The word is not the opposite of an image

Stephan Klapproth in conversation with Professor Ralf T. Kreutzer at Direct Day 2014.With a beatbox interlude, Bernese rapper Steff la Cheffe awakened the senses of the participants at the 15th DirectDay of Post CH AG. After the welcome by Reto Brotschi, Head of Direct Marketing Postmail, DM expert Prof. Dr. Ralf T. Kreutzer was the first speaker to talk about "Direct communication - content that touches and moves".Words become imagesPreviously, moderator Stephan Klapproth had silently introduced the conference topic "The Power of the Word" - with printed words and sentences, which he punctuated with gestures. But Klapproth would not be Klapproth without a subsequent, eloquent treatise on interesting findings of linguistics with the core statement that a word is not the opposite of an image, but words evoke images in the mind.From Touchpoints to TrustpointsNot at all scientifically dry, but with many amusing anecdotes, Professor Kreutzer conveyed his expertise in dialog marketing. For him, it is clear that this communication discipline must already be thought of in an integrated way in the conception phase and then also implemented in this way. Multichannel communication only works, however, if one knows the points at which customers come into contact with the offer or the company, and one also knows which of these points are really relevant. The professor advocated turning relevant touchpoints into trustpoints through trust-building measures.Paper at a haptic advantageThe road to success leads via relevance for the customer. The use of CAPITAL LETTERS should be avoided because - as studies show - they are less legible. "Or do you know a book in such a font?", Kreutzer provoked the audience. "Customers are looking for good feelings," he continued, "every successful dialog starts with listening. We must first understand the customer's concern, learn from it, act, and always monitor the response. Kreutzer sees a good opportunity, because it is still little used, in the combination of physical mailings with so-called PURLs (personalized Internet pages). For him, paper is still superior to electronic communication in an initial phase because it is less volatile than digital media due to its haptics.Other highlights of the conference included appearances by Prof. Dr. Lutz Jäncke, the well-known neuroscientist, and Giovanni Trapattoni, a legendary soccer coach.Author: Ruedi Ulmann