Direct mail is an oft-neglected marketing channel that continues to provide excellent results for some of the world’s most prominent organizations. Like all marketing channels, direct mail comes with its unique pros and cons making it an excellent choice for some products and services while being an unviable option for others. One thing that seems to hold companies back from using direct mail is a lack of knowledge of how to run direct mail campaigns. Who do you mail to? How do you get their address? What are the logistics of sending direct mail? If this is you, fear not. Let’s look at the essential elements of a direct mail campaign.
The Product or Service
You’ve built (or are building) your business based on one or more products or services that you offer to meet the needs of prospective customers. Here is a list of companies, industries, products, or services that have seen sustained success via direct mail
- Google Ads (Has your business ever used a postcard to get $150 in free ad spend on Google?)
- Seminars and events
- Car dealerships
- Real estate
- Etc.
If you have questions about your specific product or service with regards to direct mail, call and talk to one of our expert marketing consultants at 1-800-434-1851.
The Offer
An effective direct mail offer delivers two explicit messages to the customer:
- The offer creates a higher perception of value through language that communicates special pricing, discounts, or promotions.
- The offer creates a sense of urgency by creating scarcity with regards to the offer and product or service.
As you craft your offer, be conscious of how it communicates both value and urgency. When done well, these campaigns are capable of substantial ROI gains.
The Mail Piece
The mail piece is the physical content that will land directly in the hands of your prospective clients. The design of your mail piece will ultimately determine the results of your campaign. If the design is difficult to understand and read, potential customers will not be influenced by the offer you’ve crafted. When designed well, even mediocre offers can see above average performance.
Designing a mail piece can be done in-house, but in many instances, this job is outsourced to graphic designers at either a print shop or other marketing group. ANS can help with consulting on your mail piece design or connecting you with reputable mail piece designers. For help with your mail piece, shoot us an email at sales@a-names.com.
The List
You now have a great product or service, a substantial offer, and a well-designed mail piece. With these elements, the next thing you need is a place to send your campaign. Even the best mail piece will return the worst results if the offer never gets in the hands of the right people. Mailing lists are selected based on specific geographic and demographic information and are rented from a list broker, like ANS. Concerning cost, the list rental (typically rented for one send) is one of the most affordable elements of a direct mail campaign.
A reputable list provider will be able to run counts based on your specific geographic and demographic targeting selection to let you know how many records they can provide. Once counts are run, and a particular quantity is ordered, the list of postal addresses can be sent directly to you for mail deployment, or to a mail house that will manage the send for you.
Print and mail
With counts completed and final numbers determined, printing and mailing of your mail piece can commence. For recommendations on professional print and mail shops, reach out to us at 1-800-434-1851.
Tracking
Nothing is more frustrating than being unable to attribute marketing success to the source. With direct mail, it’s crucial to establish tracking protocols before your campaign heads to print. Tracking can be done in a variety of ways including using promotional codes, special phone numbers, unique IDs, and more. For help tracking the results of your direct mail campaign, call us.