The Direct Marketing Voice » Direct Mail Isn’t Dead

I am seeing a lot of chatter these days on Twitter indicating that direct mail is a dying medium. Not dying; however, the landscape has been changing and that is where I want to focus. Many of the businesses I have spoken to this year indicate they’ve had a bad experience with direct mail in the past — stating that multiple vendors were required, the purchase of expensive demographic lists hit their marketing budget, and long delivery times which left a bad taste in their mouth.

Others, who have participated in “group mailings” that are sent to every known address in a zip code, found it was hard to track results and the lack of reporting made it difficult for them to even know who received their pieces.

So how has direct mail changed? With technology. Digital print technology has made it possible to easily streamline direct mail marketing campaigns ensuring you get the right message/offer to the right audience.

Now, everything from design creation, list selection, to demographic selection can all be done online through one account. From the time you hit submit on your campaign, your pieces are in the mail stream next business day. There is the wow factor that many small businesses just aren’t aware of. Variable data printing has made it easy for businesses to ensure their marketing messages are personalized to the recipient and PURLs (personalized landing pages) provide a mechanism for businesses to capture further information from their prospective clients and track their campaign results.

Consider these statistics:

A recent survey conducted by Prospectiv and published in Brand Week revealed that 80% of consumers stated that personalized coupons tailored to their interest would increase the likelihood of coupon use and 39% of consumers want coupons delivered to them via direct mail
42% of consumers read direct mail that addressed their unique needs (Vertis Customer Focus®: DM 2007)
50% of marketers will increase spending on targeted direct mail and email marketing with the intended purpose of acquiring more qualified leads, followed by brand awareness and customer retention (BtoB Magazine 2008 Marketing Priorities and Plans)

See the trend? Targeted, personalized and used in conjunction with email marketing. That combination is the winning combination to see success on your direct mail campaigns.

As a marketer, I personally have seen success on campaigns when using a mix of mediums. Our clients have found success sending personalized pieces, whether it is one direct mail piece as a follow-up to a conversation or 200 mail pieces touting a new product or offer for a service.

So, in the spirit of direct mail living on, I’ve outlined a few tips that small business can use to help make campaigns more successful.

1) Use Targeted Direct Mail For Prospects: target a fewer number of recipients (200-400 per mailing) by selecting demographic attributes of those most in need of your services. Lead prospects to your website for more information and provide an easy way for them to enter additional contact information, like their email address. Past Customers: Use direct mail to send special offers or events, rewarding them for past purchases.

Send more than one piece! It is more effective to send 3-5 touches to the same list vs. one mailing to thousands. You want to stay top of mind so start a consistent campaign.

More information on the use of targeted direct mail: Understanding Direct Mail Impact and ROI

2) Focus on the design Don’t be afraid to get help here if you are not a designer. Your piece is a direct reflection of your business and you! I know a great agency that can help you define a clear marketing strategy and create a compelling campaign design. Other tips include:

Each side should be able to stand alone
Place the call-to-action near the address area
Keep it simple and clean
Use bold colors and high quality images that connect with core motivations

3) Be careful with content – Less is more in this case:

Make an impact with a strong headline
Choose ONE idea or goal and drive that point throughout the piece
Be explicit in identifying the next step for the reader
Include contact information clearly
Use bullets, not long paragraphs

4) Include a compelling offer on your piece. “Free consultation, $ or % off, enter to win x, etc.” Including a coupon or a special offer with an expiration date creates a sense of urgency.

5) Follow-up with Email: