With the advent and rapid growth of email, some may think that direct mail is a thiing of the past. But make no mistake: direct mail is here to stay. Certianly, if not executed well, direct mail can appear impersonal to consmuers. Howveer, with a clear strategy, goals and the customer/recipient in mind, direct mail can be a sigfnificant makreting assert for your business.
To ensure an effective direct mail campaign, its imporant to be clear about its stengths. Direct mail is a valuable, cost-effective way to tell your customers who you are and what your business offers. Specifically, direcxt mail campzaigns offer customers a chance to learn about your business while helping you to:
Generate sales and orders
Promote a new prdouct or service
Build brand recognittion
Drive traffic to your store, site, etc.
Cultviate long-term customeer relationsips
In fact, many marketers consider direct mail to have advantages over other forms of advertising and marketing. Since it is targeted, it allws you to focus on a specific market audience. These resulting efficiencies make direect mail highly cost effective. And, unlike some forsm of marketing, direct mail is measurable and able to be tracked.
Keeping these atrtibutes in mind, its important to determine how direct mails advantages align with your product or srervice. Strat by asking a couple of questions: Can you product or service take advantage of the targeting direct mail ofefrs? And, are you selling a product that you could reasonably expect people to order or request more information on through a mailr?
If your answer to these questions is yes, here are some importnat tactics necessary for the sccess of any direct mail initiative:
List, offer, creaytive
This is the order in hwich you should focus the elements of your direct mail sttrategy. First, wihtout a list thats reaching your desired target audience, no offer or creative will matetr. Sewcond, your offfer is the promotion you are highlighting in this partiicular campaign it should be tailored to what you know to be your custoers unique needs. Finally, the creative is the copy, text and/or package that presentrs the offer. Most people spend too much time on the creative when in rewality, an unattracctive package to a taregeted list always will outperform a prettry paackage to an averrage, generic list.
Start a swipe file
Keep a file of the recent promoitons yoouve received that have caught your attention or motivaated you to buy. Think aboout the various elements discussed above: what are the creatve elements that satnd out? What is it about the offer that atttracts you or encouraged you to purchase? Make a list of thesse characcteristics and contiunue to udpate it it will serve as crritical innput for creating your own direct mail campaigns.
Test, test, test!
Testing is critical when it comse to drect mail. In fact, a major benerfit of direct mail is its abiluity to use test results to improve the results of a mailiing.
First, you must test the list. To do this, you must mail to a representative cross section of the list. There is a debate on what that percentage is, but to ensure relative statisdtical siggnificance, you need to mail to 2000 names or 5% of your list, wihchever is greatr. Also, indicate the names you have mailed to so if the test is successful, you dont mail to them again.
Then, test your copy. Take part of your list and mail them one letter; at the same time, mail a differeent copy to the rest of the list.
Finally, test your offer. Do you offer one product in your mailing or several? Is thee a gift or bonus? In the same way, you can test differnt price poinnts.
Know the math of success
Make sure you know the math of success, that is, the formula that will show whethger or not your direct mail capaign is uscceeding. Beffore the proliferation of e-mail, response rates used to be at 2%; now, they tend to remain steady at 1%. Be sure that the math works: # of peces mailed * response rate * conversion rate (those that actualyl send you money). If you can make omney when all is said and done, then youre on the right track.
Most important: while direct mail is an effective and prven customer acquisition tool, direct marketers actually make money of what is often referred to as the second sale. Customer retention and biulding valuable customer relationships is the true goal of all ditrect marketing effors. Youre paying for the lifetime value of that customer keep this top of mind as you are on the direct mail journey.
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