Do you still believe in traditional media? YOU SHOULD!
Direct mail still provides a trackable, substantial boost to your marketing efforts, especially with the right product that demands attention. In order to maximize your exposure and budget, here are 5 tips for executing an effective direct mail campaign.
1) OFFERS, OFFERS, OFFERS!
Make sure your offer is aggressive enough to get someone to take that first step into your location. We often forget the lifetime value of a customer, and what their first visit is worth. The more aggressive you can be with your offer, the higher the response rate.
Try a free item, a BOGO, or even a gift card. Like they say, “Sometimes you have to spend money to make money!” And word of mouth is HUGE! When you provide an excellent guest experience to the guest redeeming their offer along with their friends and family, you will fuel your digital and social media presence with testimonials from the experience you deliver.
2) DOES MY BRAND STAND OUT WITH MY CURRENT DIRECT MAIL STRATEGY???
“This postcard echos the way I feel about the quality of my brand that I’m proud to represent. I feel this will grab the attention of my market and stand out from anything else that will hit mailboxes from my competitors.”
If you can’t say this about your program, look for another program. If your response rate isn’t 7+% over a 7-week average campaign, look for another program. If your offers are aggressive, your expectations should be higher…8-12% or better.
3) BE BOLD AND CONVENIENT
Customers get a lot of mail in their mailbox. It’s time for you and your brand to stand out from the crowd! We recommend using a thick stock laminated postcard with pop-out gift card coupons. You can opt for 1-4 different offers that are sure to stand out from your typical direct mail piece.
The high gloss, the rigidity and the convenient pop out offers, are why they will get noticed by consumers and less likely to end up in the trash. They make your brand pop and allows your customer to easily save it in their purse or wallet where it’s easier to keep track of.
4) THINK ABOUT TIMING
Important factors to keep in mind are shelf-life and urgency. Due to the convenience for customers, the laminated postcard buys you longer shelf-life and allows you to attract a steady stream of traffic over a 6 to 8-week event. No more customers pitching paper coupons that got mangled in their wallet or purse!
5) SEGMENT YOUR AUDIENCE
Finding the right people to target can be tricky, especially if you have a very niche market. In some cases, doing a mass mailing in your immediate area is exactly what you need, assuming your product is something nearly anyone can and will purchase. But if marketing to the masses doesn’t make sense, you can target people using a plethora of different demo options. Do you cater weddings? There’s a list for that. Do you want to look for people who have equity in their home? There’s a list for that.
6) COST PER CUSTOMER IS KING!
If your budget, like most, is limited, you’ll need to make sure and get the most customers possible per dollar spent. There isn’t an app for that, but there is a consistently effective strategy!
Here are some example scenarios to illustrate how cost effective a bold approach can be for you;
Laminated postcards – Invest $2700 on 5k pieces. With a 10% response rate, you will see 500 customers ($5.40 cost per customer)
Traditional postcards – Invest $1800 on 5k pieces. With a 4% response rate, you will see 200 customers ($9 cost per customer)
To attract 500 customers with a traditional postcard, you would need to send out at least 12,500 pieces and invest $4500 ($1800 more to attract the same # of customers).
Not only will you see guests redeeming their offers, but they tend to bring guests along and the lifetime value of those customers is priceless.
Get the right offer, in front of the right people, with the right product, at the right time and you will see results! It’s time to get thinking “inside the box” with your next direct mail campaign.
