These 5 truths can help you to implement a successful direct mail marketing campaign.
In marketing to your potential prospects/customers you'll need to understand some rudimentary direct mail marketing principles that will help you to acquire new prospects/customers effectively:
1) A postcard is more visible and more effective than even the most compelling sales letter stuffed into an envelope.
There's nothing to open with a postcard, so your prospect/customer doesn't have to open anything to see what you want them to see.
People are fast and merciless when it comes to thumbing thru the mail. We see and read very quickly - actually much more quickly than we even realize. Think about yourself - how fast do you go through your mail and process out what you want to keep and what you don't want to keep...it takes a fraction of second to decide whether you are going to bother looking at a piece of mail. If you are a poor #10 envelope, what chance do you have to be opened to reveal what lies within?
With a postcard, even if the recipient throws it away, they have already visually registered a portion of your message regardless of whether they think they did or not. They saw it enough to either throw it away or keep it or respond to it.
And if they tossed it, the next time they get that same postcard in the mail, they'll see it again - as they throw it in the trash, again., or something might click, and you've engaged your prospect!
Let's face it - junque (I don't use a "k" in that word) mail gets thrown away. And postcards are junque mail just like other advertisements you get in the mail.
Frequency can help you bridge the gap between being junque and useful...especially if you offer a service!
2) Frequency is the key to postcard marketing.
How many times do you have to tell your spouse-or vise-a-versa-to take out the garbage?, close the lid on the toilet? Feed the pets, etc... Two, three times? Well it is no different when we see things in the mail. The first time almost everyone pays no attention...some do. The second time a few more take notice, and a third time even more make recognition. When you are targeting a finite geography (cities, towns, Counties, Zips) the more you repeat an action, the more familiar the target audience becomes.
People start to really believe you exist when they see your postcard over and over in the mail. It communicates credibility and gives people the idea that you are established and not going to go away. Some people may respond right away - a lot of people do not.
Think about all the mail you receive at home and think about the companies that hit you again and again. In your own mind, I'll bet those companies are more real and more credible then some company you received just one piece of mail from.
The long and the short of it is, frequency, not quantity is your best bet for cultivating a localized clientele.
3 Don't print both sides of the postcard in full-color.
Why? Because full-color on both sides is confusing. People don't know where to look first, and your message can get completely lost. On the other hand, if you have an attractive full-color front - with a great headline - the recipient will just want to turn that postcard over. And that's where your main message is, your call to action, your offer, and your contact information.
4) Promote one and ONLY one thing at a time on your postcard.
Even if you sell lots of different products and services, you only promote one of them. It is okay to mention more of the more popular services you offer on the back of the postcard bullet pointed. But your main focus on the front of your postcard needs to be one product, service, or item.
The purpose of a postcard is to generate enough interest so that the recipient takes a solitary action to contact or visit your business.
5) A person could grow a business with no other marketing media.
Postcards are a staple that works as long as you mail with frequency.
Enough said, now start mailing!
Any questions? Contact the DCSListGuy @ 203-546-8551 or email to:
DCSListGuy@GreatMailingLists.com
Over the years...
I have heard dozens of clients and direct marketing friends share with me some of their most painful learning experiences in Direct Mail Marketing. Some were obvious...some were not. They've made these mistakes so you don't have to! Learn from the following missteps and increase your chances for success using direct mailing lists. Or, you could pick and choose as many as you like and try then out to prove to yourself that they deserve to be on this list. The first two Don'ts are cardinal rules, and the remaining five are more subtle ways to sabotage your direct mailing efforts. Ignore these at your own risk.
1. Not knowing your target audience.
If you don't KNOW who your target audience is, you better find out before you start marketing. All marketing whether it be direct mail, email, broadcast TV or radio is aimed at a target audience. The delivery vehicles may be broad, but who you are trying to connect with is not! All content should be focused to speak to a specificly targeted group. Know your audience's hot spots and cater to them.
2. Mailing to the wrong mailing list.
I've heard industry Guru's bandy about the number 60% with regard to how important selecting the right mailing list is to the overall success of a campaign. 60%! Apply the knowledge you have acquired from your research to identify prospects that most nearly resemble the key attributes of your customers as possible. If buying response mailing lists (lists of actual buyers of a product or service or subscribers, etc...) does not fit your marketing budget, then work with a Compiled list professional to mirror the demographics and/or psychographics of your customer profile if you are purchasing a consumer mailing list or the SIC's and sales volume and/or company size if purchasing a business mailing list.
3. Not writing to a clear objective.
Before you begin to write your mailing piece, know what the objective is you want your prospect to take. Are you looking to get the prospect to contact you by phone, email, reply card etc...? What do you want them to call for? Are you looking to get them to take a purchasing action? Are you trying to motivate or compel them to visit your location? Make sure your writing speaks to a specific goal. Make sure you know where you're going with each piece you write, then stay focused. Don't meander. Keep it simple.
4. Price before offer.
I don't know anyone who buys an unknown entity because it is cheap, do you? Price may be your chief selling point, but until your prospect knows what they are buying, price is irrelevant. Make sure you tell them about your product first. Then you can talk price.
5. Price before benefits.
Benefits sell. Price sinks the hook. Not the other way around. People buy benefits. You need to tell your readers what makes your price so great - in terms of benefits to the reader.
5. Wrong objective.
Asking for the sale instead of selling the call can be a fatal mistake. Unless you're sending a long, hard-sell direct mail piece your objective should be to engage the reader and compel them to contact you for additional information. Rule of thumb--do not ask for the sale in a postcard or short letter, you ask for a call. Offer the product, show the benefits, and sell the call hard. Cultivate your prospects and then close them. Don't bang them over the head with an anvil and expect them to buy.
6. Wrong headline.
The headline is the single most important element of your direct mailing piece. Solely on the basis of this one line, your reader makes the decision to continue, or not continue to read.
7. Not telling your readers exactly what you want them to do.
You should tell your readers several times (3 seems to be the magic number. In the beginning middle and at the close) exactly what you want them to do. Be specific. Let readers know exactly what action you want them to take; tell them, and tell them again.
Here are the final six ways to maximize your direct mail campaign for those who have not already downloaded their free copy of the white paper. If you mention that you have read this article when you purchase your mailing list from
greatmailinglists.com, you can receive a 10% off discount the already industry best pricing.
5. Offer a Guarantee.
People like guarantees, it makes then feel confident that you stand behind your product or service. But make sure it is a strong guarantee, if it seems flimsy, then the opposite affect will happen. People won't have confidence. You need to demonstrate that you have complete faith in your product. I've heard that 90 days and one year guarantees have strong impact, for example.
6. Call to Action.
Without a strong call to action, there is no reason to mail in the first place. If you don't tell your readers clearly and succinctly what you want them to do-they won't. Tell them more than once what you want to do "buy now", "subscribe now". Give your prospects an incentive to take action NOW. "Save 30% on orders placed today" Offer discounts, free merchandise, upgrades, whatever you think it might take to overcome hesitance to commit.
7. The Litmus Test.
Ask your self this critical question. Based only on your direct mail package or postcard, would you buy your product or service? If the answer is "no", then keep tweaking your copy until you can answer "yes."
8. Always Include a Reply Vehicle.
Postage paid business reply cards or envelopes boost response. Period. If you have an online presence, make sure to list your website URL on every page of your marketing piece. Don't put in a long fancy URL to take the prospect to an order page, 99 times out of 100 the prospect is going to type your simple URL into the search engine, so don't confuse them. Make sure it is easy to find the order now page on your Home page though. The use of email marketing can keep your costs down and offers possible easy contact with your audience.
If you don't give your customer a specific way to respond, many of them won't, and then you've lost a sales and a customer.
9. Teaser Copy.
If you are doing a postcard mailing, then skip this point. But if you are mailing a letter or some other type of "package", how do you differentiate yourself in the mailbox to get opened? Teaser copy! Use a teaser on your envelope. It must be a strong incentive to open the envelope.
10. Make sure to Key every Mailing.
Remember how I started off this white paper by saying that direct mail is all about measurement. Well if you don't include a unique identifier for each package type tested, for each list used, you won't be able to measure anything other than your expenditure to create and mail your campaign. There are many simple ways to create a unique code with out spending lots of time or money. The simplest way is to add a "key code" on to each mailing label. You can do this a number of ways. You can add a "middle initial" to each record IE John B. Smith, 123 Main Street, Anywhere, USA 12345. The "B" in the name is a code for XYZ List. And a "C" is for LMN List. Etc...Or you can print a key code on the top of a label.
IE ABC
John B. Smith
123 Main Street
Anywhere, USA 12345
CAUTION: Whatever you DO NOT print the actual name of the list you rented from unless you receive written permission ahead of time to do so. This can open up a can of worms best left closed. Most List Owners don't like to flaunt to their buyers that they rent their mailing list and some will require a surcharge for a third party endorsement.
