These days, it seems that the entire marketing community is centered on Email and Internet marketing. However, if you are a small business owner it would be to your benefit not to over look one of the most powerful and time-tested methods for advertising and marketing your small business - direct mail marketing. It seems this form of marketing has been around forever. Direct mail enables you to bypass the mediums, such as newspapers, publications radio or television and go directly to your target audience by mail.
Whether you choose postcards, fliers, letters or brochures to get your message across, direct mail comprises a marketing combination that allows you to do two things for your business. First, it permits you an opportunity to present your company's product or service to prospective customers. Secondly, you can attempt to close the sale in the same piece. If you are new to direct mail marketing, here are some things you should consider about the world of direct mail marketing.
The key to any direct mail marketing campaign is to obtain the "right" mailing list. You can have the best product, the most attractive offer and the most brilliant sales copy, but your campaign will fall flat if you send your direct mail piece to unqualified people. So, the first thing you should do is identify the individuals or businesses that will be interested in purchasing what it is you are selling.
There are many types of lists, including consumer, business, new homeowners, mortgage lists and more. One of the main advantages of direct mail marketing is the ability to target your marketing message to a very select group of consumers. A good list broker can customize a mailing list by selecting a wide range of variables, including net worth, marital status, estimated home value and homeowner status to help you zero in on your target market. You can even obtain a list of people who have recently purchased items or services that are similar to yours.
You'll also need to drill down to your primary objective for running a direct mail marketing the campaign. The obvious result you are seeking is to sell your products or services. But, the sales process is actually a series of steps that culminate in a sale. There can be any number of steps involved in closing the deal. Case in point, some business owners use direct mail to introduce themselves to the community and gain exposure for their operations or use the sales data to determine whether or not to open new stores in certain geographical locations.
Many companies routinely use direct mail campaigns to generate qualified leads for all types of goods and services. One tactic that is employed by many astute direct mail marketers involves sending out a mailer to introduce potential prospects to their business, products or services. The direct mail piece is then followed up with subsequent post cards letters, or brochures. The beauty of direct mail is that you maintain complete control of how your message is presented to the buyer.
Market research has shown that you can boost the effectiveness of your campaigns by personalizing your mailings, which appeal even more to the targeted audience. This tactic can get your prospects actively involved in the process by the act opening and scanning your offer for at least a few seconds. Although direct mailing is one of the best ways to get your product or service in front of your potential customers, as there are with any form of marketing, there are some inherent disadvantages.
For example, no matter how appealing your material might be, there are just some people who have an aversion to any type of unsolicited offers. Many individuals question their legitimacy. Depending on how well a mailing list is maintained, you should expect to have a percentage of names that are misspelled or the people are deceased. These "undeliverable addresses" are a waste of resources and can drag down the response rate of any campaign.
Every campaign should start with a small "test" to gage the response rate before rolling out the entire operation. The response rate is the percentage of people who respond to the mailing. The success of any direct mail campaign is measured by the response rate. You can easily track and measure the performance of your efforts by including response cards or coded coupons with whatever marketing piece you decide to use. Conventional wisdom states that the average response rate is somewhere around one to three percent.
However, the response range can vary depending on the market/audience you are targeting. If you send a mailing to people who have purchased from you before, you should expect a higher response rate. Conversely, if you are selling luxury items a lower response rate may be totally acceptable. A better approach may be to calculate your "breakeven response rate." It's pretty simple to do. Just figure out how many customer need to buy from you in order to cover the cost of your campaign.
Special training is not required in order to use direct mail. Just identify your market, find a reputable list broker, determine what piece you will be mailing and calculate the cost to produce the piece and the cost of postage. If you're handy on the computer, you may be able to design your mail piece. For people just getting started there is all type of free help available on the Internet and also scores of books on the topic. Direct mail marketing can result in you getting a larger market share of leads and sales in your industry.
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