Direct mail marketing has proven, time and again, to be a wise investment for many businesses. With a good return on investment and broad reach, it creates a unique opportunity to connect with current and potential customers. What is even better is that commercial mail services make it easy to launch a direct mail campaign. Their direct print-to-mail services will allow you to attract the customers you want with minimal effort on your part.
Direct mail has a long history, and over the years, marketing professionals have come to understand what works and what doesn’t when it comes to reaching their audience. If you’re exploring the potential of marketing via mail, these best practices will help get you off to an excellent start. If you are about to embark on the journey of using mail to expand your business, here is what you need to know.
Do:
Make it Stand Out
You have a statement to make, and direct mail is the perfect way to do it. But your mail has to stand out from the crowd in order to get the kind of attention you need. There are many ways you can make this happen. Whether you use eye-catching design, catchy taglines, or promotions customers can’t pass up, people need to be intrigued by your message. Creating interest in what you offer will lead people to consider spending their hard-earned money on your product.
Define Your Target Audience
One of the greatest advantages of using direct mail to advertise is the ability to filter your distribution list and hone in on your target customers. You have endless options based on what you offer and the kind of customers that you want to attract. You can filter your list by geographic location, demographics, political leanings, or age. What this does is it gives you the ability to hand-pick the type of customer you are after. Your marketing will only go to people within your target market, saving you money and giving you a better return on investment.
Personalize
Once you have narrowed down your list, you need to draw the customers in. A great way to do this is by personalizing your direct mail. You can work with your direct mail provider to create the perfect marketing for each individual on your list. Use an individual’s name and what you know about them to tailor a message that hits perfectly because it is custom-tailored.
Don’t:
Overlook Errors
Sending mail is your opportunity to attract attention and establish a strong brand identity. This is your opportunity to show your customer base and dream clients exactly what you have to offer them. When you send something that shows up looking polished and professional, you look like a million bucks. If you send something that looks sloppy and uses cheap materials, you may make a bad impression. Whether it’s a typo or incorrect information, those details matter and reflect on your business. This is why it is crucially important to partner with the best. When you work with a tried-and-true professional with years of experience and an eye trained for perfection, you can avoid any errors.
Send it to the Wrong People
A strong part of a marketing campaign is identifying the perfect customer. Once you’ve identified the types of people who will become your best source of revenue, you can go after your ideal customers. When you send your message to the wrong audience, you will likely get a poor response. Even if someone receives an excellent piece of direct mail, they won’t respond if it isn’t relevant to them. Using the tools that are available to help you find your perfect customers may increase your odds of getting positive results.
Forget to Analyze Your Response Rate
One of the perks of direct mail is that you have the opportunity to learn, grow, tweak, and refine. Direct mail provides a unique opportunity to gather data based on the recipients’ behaviors. A strong response rate means that you hit the right audience with the right message. A poor response rate indicates that something is off and provides an opportunity to make it right the next time around. When you ignore your response rate, you run the risk of repeating the same mistake, leading to wasted money and lost revenue opportunities. You can use tricks like tracking coupon codes to get a good idea of how many people respond to your marketing.
The best is yet to come for your business. Connecting with the right customers could be what stands between you and increased profits. Developing a strong brand identity, refining your message, and marketing to the right people could be key to making this connection. A well-executed direct mail campaign can accomplish all of these things.
If you are ready to explore mail as your next avenue for marketing, partnering with a trusted mail service provider is a wise move. Not only can they make your vision come to life, but they can do it quickly and easily. Professional print and mail companies offer state-of-the-art equipment, well-trained staff, and years of experience. You will be capable of so much more by adding the expertise of a mail professional to your team.