Many fine books have been written on the subject of writing and designing an effective direct marketing campaign. To learn more, I would suggest visiting the National Mail Order Association Book Store (http://www.nmoa.org/catalog/index.htm) for excellent books by leading industry experts.
Direct Mail is all about measurement. Unlike Space advertising or Radio or TV/Cable advertising, with direct mail you can and should know exactly how effective your marketing efforts are. The old axiom that 50% of my marketing works, I just don't know which 50% doesn't fly with direct mail. Why? Because direct mail is the measurable medium.
If you have a small direct mail marketing budget, you will need to pick and choose what variables you want to test. The basics are list(s), offer, and package. If you are doing postcard marketing, then you might have more than one variation of the postcard to test.
Here are 10 direct mail marketing criteria to consider if you want to maximize your direct mail campaigns.
1. Carefully Target your Audience.
It is rule number one to determine who your customers are, or will be. If you don't know who they are, how can you hope to replicate them in a mailing list to market to?
Questions to ask when determining target audience include:
For Consumers: Who is your buyer-Gender? What is the demographic make-up of your customers-Age, Household Income, Marital Status, Gender, Is there a seasonality to your customers? How do they buy-credit card, check, by phone, by fax, online?
For Businesses: Type of companies, size (either employees and/or sales volume) Job Function or Job Title of the person responsible for ordering, same for the person responsible for specifying and approving the purchase.
2. Buy Mailing Lists that are Relevant.
What are you trying to accomplish with your mailing? Are you looking to derive an outright sale? Are you looking to create store traffic-either on or off line? Are you looking to cultivate a relationship to convert to buyers down the road?
You need to have a goal in order to find the right list or lists to help you achieve your goal. For example, if you are trying to sell gym memberships, make sure you are targeting people who are exercise enthusiasts. Don't decide that a peripheral category like "Dieters" is who you want to reach if you are looking to build a base of long-term memberships. Dieters are notorious for joining but not following thru. While you might achieve a temporary spike in new joiners, people who are interested in exercise and fitness and enjoy working out are much better prospects.
3. Always Stress Benefits.
Concentrate on how your product or service will benefit the person reading your piece. Focus on how it will benefit the prospective customer from both a logical and an emotional level. The key is to have done your homework so you know what "hot" buttons to push. Some marketers do focus groups, other with tighter budgets ask friends and family to imagine they are your target audience and provide you with input.
Repeat your key benefits. If you're doing Postcard Marketing, mention the key benefits twice. If you are developing a letter or more substantial direct mail package, make sure to mention your key benefits in the beginning, in the middle and near the end of your letter or brochure.
4. Feature the Offer.
Everyone loves a good deal. Design an irresistible offer and make it a key focal point of your letter. A strong offer can be the difference between converting and not converting the "fence sitters". Make sure to state the offer at least twice in your letter or brochure. And make sure to list it on your order form or response vehicle.
For the remaining 6 Ways to Maximize your Direct Mail Campaign, simply download the free White Paper on the Home page of www.greatmailinglists.com.
Maybe it's because I have been making a living for myself and my family for over 28 years in mailing list direct marketing, or maybe it's just because I'm a thin-skinned big baby... but I can't help getting rankled (nice way to say P.O.ed) each time I hear these uninformed news people and self-righteous soap-box preaching online pundits trash direct mail by calling it "Junk Mail".
Are all email marketers SPAMMERS?
Of course not!
So why is it that all direct mail marketers are junk mailers?
Exactly! They are not.
In fact, every legitimate direct mail marketer wants to mail to as few people who are not interested in their offer as possible. The wrong list fails to target people who would want to buy from you - and it is costly.
A properly segmented and selected mailing list is one of the most accurate means for any business to target an audience of people who want their product or service.
The beauty of direct marketing is its measurability. It is far more measurable advertising media than Broadcast TV/Cable, Space Advertising and Radio.
"Buy Mailing Lists"
The direct mail mailing list is the most significant factor in a successful direct mail marketing campaign and a major point to consider in small business marketing strategies where marketing ROI (Return On Investment) is a key concern.
What really makes your direct mail marketing and advertising campaign successful?
The biggest single factor in the success of your direct mail marketing strategy is who you send your mailings to.
You need a mailing list. You need a good mailing list. You need a Targeted mailing list.
