Direct Mail Tip #4

4. Establish Credibility
Prospects want to deal with businesses that are experts in their field or marketplace. Here are some techniques that can build this sense of credibility into the direct-mail package:
Add a few quotes from happy customers, it makes prospect comfortable about what you offer. “Taco Palace has the friendliest staff and tastiest food. My kids won’t eat anywhere else! Thanks Taco Palace!” “Bob’s Bug Bashers provided fast and professional service; they showed up 20 minutes before my dinner party to remove a dead rat in the wall. I will always use Bob’s Bug Bashers for all my bug bashing needs!”
If there has been positive press, you may want to add that too. “Taco Palace – Voted Houston’s best Taco 3 Years in a row!” “Bob’s Bug Bashers received the award for most bugs bashed in 2007.”
Name drop (if it is relevant – and true). “Oprah’s favorite taco spot in Houston!” “Bob’s Bug Bashers services the homes of Mayor John Doe and rap star Real-E!”
Include associations you are a part of including the Better Business Bureau.
Make sure the direct mail item is consistently branded with what prospects have seen before from you. This increases recognition and builds consumer confidence. (Just putting your logo somewhere does not count)

Direct Mail Tip #3

3. Encourage a Targeted Response
How do you want these prospects to contact you? Phone? Email? Decide and make that message loud and clear! If you want them to pick up the phone – your phone number should be in at least 2 VERY VISIBLE places. Want them to email? Same deal? Want them to visit your web site? (That can be a slippery slope if you are not using PURL as you are asking for 2 actions – visit web site and then contact us – you may loose some along the way) But always free to promote your site by providing your web address. Those doing research or wanting to learn more about you will appreciate it. Bottom line – contact information should always be clear and easy to read.

Direct Mail Tip #2

Tip #2 Develop a Secondary Offer
Your primary offer will attract prospects that are ready to do business today or in the near future. However, this represents only a small fraction of the potential market. Therefore, you need to make a secondary offer to attract those prospects who are not ready to buy right now but may have a need in three, six or 12 months. This secondary offer can be a free booklet, special report, brochure, fact sheet, free gift or other item the reader can calling or visiting your site or PURL. Going back to our taco example, it could be something like, “Purchase a $25 Taco gift card and get a $5 Taco gift card for yourself!” Stress the primary offer with strong graphics all over your mailing. The secondary offer needs to be visible, but think of it as a “P.S.” in terms of the impact it needs to make visually. For our exterminator your message could be “Call today to request your FREE 3 Simple Steps to a Pest Free Home Guide”

Tips on developing a Direct Mail Campaign

Over the next several days I will give you tips on how to best develop your direct mail pieces. Here is the first one.

enjoy…

Tip #1. Develop A Primary Offer
If you sell something – tacos, make-up or elephant dung – that is pretty simple. Create an offer that would interest clients like, “Free Taco Tuesdays for Kids”. If you are in a service industry – accountant, home design, exterminator – this step may not appear easy, but it is! It is a two-step process. FIRST you have build the value of the service to your audience – then you can offer them things like a free consultation, discounted rate on hourly services, or free evaluation. Here is a good example, “We will inspect your home for pests at no cost and make recommendations on how you can avoid future infestation, while saving you 10% on your first home treatment.”

Effective Direct Mail Campaigns

Many of you may have tried direct mail marketing only to feel like it was a waste of time, energy and money. Why did your campaign not perform? What type of response were you expecting and how did you measure that response. I am sharing this information with you because I want you to succeed – not just with your direct mail campaigns – but in everything you do.

Here is what you should know about direct mail
The average response rate for the 1,122 industry-specific campaigns that the DMA studied was 2.61%. Within sectors, nonprofit fundraisers enjoy the most success with direct response, getting rates of 5.35%. Close behind are retail stores (with 3.36%) and establishments selling services to businesses (3.34%). Manufacturing delivers 3.17%; personal and repair services 3.07%; and travel 2.98%. The two sectors at the bottom of the list — computer/electronic products and packaged goods — still get better than 2% response. Variable Print Campaigns increase the response rate by up to +5%.
(From http://www.directmag.com)

So what does that mean to you?
Have a reasonable expectation. If you send out 1,000 postcards to a qualified mailing list, you should expect about 20 people to respond (don’t confuse respond with purchase). Make it a variable print campaign and that number could up to as high as 75 people.

Here are some tips to have a successful direct mail campaign.

• Use a qualified mailing list. Seems like a no brainer, but often companies miss this step.
• Have a reasonable expectation on the return. Don’t expect a 50% response. It isn’t going to happen.
• Take advantages of new technologies to drive up and track your response rate.
• Variable printing (where you can customize the message on each card to be relevant to the recipient) has great power and will increase your response if done correctly. (Not those stupid postcards you get with a billboard that has your name on it – very, very lame.
• Personalized URL (PURL) allows you to add a URL to your campaign where recipients can log on to get their offer. For example, you can offer a generic 10% discount for your product or service, but then have a second “Visit http://www.personalizedurl.com and get 20% off!” When they arrive, you can give them what you have offered, ask them to take a survey, gather more information from them etc. It is a win-win for everyone.

Make sure you direct mail campaign is strongly branded and consistent with other items you may already have out there. You want your prospects to recognize you and have a sense of familiarity when they receive the item. Working with a graphic designer can be a very critical key to this process. For example, you send out your item, someone goes to your website and they leave because they think they are at the wrong place – there is no visual consistency to tie your messages together.