Should Direct Marketing — particularly Direct Mail — be part of your mix?

 

Direct Marketing — also known as Direct Response Marketing and Database Marketing — is a highly-targeted marketing approach. Why would you "target" just anybody? 

 

Direct Marketing is an approach, a subset of marketing and usually includes Prospect and Customer Data, Offer/CTA, sophisticated benefit-oriented creative selling approaches designed to elicit response. It can include almost any medium — social, email, direct mail (flat and 3-dimensional), print ads, digital ads, Direct Response TV and radio, billboards, retargeting, using channels effectively, and more.

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You can gain leads and sales via phone response… provide promo or access codes and links, and drive people to a landing page or website… build a higher level of awareness and engagement, and much more.

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So you say "I've tried Direct Mail Marketing, and it doesn't work?  Just what have you tried?!

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When we talk about helping clients reach targeted markets, and recommend Direct Mail Marketing, we often hear:

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"We're tried it… it doesn't work."

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"It's too expensive… email is no cost."

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Yes, that's what some people say. But don't tell that to people who are killing it with Direct Mail! And good direct mail gains and holds the attention of prospects longer, and converts at higher rates — than any other medium.

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Direct Mail Marketing needs a number of factors to work, to make it successful:

1. Good understanding of your audience before you start

2. Good database to reach your targeted audience  — these can be "house" lists: purchased or traded

3. A segmented approach — if your messaging really meets the needs of the target segment, you're way ahead of the game

4. Your Offer/CTA must be strong — why should they respond now?

5.  Your Creative must be engaging — get their attention with benefits- oriented thinking.

6. You are testing key components noted above, and tweaking further with elements such as formats to gain response or reduce cost.

7. Analyze your results, and level-up in the next round of tests, and your roll-out.

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If you put all that together properly… most companies can print money.

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When does Direct Response Marketing work best?

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This approach works best when highly targeted... and it's highly valuable for small and large companies and non-profits.  Your customer database is your strongest resource in this regard. And if it's segmented and ready to go to market via an effective  CRM system, even better.

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Email and direct mail are proven workhorses for this targeted marketing approach.  And an integrated approach — using multiple media in your campaign is always the most effective of approaches. 

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Direct Mail ain't dead. It never was.

 

"Snail Mail" is way more powerful and cost effective than you might have thought, and can integrate digitally with online media. Believe it or not, it's more cost-effective, and time-efficient than building a following of social media tire kickers.

 

"Paper" puts your message in the hands of your prospects and customers, in an infinite variety of formats, for their full attention.

 

We get to employ dimension and folding, and paper texture and color and special effects like gloss, emboss and foil stamp, and even surprises, as your prospects sift through your offer with their full attention. And direct mail has longer "legs"... often people start to read, then have it sit around their desks, creating additional impressions.

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Direct Mail is the most flexible and powerful medium you have in marketing

 

And if you have select high-end prospects, or a must-sell higher-ticket offering, we can help you gain high impact among these key prospects, C-Level executives, and other special must-get audiences, with 3-Dimensional promotional mailings. We break through here, where other approaches fall flat.

 

Dimensional mailings cut through the clutter with highest response rates —  engaging key prospects with this highest-impact breakthrough messaging, engagement, and response.