Making Direct Mail An Effective Marketing Tool

Also, according to Vertis’ annual Customer Focus Survey, direct mail readership is growing in high-income demographics. For example, weekly direct mail readership is growing significantly among adults with $75K+ household incomes.

The Mailing List

Whether your firm is distributing a newsletter, announcing pricing changes or distributing direct mail as a preneed lead generator, your mailing list is the biggest factor in determining performance. Ray Jutkins, a direct mail marketing guru, suggests using the 60-30-10 formula, meaning 60 percent of your campaign’s success will depend on your list, 30 percent on content and 10 percent on the creativity of the piece.

Smaller, more refined prospect lists will provide a higher success rate than a massive, blanket-style campaign. By taking the time to prospect, you will save time in the long run.

Before starting any direct mail campaign, make sure to revise the existing list. According to the Koch Group, an industrial marketing solutions firm, lists 12-18 months old are up to 30 percent inaccurate. Duplicates, address changes or incorrect information sends your campaign directly into the trashcan. Misspelling a prospect’s name and address or repeating a mailing also hurts your reputation in the eyes of the prospect.

Take a good look at your accurate list and set criteria that segments your list into categories such as old leads, new leads, opt-in, etc. This will help your firm determine what areas work best for direct mail. For example, if your firm finds mailing to older leads are less successful than similar mailings to newer leads; perhaps your firm cuts back on mailings to the former list.

Once you have taken the time to develop a list, use it properly. A list is an asset to your firm. Should you over-mail or pass it along to subsidiaries, the value of your list declines rapidly.

The Content

When developing the copy for your piece, the language is very important. Following these tips will help your piece stand out:

• Be clear and concise. Do not jumble your message with industry jargon a consumer may not understand.
• Keep the language conversational. Similarly to the first tip, there is no need to wow consumers with your vocabulary
• Use the active tense. Overuse of passive voice can cause your copy to seem flat and uninteresting.
• Try to generate a lead, not a sale. Direct mail cannot work miracles, but it should get your consumers interested enough to send back the business reply card or give your firm a call.
• Create a deadline. Deadlines are great ways to generate urgency within your consumer, perhaps encouraging them to take the next step.
• Include testimonials. Testimonials are powerful tools. Make sure you receive approval from the sources before printing.

The Creative

While the 60-30-10 formula believes that creativity is only responsible for 10 percent of your direct mail campaign's success, that does not mean it should be an afterthought. To determine what you think will work with your customers, go through your own mail and hold on to the designs that you like. Show these to your designer to get the ball rolling.

You can also visit http://www.usps.com/directmail for additional creative ideas.

Finally, do not stop with sending just one direct mail piece. Corresponding pieces should be sent regularly, at least four times a year.

Share your direct mail tips or success stories at the Preneedville Coffee Shop.