Lynchburg Business

Direct Mail is Alive and Well in 2010

Issue: March 2010 by David Norcross in Inside The Magazine, Marketing & Sales

With the rise of email, search engine optimization, social media and the like, it appears as if the tried and true method of direct mail has become lost in the shuffle. Of course, looks are sometimes deceiving. Direct mail is more effective today than ever before. However, I believe that anyone who relies solely on one method of marketing and advertising will never recognize the greatest benefit for their marketing dollar.

Before we get too deep into why I believe that direct mail is more effective today, let’s first take a look at how the direct mail industry has changed. First of all, the most effective means of ensuring the best results from any direct mail campaign centers around the mailing list and the effectiveness of that list. Over the last five years, short run, variable data printing has greatly improved and is now providing the opportunity to test lists and verify that you are reaching out to the right demographic. Therefore, rather than sending out 10,000, 50,000, 100,000 pieces or more, you have the ability to test your list and your message against a smaller sample and measure the results accordingly. If you send out a test mail to 200 recipients or less and you do not achieve your goal results, then examine the demographic and the message to ensure that you are reaching your audience in the best possible way.

Please also keep in mind that one main shortfall of any direct mail campaign can be the many postal regulation changes that have taken place in recent years. If your direct mail piece or package does not meet the necessary postal requirements, your mailing may be rejected at the Post Office or your postage rates will increase considerably. Through testing your list and your message, you are also able to determine the pitfalls of your design and determine whether you are maximizing your postage budget.

Enough of the technical stuff—let’s look at what makes direct mail better and why every business should be mailing. Early on, I mentioned email marketing, SEO, social media and the like. Is it less expensive to market your business to Facebook or Twitter? Is it more cost-effective to send out 10,000 emails versus 10,000 printed postcards? Sure it is! However, is less always better? Remember, the emphasis behind any advertising campaign must be about your results. So the question is: What kind of results will you receive from just email or just social media or, for that matter, just direct mail? I think by now you are probably seeing my point as to why direct mail is more effective than any other time in its history.

Most methods of marketing your business are merely vehicles to achieve results and grow your business. Don’t forget, any campaign is about more sales and making more money for you and your organization, unless your company is a non-profit. The difference now compared to years past is that we have more vehicles and, as a result, a greater opportunity for results if used correctly. Your company’s well thought out and tested direct mail piece needs to be the vehicle that drives the rest of your marketing efforts. Keep in mind that other advertising mediums can work together with your direct mail piece to help insure its effectiveness as well.

For example, let’s say you want to develop a marketing campaign to announce a spring special. This should be easy because, at this point, we are all thinking spring! You want to market to a targeted demographic and you have tested your list and are ready to start marketing to the 10,000 names on your list. You could send out 10,000 postcards once or twice and roll the dice hoping that you will get a 2 to 3 percent response. Or, prior to the mailing, you can work to build a following on Facebook or Twitter to add to the same list. As a result, you will be emphasizing the message through your social media outlets and, at the same time, enforce your message through your direct mail campaign. But wait, there is more. Within your postcard you will need to include an offer to visit a landing page with a unique URL, prompting the user to print off a coupon that can be used towards the purchase of your spring special. Now you are driving your audience to yet another vehicle that is measurable and provides you with a way to capture their information.

Let’s assume that someone reads the postcard, goes to your site, provides their contact information and joins your email list before printing out the coupon. At this point, you have a very interested prospect on your hands—one who is ready to buy. Of course, once they sign up for your email list, you should have a series of automated emails going out announcing other specials and products that they can purchase the day of your spring time event. Therefore, as a result of your direct mail campaign, you are not only driving potential clients to your event, you are also building enthusiasm and prompting an up-sell before they even enter your location. Every step of the way throughout this illustration, the direct mail piece is the driving force behind your marketing effort. Sounds easy right? Well it is, very easy and very effective.

Is direct mail alive and well? Yes it is and stronger than ever. Until next time, make marketing your mission…everyday!