You have probably been reading a lot about how direct mail is dead and it is completely useless for business now that the internet has taken over. However, many of those articles do not hold any substance, merit, or solutions they are simply opinions.I will say that only ‘bad’, untracked, and rushed direct mail is dead...as it should be.
At BIG we hear a lot of questions about direct mail: What should I put on my direct mail? When should I do it? And, how can I get more out of my money? We answer a lot of them with another question: are you generating any leads through direct mail or even are you just dumping money into it? The general response is ‘well, I don’t know.’
Direct mail may be dead for some industries but for most B2C & B2B industries it simply needs a revival. Here are 6 ways to breathe new life into your direct mail campaigns for your company:
Call Tracking and Analytics
Taking the steps to create more efficient direct mail campaigns means understanding how they are currently performing. By understanding how your campaigns are working you can make adjustments for the next campaign to improve its efficiency.
Solution: Have a separate line for each campaign. Buy an 800 number or a local promotional phone number to get a basic idea of who is calling and how they heard about you. This will allow you to track and perform analysis on the different campaign conversions.
Segmenting and Testing to See What Really Works
As you may have already experienced not every direct mail campaign works. Once you understand how your campaigns are working you should start by segmenting those that work and trash those that didn’t.
Solution: Try different campaigns in small portions before sending out the large batch. Segment the things that work and put the things that didn’t on the back burner. Don’t get rid of them though as they may one day work with a few adjustments.
Strategic Geographic Campaign Focus
You should really treat this tip as a science. Not every city or town, or person or business will need your services; if you are directing your campaigns to the wrong audience, you’re just wasting your money.
Solution: Map out your target marketing area. Keep these things in mind:
• Income
• Home/Business Size
• Past clients in area
• Education
• Cultural Deomgraphic
Once you have these statistics you can target your offerings around your clients demographics. Again, this is a science and raw data like this will go a long way.
Timing & Seasonality
Timing of your direct mail campaigns is extremely important. There are so many variables you have to take into consideration:
• Seasonality (winter, summer, spring, fall)
• Disposable income based on taxes and spending over the course of a year
• School and summer vacation
You must be aware of how to react to any time period or season. Spend time deciding what to say and how to adapt your message.
Solution: Craft your promotions and offerings around the season and timing of certain events. Also, keep in mind that if you’re entering your busy season now you can’t forget to plan your marketing campaigns at least 2-3 months out to make sure you line yourself up with enough leads to get you through the slow season.
Custom URL’s for Each Campaign
The internet is a powerful marketing tool and when used efficiently with direct mail you can reach an audience that may never have known you existed before.
Solution: Have your web developer or create custom URL’s based on the specific campaign. For example on your landing page have a URL specific to the season: www.arwright.ca/spring2011. This will allow you to further track and analyze your direct mail campaigns as well.
Craft a Compelling Message
Just like with internet marketing your message has to be compelling and catch their attention within a few seconds. The beauty the direct mail though is the prospect has something tangible to reference back to.
Incorporate Social Media
Social media reaches hundreds of millions of people and can also be used as a reference for your business.
Solution: Incorporate your social media URL’s to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and most importantly on your direct mail. For a more subtle approach include a “Follow Us” with the logos of where they can find you on social media.
At BIG we hear a lot of questions about direct mail: What should I put on my direct mail? When should I do it? And, how can I get more out of my money? We answer a lot of them with another question: are you generating any leads through direct mail or even are you just dumping money into it? The general response is ‘well, I don’t know.’
Direct mail may be dead for some industries but for most B2C & B2B industries it simply needs a revival. Here are 6 ways to breathe new life into your direct mail campaigns for your company:
Call Tracking and Analytics
Taking the steps to create more efficient direct mail campaigns means understanding how they are currently performing. By understanding how your campaigns are working you can make adjustments for the next campaign to improve its efficiency.
Solution: Have a separate line for each campaign. Buy an 800 number or a local promotional phone number to get a basic idea of who is calling and how they heard about you. This will allow you to track and perform analysis on the different campaign conversions.
Segmenting and Testing to See What Really Works
As you may have already experienced not every direct mail campaign works. Once you understand how your campaigns are working you should start by segmenting those that work and trash those that didn’t.
Solution: Try different campaigns in small portions before sending out the large batch. Segment the things that work and put the things that didn’t on the back burner. Don’t get rid of them though as they may one day work with a few adjustments.
Strategic Geographic Campaign Focus
You should really treat this tip as a science. Not every city or town, or person or business will need your services; if you are directing your campaigns to the wrong audience, you’re just wasting your money.
Solution: Map out your target marketing area. Keep these things in mind:
• Income
• Home/Business Size
• Past clients in area
• Education
• Cultural Deomgraphic
Once you have these statistics you can target your offerings around your clients demographics. Again, this is a science and raw data like this will go a long way.
Timing & Seasonality
Timing of your direct mail campaigns is extremely important. There are so many variables you have to take into consideration:
• Seasonality (winter, summer, spring, fall)
• Disposable income based on taxes and spending over the course of a year
• School and summer vacation
You must be aware of how to react to any time period or season. Spend time deciding what to say and how to adapt your message.
Solution: Craft your promotions and offerings around the season and timing of certain events. Also, keep in mind that if you’re entering your busy season now you can’t forget to plan your marketing campaigns at least 2-3 months out to make sure you line yourself up with enough leads to get you through the slow season.
Custom URL’s for Each Campaign
The internet is a powerful marketing tool and when used efficiently with direct mail you can reach an audience that may never have known you existed before.
Solution: Have your web developer or create custom URL’s based on the specific campaign. For example on your landing page have a URL specific to the season: www.arwright.ca/spring2011. This will allow you to further track and analyze your direct mail campaigns as well.
Craft a Compelling Message
Just like with internet marketing your message has to be compelling and catch their attention within a few seconds. The beauty the direct mail though is the prospect has something tangible to reference back to.
Incorporate Social Media
Social media reaches hundreds of millions of people and can also be used as a reference for your business.
Solution: Incorporate your social media URL’s to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and most importantly on your direct mail. For a more subtle approach include a “Follow Us” with the logos of where they can find you on social media.
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