Tips For Success

Tips For Success

Many marketers spend a lot of time and money in the production of the mail piece itself and the actual mailing of the piece. You can have a great product and an attractive mail piece, but if you do not have the proper target market all of your efforts have gone to waste. The mailing list is a key component in any direct marketing campaign. You should not compromise your marketing efforts by cutting corners on the purchase of your mailing lists. Study your product or offer and determine your best target.

Consider the following :
Who would want or need to purchase my product?
Should I market to businesses or households?
How will my product benefit the consumer?
Can I market my product nationwide?
How can a direct marketing campaign help my business?
Most any type of business can benefit from a mailing campaign. Here are some examples of how a targeted mailing can promote a business, service or product :
Increase sales
Increase profits
Increase customers
Increase awareness
Fund raising
Advertise seminars or trade shows
Market research and analysis
Promote new products
Review your budget, sample costs of direct mail can include :
Postage
Design of the mail piece
Printing of the mail piece
List purchase
Fulfillment of orders
Make sure you schedule ahead because a successful direct mail campaign takes time. Rushing can lead to mistakes and each step is very important.

  1. Designing of the mail piece
    The readability and the attractiveness of your mail piece are very important so that the consumer will open and read your offer.
  2. Analysis of the results
    You can measure the success of your campaign by tracking the responses and the number of new customers that are generated from your efforts. Remember, just a few new customers can more than cover the cost for the campaign. Evaluate what was successful and tailor your next mailing to meet those needed.
  3. Time sensitive material
    If you have dated material to mail – make sure you allow enough time for your mailing piece to be delivered. The post office has 2 working days days to process your mail, BUT your mail could go to 3-4 different post offices before it is delivered. It could be 4-6 days before your piece actually reaches its destination. If you have taken your mail to the post office a week before your sale, you run the risk of it being delivered on the day of the sale or after the sale has already occurred – resulting in disastrous consequences.
  4. Competition
    Study what your competitors are selling. How are they marketing themselves? Does direct mail work for them?
  5. The offer
    Decide what are your most profitable products or services. Decide if you want your business to grow in a certain direction.
  6. Handling the responses
    Plan a mechanism to answer the responses. Make sure your staff knows of any promotions being offered in your mailing. Do you have enough product, staff, etc?