The Hook of Mormon

Someone just knocked on my front door, and it turned out to be two young guys from the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I didn't realize that Mormons are still going door-to-door, but there they were. I live in Oakland, and it's not every day that you see two guys in starched white shirts, black pants and ties and nametags on your front porch. The last uninvited guest on the front porch was a local ne'er do well trying to bribe the dogs entry with some hot dogs through the front window I'd accidentally left open, so as you might imagine I was somewhat surprised to see these guys.

I did restrain myself from asking about the magic underwear. I reserve that question and all "Big Love" questions for a Mormon friends. OK, one Mormon friend who puts up with these types of questions.

Now, I'm a fan of "Big Love" (and having watched the show, I even know that polygamists are shunned by the true "LDS" members). I'm also a fan of discussing religion. But I'm not really a fan of people trying to walk into my house uninvited to discuss it, particularly when I have a nasty cold and am sitting around in pajama pants.

This got me to thinking that this must be the most time-consuming Direct Marketing approach ever. On the plus side, it's cheap - I assume these guys are volunteers, and those outfits don't strike me as terribly expensive. I wonder if their bikes are covered...

And then I wondered whether, with so much advertising and SPAM and general Marketing clutter, perhaps the old-fashioned approach is indeed more effective.

Last time I checked, a DM snail mail piece usually generates a 1-2% response rate. I have to wonder whether the personal touch is doing better for the Mormons; and to be fair, I don't know that we should count "conversion" as an actual religious conversion, since it's a much harder sell than a dishwashing soap sale or something. Then again, eternal salvation is a good hook - especially since you get to hang with your family.

So I guess I'm interested in both open rate (i.e. opening the door and letting these guys in) and conversion rate.

If there are any Mormons out there with the answer, please do share.