5 Strategies to Keep Your Direct Mail out of the Trash and into the Hands of the Decision Maker
By Stacey Hylen | Category: Marketing
Direct Mail is a marketing strategy many business owners have tried unsuccessfully. You may have tried and felt like you wasted your money, or you want to add it to your marketing, but are afraid from horror stories you have heard.
First, you need to manage your expectations. The averaged direct mail response rate is 1% to 3%, and results will vary based on a combination of factors.
Here’s 5 ways to get increased response.
1. Target your list to your Perfect Clients Your Perfect Clients buy more and more often.
- Make a list of your current “Perfect Clients”, the top 20% who make up 80% of your revenue.
- List the common factors:
B2B Example:
Type of business by industry
Size of business: gross sales, number of employees, number of locations.
Who do you sell to? Owner, VP, etc.
B2C Example:
Age, sex, marital status, ages of children, income, location -*go after the higher income neighborhoods.
2.Use lumpy mail. Instead of mailing a traditional flat envelope with your message inside , you need to make your mailer lumpy with an object designed to get attention and get your mail past the gatekeeper. This increases response dramatically.
3. Use direct response techniques. There are 4 things to make sure that you include in your mailer for it to work effectively.
- A clear and compelling offer
- Reasons why the prospect should take action ( pain or pleasure)
- A call to action ( which works even better with a limiter such a date or a limited number available)
- Tell the prospect how to respond (typically multiple options such as a toll free number, web page, and email)
4. Make it a campaign, not just one mailing. Once you have figured out who your perfect clients are don’t give up after just one mailing. Create a series of AT LEAST 3 letters and for some prospects you may mail to them monthly.
5. TEST. At a recent marketing seminar, an attendee asked marketing great, Jay Abraham, what he thought would work best for a marketing campaign, looking for the magic answer, to which Jay replied, “ TEST”. This step is often overlooked as you start getting results with your mailers but by testing you might get even greater results.
Make sure that you take the time to plan out your direct mail campaign so that it is successful and remember to always be consistent in your marketing.
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STACEY,
Greetings from rural Australia.
I started my business from my remote rural property before internet and email came to my rural village.
My only alternative for communicating was direct mail.
Today, I still use it.
In a slightly different way than you suggest.
To talk to my customers.
Many times a year.
A thank you note that’s put inside their mail order parcel.
A very personal thank you note 30 days after I despatch their parcel to say I love you and appreciate your loyalty. I NEVER ask for more business in this note. It’s purely about them and how much I appreciate their custom.
Personal notes in the mail to say thank you for their referrals and orders for gifts.
Reminders their 12 month warranty is about to expire. Are they having any problems?
A yearly brochure to stay in touch.
And any other excuse I can think of to pop something in the mail to them.
I love the mail.
And appreciate that few businesses today have the expertise or desire to use it.
Email is a crowded market. As is the internet.
And talk of social media fatigue is starting to surface.
Personally addressed direct mail no longer bombards the public in Australia.
How times change!
This is a terrific article and I can only support you in your advice to become adept at using the mail.
Best wishes and take care,
Carol
Carol Jones
Director
Interface Pty Ltd
Designers of The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover
http://www.InterfaceAustralia.com
http://bit.ly/TheIroningDiva
http://www.SimpleSolutionsForDifficultProblems.com
Carol, You are amazing how you connect with your clients! I love how you use any opportunity as an excuse to send them something by mail.
For even more ideas of fun holidays, etc you can download my FREE ecourse at http://www.BusinessOptimizerCoach.com/lm
Thanks for your great insight from down under!
~Stacey
STACEY,
Greetings from rural Australia.
That’s a lovely compliment, Stacey. Thank you.
Victor asked me this morning if my intense engagement with my customers is because we’re small.
Absolutely not! I said.
Zappos is a billion dollar company.
Yet CEO Tony Hsieh and his willing band engage with their squillions of customers on a very grass roots level.
Every day.
Engagement is driven from the top.
If you show your customers that you will walk over broken glass for them, you enchant them.
And they, in turn, will happily walk over broken glass for you.
If you don’t, this is what happens. http://bit.ly/SkirmishOverParingKnife
Best wishes and take care,
Carol
Carol Jones
Director
Interface Pty Ltd
Designers of The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover
http://www.InterfaceAustralia.com
http://bit.ly/TheIroningDiva
http://www.SimpleSolutionsForDifficultProblems.com