It never amazes me to see really good business people who are great at what they do think they can “do” marketing, and in particular direct mail – it’s a mine field. I’m a true believer that if you’re good at something then you should stick to it, but if you’re not, why not give it to someone aka a pro (did I just call myself a pro) who is. Working on this premise I’ve put together 10 top tips on Direct Mail Marketing which that if followed will hopefully gain you the response you need, want and deserve.
Direct Mail Marketing Tips:
1 – Decide what your objectives are i.e. making direct sales, maintaining customer relationships or generating new business?
2 – Identify your target market which you’ll find is normally similar to your existing client bank. Make this list geographical as you may not want to be travelling to gain the business?
3 – Establish your budget before you start; consider how much one response is worth to your company. Do this by working out an average job value which can be done by looking at last year’s invoices and dividing that figure by how many jobs brought you that business – rocket science at its best
4 – Make sure the timings of the mailing are right, so avoid holidays and quiet periods as there is no point sending out to recipients who aren’t there – simple!
5 – Build your own database keeping it up to date as there is nothing worse than sending a mailer to someone who no longer works there, it’s also a waste of money! Make sure you log all records for new enquires that come in, and don’t let those business cards (collecting dust on the side) you collected at the networking functions go to waste as they are part of your direct mail marketing database! There are some neat tricks Excel VBA can do here to save you time.
6 – If you haven’t got a relevant database why not consider buying one from a reputable supplier who will be able to target your audience. The main reason I suggest buying from a reputable company is because of the data protections act – careful!
7 – Don’t write the copy yourself, instead hire a great copywriter who will tell your story better than you will. Have a great “call to action”, offer benefits and tell your audience what you leave them with, not what you do for them.
8 – Design the mailing to stand out from your competition by using a top printer / quality coloured envelope and/or by applying a stamp as this WILL gain you a better response – BE BOLD!
9 – Encourage responses from the end use, make it easy for them to reply by offering many avenues whereby this is possible. Main reason being, everyone responses differently and not in the way you want them too.
10 – Make sure you … Read More...