Stamps.com 2009 Annual Report Download - page 8

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 8 of the 2009 Stamps.com annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 94

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Marketing of PC Postage
We target our PC Postage marketing at small businesses, home offices, medium-size businesses and large enterprises, and
within these segments we target both mailers and shippers. We market our PC Postage services through the following channels:
Marketing of PhotoStamps
We target our PhotoStamps marketing at consumers and businesses. We market our PhotoStamps product through the
following channels:
In recent years, we reduced our consumer-focused marketing spend in order to lower our customer acquisition costs and thus
improve our expected returns and our profitability for the PhotoStamps business.
•
Affiliate Channels.
We utilize the traffic and customers of smaller web sites and other businesses or individuals that are
too small to qualify for a partnership directly with us by offering financial incentives for these small businesses and
individuals to drive traffic to our web site through a third party affiliate management company.
•
Direct Mail.
We send direct mail pieces to prospective customers with prospect lists purchased from third parties or
obtained from partners.
•
Direct Sales
. We utilize a direct sales force for higher cost Enterprise and Professional Shipper versions of our PC
Postage service.
• Offline Marketing Programs . We utilize various other offline advertising and marketing programs including
telemarketing, traditional media advertising, retail and other programs.
•
Partnerships.
We work with strategic partners in order to leverage their web site traffic, marketing programs, and
existing customer base to distribute our PC Postage software. For example, these partnerships may result in a link to our
website from a partner’s website, a copy of our software included along with a partner’s software product, the
distribution of our software at a retail location, or the bundling of our software with a hardware device. Our partnerships
include Microsoft, Avery Dennison, and Hewlett Packard.
•
Remarketing.
We remarket our services to former customers. Our remarketing efforts are generally focused on new
features that may relate to the reasons former customers stopped using our service. We utilize e-mail and regular mail to
communicate new features of our products to our former customers.
• Traditional Online Advertising.
We work with companies to advertise our services online through paid searches, banner
ads, permission-based emails, and other online advertising vehicles.
• USPS Referrals . We utilize the nationwide USPS Account Manager network to market and sell our services to
customers. We market to the account managers by attending regional and national meetings and forums, and
participating in local vendor calls. We also receive referrals directly from the USPS website at www.USPS.com .
•
Enhanced Promotion Online Advertising.
We work with various companies to advertise our service in various places
across the Internet. This channel typically offers an additional promotion directly to the customer by the partner in order
to get the customer to try our service. We reduced our investment in the enhanced promotional channel during recent
years.
• Online advertising including paid search, banner ads, permission-based emails, and other online advertising methods;
• Partnerships including Apple, Google/Picasa, HP/Snapfish, Adobe and others;
• Retail distribution of a boxed PhotoStamps product;
• Remarketing to our existing customers; and
• Traditional offline methods of consumer advertising.
4