Is Direct Mail Marketing Still Effective?

With everyone using online email campaigns, social media and SMS messaging for marketing, many companies are wondering if direct mail marketing is still effective.

"When done right," says Sarah Procopio for the Denver Business Journal, "direct mail campaigns can be a highly effective way to generate business from new and existing customers. When done wrong, direct mail can be a very expensive marketing mistake that most businesses are leery of trying again."

So what's the secret to getting it right? Procopio offers four secrets to make your next direct mail campaign a success.

1. Your database is the most important: Who you are sending to can make or break the campaign. Direct mail campaigns are very expensive to print and send out, so make sure your list is well-targeted. You can use in-house lists or buy databases from reputable companies. If you are buying a list, make sure you have them target specific criteria, it costs more, but it is worth the investment.

Make sure you sort through the list, deleting duplicates to maximize your efforts. "Outsource a good mail shop and have it remove duplicates from your list." suggest Procopio. "The mail shop also can send your list through the National Change of Address (NCOA) process. Doing so will update the addresses of people that have recently moved so your mail piece gets to where you want it to go."

Verify the number of pieces that are mailed. Ask your mail shop to supply a postal receipt for all direct mail pieces. 95 percent of your direct mail pieces should reach their destination if your database is clean.

2. "Craft a strong offer" says Procopio. "Crafting a strong offer is crucial to your campaign's success. Often, this is where companies make big mistakes. Generally, the most common mistakes are failing to make a generous offer or failing to word an offer in a way that maximizes response."

The offer should be short and sweet and have a high perceived value. "Dollars off or free item offers always outperform percentage off offers." says Procopio.

3. Test the campaign. Not sure which offer or graphic to use? "Then test them both. It's much less expensive to send out small batches of test pieces to analyze which one drives a better response than it is to invest in a large direct mail campaign that underperforms." suggests Procopio.

4. What is a good response? If you have used direct mail campaigns before and been disappointed when the phone hasn't been ringing off the hook, you are not alone. "A respectable response rate when mailing to an in-house database can range from 10-20 percent." says Procopio. "For prospect mailings, the response is much lower, ranging from .05-1 percent."

The good news is there are many different ways to generate leads in today's market. You need to have a great website, a Facebook business page and other online ways to keep in touch with clients, but there is no substitute for a well-planned direct mail campaign.

Read the full article at Denver Business Journal.

photo credit: -Jeffrey-