  I wouldn`t waste advertising money on it even though they can target specific areas, etc.  There`s got to be a better way to spend those bucks.

jillybeans

One company I have found that does an excellent job in this field is CyberQpons.com.   They combine the print and regional aspects of ValPak with digital capture of data on the users of the product so future marketing can be restricted to only those who use the product.  They market a universal loyalty card and can be used for all types of products, and are currently expanding their markets at a pretty good clip.  This product also appeals to a more upscale customer and provides more affordable advertising to the merchant than ValPak or Advo.