Many people say that direct mail prospecting doesn’t work, which may be true if there is no strategy behind the action. Sending a flyer out to different masses will yield different results than sending a thoughtful item and message to a carefully chosen group. With online activity consistently increasing there is an opportunity to stand out with direct mail since few people are doing it anymore.
Direct mail prospecting is one of the easiest marketing techniques to implement and is without question one of the most effective.
It is not very hard to understand why the direct mail sequence works. Think about how you buy things.
It happens very often that you may have laid a brochure or catalogue intending to make a purchase. But things come up and you promise yourself that you will get it to later. Finally you buy when another catalog or brochure shows up in the mail to remind you, perhaps weeks or a month later. Aside from acting as a reminder a direct mail also works in a series of other mails:
- It allows you to further educate the customer. In direct prospecting you get a chance to include supporting material such as testimonials, case studies, videos, a personalized message, free sample of your product and more.
- You can test various offers. As people respond differently to different offers. For instance, one client may not care about paying the full at the time of purchase but loves free shipping. On the other hand, the other person may need to budget the purchase over six months.
- A direct mail boosts your odds of hitting the client at the right time. Aside from having an urgent need clients are ready to buy only when they are ready to buy. When you send more letters you increase your odds of acquiring a new client.
Tips to making your Direct Mail Prospecting a success
Focus on highly targeted, high probability prospect
Before deciding to send an item or collateral via direct mail, it is important to figure out exactly who you will be sending it to. Instead of sending a mailing list to 10,000 people you want to be very very focused. Cherry-pick the prospects that you are going to mail. It is important to consider what kind of pain they are in and what kind of message they will resonate with. And if your company has a buyer persona determined, then it makes it easier to run different direct mail campaigns specific to each buyer persona. Find a very targeted group of prospects that are highly profitable prospects for you. Tailor your messages specifically to them
Maximise creativity
You might have received something in your mail- and even if you didn’t buy anything- you remember who sent it because of how creative it was. Sending a creative yet memorable direct mail is a gesture that is memorable and increases the chances of internal discussion.
Tracking
Direct mail requires accurate tracking. Tracking all respondent touch points including website visits, inbound phone calls and internet form submissions. Lead conversions to sales are critical because lead quality varies dramatically by offer, mailing list source and channel.
Balance
Direct mail requires balance between all direct response success predictors. These include selling in-demand products, good offers, channel integration, excellent creative execution and thoughtful targeting. Poor quality in any of these areas will make the difference between success and failure. So test all these variables or take the help of an expert, with as much diversity as possible to uncover a control position that yields an acceptable profit.
Persistent testing
Direct mail marketing requires more than a single test to proceed. Test, test and test again until the winning combination reveals itself.
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