Direct mail is an effective, low-risk method for businesses to market to new and existing clients. It's more affordable than advertising through mass media or highway billboards and you can easily track the results. Direct mail gives you a proven medium to get customer responses, draw people to your storefront or website, and build awareness in your corporate brand.
The concept of direct mailing sounds simple enough...
The concept of direct mailing sounds simple enough: send a promotional postcard, letter, door hang card or bag, newspaper polybag, etc. to increase interest in your business and generate sales. In practice, however, there are several important decisions to make before you begin your campaign - everything from the type of mailing you want to send to your overall budget.
Direct mailing considerations
The most important decision is figuring out who your audience is. Direct mailing requires a significant investment of time and money and you risk wasting both if you don't target the appropriate candidates. Narrow your audience in steps: are you trying to create new business, or encourage existing customers to return? Are you selling to particular geographies or demographics? Once you know the audience, you can start planning the mailing itself.
Next, hone in on the offer. This is the part of your direct mailing that your customers will care about the most. Are you selling a new product? Is it a one-time sale where your customers can save a lot of money? Do they have a limited window of opportunity to take advantage of your offer? Your mailing needs to showcase something the customer finds valuable or useful (lika a coupon or sample) and provide enough information about how to get it.
Then, consider your budget. The biggest mistake businesses make when exploring direct mailing is to overlook the largest single cost: postage. You can cut corners on design, paper quality, and other aspects of your project, but you can't skimp on postage. While we can help you get significant discounts on postage, it will still account for about one third of your total costs. The budget will determine the rest of your direct mail considerations:
How many pieces? What type of mailing? Options range from a simple door hang card to a multi-coupon, multi-sample door hang bag with a multi-page full-color brochure inserted in it. It all depends on what you have to offer and how much you want to spend.
Who creates the piece? If you have staff that can write effective marketing copy and create the design, you save money on those services. If not, we or your ad agency can develop the messaging and design for an hourly fee or on a flat rate.
Be realistic
Even the most successful direct mailings only result in a small response rate and yield even fewer sales. It's important to be realistic about your expected results so you can appropriately determine how much to spend on developing your mailing.
Preparing your direct mail
The success of direct mail is dictated by the "100% effectiveness rule": 40% of the results depend on the list, 40% on the offer, and 20% on the creative. Essentially, the strength of the messaging is responsible for more than half of your efforts in a direct mailing.
Nobody knows what you're offering better than you, so if you have people on staff or at your ad agency that can write efficiently, that's often the best route to creating a successful direct mail piece. Make sure the copy gets to the point immediately. It should focus on the benefits of your offer in the first few sentences and carefully describe how customers can take advantage of it.
Your ad agency can develop your message with simple but creative marketing copy to help you get a better response. They will draw upon their years of experience to write copy similar to that which has worked for previous customers.
The mail doesn't need to do the selling; it just needs to interest customers enough to contact you. Similarly, if you don't have designers on staff to create your mailing piece, either your ad agency or us can do that work for you as well.
Appropriate messaging
Once you put together your direct mail piece, review it carefully to make sure your message addresses the following:
Is there effective personalization?
Have you addressed the target audience's needs?
Is the piece distinctive and visually appealing?
Do the headlines and subheads tell the story?
Do the visuals support the copy, especially the offer?
Is the offer prominent?
Is the offer relevant to your target audience?
Was the offer clearly described?
Did you make it easy for customers to get more information?
Is it clear what customers must do to take advantage of the offer?
Mailing lists (businesses and consumers)
While postage is the primary expense, the mailing list is the most crucial part of direct mail services. If you don't invest in a quality, updated list, you could be setting your mailing up for instant failure.
We work with list brokers that maintain their mailing lists with hundreds of thousands of names of businesses and consumers that are viable candidates for receiving direct mail. They do extensive database work to remove outdated or undeliverable addresses. Most mailing list brokers provide guarantees that their lists will be accurate and updated and will provide replacement names if their lists perform below a certain level.
The benefit to using mailing lists is that you can select various filters to hone in on the audience you want to reach. You can go after customers who have expressed an interest in the products you offer, or based on demographics, income, lifestyle, purchasing habits, and even credit rating. The more filters you choose, the better your response rate will be, but you'll pay more per-name for the most targeted lists.
Depending on your industr and business size, it is possible that the most effective mailing lists for direct mail are those you generate in-house. By compiling the names and addresses of current customers, you have an instant qualified list of candidates. You simply need to maintain the list and keep it up to date. If you operate a smaller business, you might not have a large enough list to make direct mail worthwhile. Often, you can supplement your list with a vendor's list to get to the minimum number of names required.
Printing and designing
If you have staff with a creative eye for design or if you alerady work with an ad agency, they can develop the design of the mailing and send us the files. Otherwise, we can create a design based on your specifications for an flat fee.
Once the design is completed, we will take charge of the final proofing or we can also send you the final materials for proofing. Look for any syntax errors or design mistakes before approving it for printing. At this stage, you only want to make necessary revisions. Any additional work can delay the mailing and/or cost extra.
Presorting, labeling, assembling, and delivery
Depending on the type of mailing, our suppliers will affix address labels or use ink jet printing directly on the mailing piece. This process can also involve folding, stuffing envelopes, sealing or stapling together materials, or assembling various parts of a multi-page mailer. They then group the pieces together by postal code or carrier route before bringing them to the post office for shipment.
Choosing Denise Hobbs Marketing vs trying on your own
Most businesses prefer working with a single direct mail company rather than a slew of individual vendors. But don't overlook companies that only perform specific services, particularly if you are doing some of the work on your own. However, you may not feel in control of your mailing since you need to get input from multiple mail service vendors at once.
The real differences between multiple vendors and Denise Hobbs Marketing are customer service, experience and cost. You want a supplier that will not only be fully attentive to your needs, but is also easy to contact if you have questions or concerns.
Experience also goes a long way in the industry. A direct mail company that's been in business for 10 to 20 years has the longevity and a track record you can trust. Experienced vendors can also help you save money because they know where to find the best discounts, whether it's during the presorting process, or by using a printing method that uses two colors rather than four without quality loss.
TIP: Never select a vendor based on price alone. If something seems way too low, find out why. You don't want to risk getting stuck with a junky mailing list or amateurish design and copy.
Direct Mail Services Tips
Combination marketing. Using an additional marketing technique with your direct mail campaign can result in increased response. You can simply follow-up a direct mail with an email or phone call to gauge interest and take any questions about your product or service. Avoid direct faxing: it's not only ineffective, it's illegal.
Environmentally friendly mailings. Most direct mail pieces are now made of recycled materials, use it to your advantage when doing a direct mail. Not only will you save money on raw materials, you can let customers know that you used recycled stationary. You can also suggest they "recycle this mailing when done."
Recognizable file formats. If you are creating your own design work for your direct mail, make sure you ask us which file formats we use. It will help avoid delays and allow the supplier to get started with your mailing immediately.
New dimensions. If unusually sized mailings are your preference, ask us for cost and supplier capabilities before making any decisions. Most suppliers can do dimensional mailings, but the processing will likely cost more since they can't run awkward shaped items through their printers.
People love freebies. Concerned about the stigma of junk mail? Most customers will look past an unsolicited mail piece if they are getting something for free. A coupon or a sample can be something concrete that will make sure your direct mail gets the attention you were aiming for.
Don’t wait any longer and contact us now to get more information!
