Bingo Cards: Are they dead?

That is a question many marketers are asking these days. You may have noticed a decrease in the number of leads supplied by bingo cards (reader response cards) lately, but is this an accurate measure of your ad’s success? Not necessarily.

In the past, bingo cards were an effective means of tracking responses and fulfilling requests for information. Readers used the cards to indicate interest, the publications added up the responses and mailed the names and results to the advertiser. Often research about the respondents was also made available. This was an effective process, but it tended to be lengthy, so advertisers tried to speed up response times and increase lead generation by adding telephone numbers and fax numbers to their ads. This improved the response time in many cases, but the responsibility for tracking leads was then forwarded to the advertiser. Since many advertisers were not set up to handle the numerous requests, many inquiries were either lost or not seen through to fulfillment. With help from call centers and fulfillment houses, this process became more efficient; however, as more people inquired by phone and fax, advertisers began to see a decline in the number of reader response card inquiries.

More recently, the Internet has replaced many of the traditional methods of responding for information. Customers and potential customers can now log on to the Internet and get all the information they need in a matter of seconds rather than a matter of days or months. There is no longer the need to personally contact the company or worry about business hours. The Internet is open for business 24/7/365. Because it is interactive, if what the person is looking for is not available, he can simply email a request for it. No postage, no handling. The cost of e-business is more efficient than many traditional business practices. Because the Internet is less time consuming, easier to use, more
convenient and more direct than any other means to obtain leads, we again are seeing leads from bingo cards drop.

Marketers will continue to see an increasing number of customers logging on to the Internet instead of filling out bingo cards. After all, we live in a fast-paced society and we need things yesterday. So, to answer the question, “Are bingo cards dead?” No, they’re not dead. There are just more effective and efficient ways for people to inquire and obtain the information they need. As such, bingo cards alone should not be the only way to obtain and track qualified leads. A system should be put in place that tracks leads via response cards, the advertiser’s Internet site and call centers.

Now that you know you can expect more inquiries and leads via the Internet, do you know how to track and manage those inquiries? Stay tuned for more information in an upcoming e-newsletter.