Common Mistakes That Will Jeopardize Your Direct Mail Campaign
Direct mail continues to be one of the most widely used forms of B2C (business-to-consumer) and B2B (business-to-business) marketing tactics, even through the uprise of digital marketing. In fact, 73% of people surveyedprefer direct mail as an advertising method over other forms of digital advertising because it's creative, tangible and personal. The success of direct mail is also related to the effectiveness of multichannel marketing when used in combination with digital marketing. A study has demonstrated that marketers will see a 68% increase in website visits, a 39% increase in traffic to physician stores or locations, and a 53% increase in leads when utilizing multichannel strategies.
Any business, no matter how big or small and in any industry, can take full advantage of direct mail marketing. However, without the proper knowledge and experience with direct mail, there are many common mistakes made by businesses and organizations new to direct mail. These mistakes can jeopardize the success of direct mail campaigns, wasting valuable time and money.
Mistake: No clear call to action
A call-to-action is an essential aspect of any form of marketing because it is the detail that leads your prospects to the ultimate end goal of this marketing campaign. Another way to formulate your call-to-action is by asking yourself these questions: "What is the reasoning behind this direct mail campaign?" "Are you trying to get these prospects to increase subscriptions, purchase products/services, or collect personal information for future use?" Once you understand the purpose of your marketing campaign, you are able to formulate the perfect CTA within your direct mail piece to achieve this end goal.
Solution
An effective call-to-action must contain a few important components. To begin with, give a reason and incentive why a recipient should act. Make sure the benefits to the call-to-action are clear and worth their time. Examples of effective incentives include special offers, giveaways, coupons, or a free quote. Moreover, demonstrate a sense of urgency to encourage potential customers to have a rapid response. This can be achieved through keywords such as "Today!" and "Now!" along with limited quantities or expiration date for the offer.
Mistake: Not having a target audience
One of the many benefits of direct mail marketing is you and your business can get access to a very targeted audience. Foolishly thinking you can reap the benefits of direct mail by randomly sending out mailers can be the downfall of any direct mail campaign. Direct mail is not the cheapest marketing solution and not having a target audience will quickly deplete a marketing budget without any positive results. Get your message to highly-responsive prospects through mailing lists, targeting neighborhoods nearby your business, and more.
Solution
Reaching a very specific audience is one of the main reasons direct mail continues to outperform other forms of marketing. You can select your prospects by consumer, business, automotive, physician, ethnicity, and many other databases. Targeted mailing lists can be customized to reach leads that mirror current customer profiles. These lists can also be segmented by demographics such as age, household income, gender, etc, and by geographic location such as zip code, state, county, etc. In addition, a recent addition to targeted mailing lists allows businesses to target consumers based on predictive analysis on transactional data, behavioral indicators, and more. For instance, target consumers who love fitness based on their gym memberships, subscriptions, and purchase of supplements.
Mistake: Lack of personalization
Due to the popularity of direct mail, mailboxes are overcrowded with your competitors' mailings with generic postcards, letters, snap pack mailers, etc. Without the right expertise, it can be very difficult for first-time mailers to have their direct mail pieces stand out in the mailbox, and most likely your direct mailer will be lost in the clutter and ignored.
Solution
Thankfully, the flexibility of direct mail allows personalization to capture the attention of your recipients and provide a reason to open your mailer. One of the most common methods of personalization is through variable data printing technology. Variable data printing is the variation of each and every mailer to be unique for that recipient. This latest technology allows businesses to address recipients by name "Hey John, Check Out This New Product", variable images, and different text throughout each piece. More solutions of personalization can be achieved through pen addressing machines and hand addressing the addresses and text to make recipients feel special and important. Attach a post-it note to your direct mail piece which is easily removable and can be repositioned on the fridge or for later reference. Another great form of personalization is Google street view mailers, and this is a real estate or mortgage direct mailer that has a Google image of your prospect’s home or property. These are just a few of the many personalization strategies that direct mail service providers have to offer.
Mistake: Poorly designed piece
The design of your direct mail piece is just as important as the content within the mailer. A proper direct mail design should make it easy for recipients to respond, generating the best responses and making the most out of your direct mail campaign. No matter what type of mailer you are sending, there are a few key elements that should be followed to create an appealing and effective direct mail piece.
Solution
Key components include having simple headlines and subheadlines, eye-catching and colorful images, special offers, deals, coupons, and anything to incentivize action, company logos and names are easy to find, important contact information and address, and more. The best direct mail service providers should have in-house graphic design teams that will work with you to create the best design for you and your business.
Mistake: Not following up your initial direct mail
First time direct mailers often send single mailers expecting a substantial return on investment. Even if a recipient is interested in your advertisement, there is a good chance your direct mail piece gets lost in the clutter or thrown away on accident.
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Solution
Following up your initial direct mail campaign can maximize not only your first campaign but also the second one. Your initial campaign will likely attract new customers and pique some interest in your products and services for other prospects. These prospects who initially did not take action often need reminders with a second campaign. It is also productive to send out a thank you note for these new customers and include a coupon to incentivize their next purchase. Following up usually means sending another piece to the same address about two weeks or a month later.
There are many reasons why companies of all sizes and industries are willing to spend over $38.5 billion on direct mail campaigns. When strategized and executed correctly, direct mail can produce one of the highest response rates at 4.9% compared to all other marketing channels. But the complexity of direct mail makes full-service direct mail companies as important as ever. Whether it is a badly designed piece or lack of personalization, a simple mistake can cost the entire marketing campaign and budget.