In fact, direct response mail is more important than ever before, especially for business owners who want to break through the marketing chaos and reach their customers at the right place and time.
If your company is already using direct mail, you know how valuable this marketing channel can be. Even so, there are always ways to do things better. If you want to make the most of every dollar in your advertising budget, you need to look continually for techniques to enhance your message and boost your response rates. Here are ten tips to get you started.
Include case studies and testimonials in every offer. There is no substitute for direct customer endorsement. Testimonials and case studies are among the top three factors for customer’s purchase decisions.
Incorporate handwritten notes throughout the promotional letter. There is nothing more personal and less invasive than a handwritten “thank you” or “welcome” or “just for you”. Handwriting helps to personalize the message deeper and improves response rates.
State and repeat your message and offer as much as your overall concept allows. Repetition is a powerful tool in the marketing world. I am sure there is no living human left who haven't heard “Just Do It.” The famous Nike’s slogan circulates for over 26 years now.
Provide a customer satisfaction guarantee and highlight it throughout the offer. Customers are most likely to reply to your offer if they know there is no financial risk associated with it. Propose trial period if your product or service are fit for such offer.
Include a photo of yourself and your team in each offer. Photos help create a personal connection between your company and the potential client. Photo builds trust and makes you and your business more real. People are tired of the anonymity behind just a company name; this does not apply to famous and known brands, of course. There are 115 million brands around the world, how many, do you know?
Keep your mailing list clean and up to date. Clean your list first in-house, then use services such as address standardization and move update. If you outsource your direct mail needs, ask the provider if they implement data quality services and insist on sending out only to the “deliverable” records. You do not want to waste postage on messages that never get delivered.
Don’t be afraid to outsource your direct mail marketing campaign, partially or entirely. Processes like mail preparation, copywriting, printing and graphic design are best left to the experts. Investment in professionals for copywriting and graphic design will pay off for itself. Campaigns created and executed by specialists can boost your response rate with 40% and in some cases, even more.
Think thoroughly how you are going to dress your envelopes. What is the best for your product or service: simple white envelope with a live stamp, or an envelope with a huge shouting graphic or message? Consult an expert marketer, and you will not regret that! You want your piece to stand out from the crowd in the prospect’s overstuffed mailbox.
As we mentioned many times before - TRACK! Tracking and analyzing the results is a must for a well planned successful direct mail campaign. Include in each piece some way to make tracking and analyzing your results easier. You can use call tracking, a designated phone number; QR codes, generic or personalized; Special code, to recognize later from which batch and time the respond came from. All of the above will help allocate your budget in a more intelligent way.
Print in large batches and then stagger the mailing over few weeks or months. This way you will get the best per piece price for printing while avoiding paying for the entire campaign at once.
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