Many businesses use direct mail marketing because it works. In 2014, $44.5 billion was spent in the United States on this kind of marketing. Its efficacy may be due to the fact that so many people enjoy checking their mail. At least 62% of Americans say that they like looking at their mail (at least 63% of Canadians feel the same way). Not only do people like checking their mail, they like direct mail materials. At least 73% of American consumers say they prefer to get marketing in the mail than other ways because they say they can review it and digest it on their own schedule. If your company wants to increase its client and customer base, it might be worth it to look at this. You do not have to plan your campaigns months in advance, you can go with 24 hour rush printing or do it within a few weeks.
Tips to Make the Most of Your Direct Marketing Campaign:
- Provide something your customers and clients can use. Nearly 84% of promotional materials that have a company’s logo are retained by people who receive them. Send people items they can use, and they will use them. Notepads, phone books and pens are always needed by most people. It may cost a little more to send these out in the mail but you will increase your reach by doing this. Think about what your customers and clients need.
- Give people a deal that has an expiration date. If you sell a seasonal product like flea protection for cats and dogs, send a coupon that needs to be used right away. Your mailer does not have to have been printed in a 24 hour rush printing job to have an urgency to it. The date should not be two days after your mailer goes out but within a few weeks. This will also help you see how successful your campaign is.
- Lumpy mail gets open more often. If you are sending mail that needs to be opened, you need to make sure (as much as you can) that recipients actually open it. Flat mail has a much lower open rate than mail that is lumpy. People get curious about what is making that package lumpy so they open it. This is another reason to include some promotional item that your customer and client base can actually use. Some estimate that this kind of mail has an open rate of nearly 100%.
- Do you have product samples you can include? Do you sell a product for which you can send samples? These are often great for mailers and to get people into your shop. If you sell specialty pet food, send some pet treats. These interactive mail pieces have a high return on investment.
- Be creative but smart with your text. Think about how much time your average person will spend reading your mailer. Regardless of if you spent a lot of time printing it or did a 24 hour rush printing job, most people do not have a long attention span, nor do they spend a lot of time looking at your mailer so you need to make your text creative and impactful. Make it easy to read and punchy.
- Consider sending your mail with a stamp. Mail that has been sent through a machine for the postage to be added looks different than mail with a stamp and people do respond differently to each kind of mail. You mail will look more personal if it has a stamp on it. Price out your options and try one of your mailings with stamps. Monitor that and see if your response rate is better. It can be worth the extra money to get a better return on investment.
People do not always consider mass mailings they get to be “junk mail.” If you use a good printing company, and 24 hour rush printing jobs are sometimes very cost effective if you can capitalize on an external event or opportunity, you should, you can get a lot from your direct mail marketing campaigns. The main thing is to make your mailers useful, impactful and helpful to your customer and client base.
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