The ABCs of Direct Mail Marketing
Studies from the 2015 DMA Response Rate Report prove direct mail outperforms all digital channels by nearly 700% in terms of response rates. If you haven’t integrated direct mail into your marketing mix, now is a great time to graduate to the next level — that is, if you want to drive new business! Like all marketing campaigns, a vision and plan are integral aspects to producing a successful outcome. While the ins and outs of direct mail are not always elementary, we’ve created these simple ABCs to help you school the competition.
A: Audience
Developing a relevant campaign is a shot in the dark if you don’t have a great understanding of your ideal client. So, the best starting point for a direct marketing campaign is to define your target audience. If you already know your customers and target prospects well, you can use your insight to develop a marketing piece that will not only grab their attention, but will also prompt them to take action.
If you don’t know your customers well, don’t sweat it. Our list and data specialists can analyze your house list, and bounce it against external databases to garner key demographics about your clients.
- You can use these details to develop your piece, making informed decisions on design and offers
- You can append your list with these details to create a relevant variable data piece to appeal to each individual recipient
- We can utilize these details to locate prospects who look like your best customers so you can grow your business effectively
No in-house list? Our team can source many types of occupant, consumer, business and specialty lists tailored to your business needs. You can read more on our list services here.
B: Be Timely
Even with a spot-on understanding of your audience, killer design and motivating offer, you may be destined to hear crickets in terms of response if your timing is off. As with most things in life, timing can be everything in direct marketing. When promoting a sale or event, if you reach your audience too early, you are likely to be forgotten. If you reach your audience too late, you’ll likely have a small turnout. If you send a multi-card campaign, but space the pieces too close or too far apart, your efforts may not be rewarded.
Targeting your ideal in-home date is essential, but selecting the appropriate turnaround time, postage option and managing your campaigns to be sure they stay on track can get to be a lot. Consider Modern Postcard your direct mail partner. Our experienced Direct Marketing Specialists can work with you to ensure your pieces hit your customers and prospects when they are most likely to make the greatest impact.
C: Content
The benefit of knowing your audience well is that you can create a relevant piece. Rather than a one-size-fits-all message, appeal to your specific audience through imagery, design and verbiage that actually speaks their language. If you have a diverse audience that may be attracted to different styles, consider a variable data campaign where you can change imagery and messaging based on demographics.
Once you’ve grabbed the attention of your audience, you need to compel them to act. Your call-to-action must result in the next move and your offer must result in sales. Otherwise, your campaign is a bust. For larger campaigns, consider testing a few like-pieces with varying offers to see which offer results in the best response. Once you know which offer is the strongest for your audience, you can use it for the remainder of your campaign and proceed confidently knowing your campaign is queued up for success.
By Modern Postcard
Call a Direct Marketing Specialist at 800.959.8365.