Who and where you buy mailing lists from is up to you. You can go with a large nationwide giant, you can go with a local outfit, or you can go with a company that listens to what you are trying to accomplish and helps you develop the best possible list available.
However you choose to proceed, the mailing list must contain the names of people who are likely to be interested in the product or service that you offer.
What kinds of lists are available?
There are basically two types of lists (other than your own house file of existing customers and current prospects) that you can use:
1. A Response list is a list of people that have purchased a product, subscribed to a publication, donated to an organization or joined some type of membership. They have some level of interest in the topic or purpose of the list.
While these people have not previously responded to you, they have responded to someone in a related area (if you have purchased a correctly targeted list) so you know they are at least warm. Many large scale direct marketers operate under the RFM (Recency, Frequency and Monitary Value) rule when selecting a list. It is a direct marketing axiom that the closer to a direct mail purchasing/subscribing/donating action you can offer a similar product or service, the more apt the object person is to engage. Response lists identify a behavioral action. Response lists are also typically more expensive and require higher minimums than the second type of list-Compiled Lists.
2. A Compiled list is a list of people who were selected to be on the list because they possess the characteristics that you are trying to target.
Examples of characteristics used to target might include adult age, gender, household income level, marital status, etc. These are more fixed characteristics than response list characteristics, which are behavioral characteristics. Compiled lists
Mailing lists, correctly targeted, will make the difference between a mediocre promotional campaign to a wildly successful promotional campaign
Junque Mail
Junque mail typically is mail that is not directed to a specifically targeted audience. In my youth, we used to refer to it as "shotgun marketing" shoot it up in the air and hope that it hits something...
From the many Billions of dollars in direct mail sales each year, it is clear that Consumers do not mind receiving mail promoting products and services they have an interest in. That is direct mail.
When unsolicited mail overpowers the mail box, that is when it becomes junk.
Studies show that 70% of the US population still prefers direct mail to email or telemarketing calls.
No matter how you spell it, slice it or dice it, no one wants to receive mail they have no interest in and has no relevance to them.
When you buy mailing lists, make sure that you have done your homework to best understand who your customer is, or who you are trying to reach. This way you can work with a consultative list professional to purchase the best mailing list(s) available and stop the waste.
One of the really cool things about Direct Marketing is its measurability. Run a space ad in a local paper, buy a radio spot, local cable TV...you need to look at the big picture to determine if it is working. Not so with Direct Marketing, and Direct Mail in particular. The results of a winning mailing can be exhilarating. Few things can compare with opening your mailbox-or Inbox if you're driving traffic/orders online-to find a bunch of emails or envelopes filled with orders! Imagine if you could "move the needle" and increase the response to your offer? Do so and a marginal mailing becomes a winner, and a winner a world champion!
So How do I "move the needle?"
Following are 15 Tips to consider when developing your next direct mail campaign. There are more...to be revealed in a subsequent post...So here are 15 excellent techniques to enable your mailings to pull a stronger response. (Lame disclaimer) Not all of these techniques will work for every mailing you create. Review the techniques whenever you're planning a mailing and incorporate the ones that apply to your situation.
1. Carefully target your audience.
Sale dollars can be directly connected to your ability to accurately identify your most likely customers. You might consider creating different versions of your package tailored to each specifically targeted audience.
2. Buy Mail Lists
Many experts I have read and listened to over the years assign the greatest importance to the actual mailing list chosen. Anywhere from 40% to 60% of the overall success rate of a direct mailing depends upon the quality of your business mailing list or consumer mailing list.
3. Focus on your Customer's Needs (and Solve their most irritating issue), not your product.
Customers have limited interest in your product or company. But they have unlimited interest in their needs, solutions to their problems, and making their lives better. Concentrate on fulfilling their needs through the use of your product or service. Remember, most customers don't buy products, but they do buy solutions to problems that plague them. If your product solves a critical problem, pull out all stops to let your customers know.
4. Always stress Benefits.
Always concentrate on how your product will benefit your customers-both logically and emotionally. Repeat your key benefits (3 seems to be the magic number for me...unless it's my wife telling me to take out the garbage...lol) in the beginning, middle, and end of your email, letter or brochure. Tell your readers once, tell them again, and then tell them one more time. Remember, people buy benefits, not products.
5. Immediately Seize the reader's attention! Use an Impactful headline or first sentence.
Some letters benefit from a headline. Either the headline or first sentence must be very powerful in order to convince your prospects that your letter is worth reading. Don't waste space building up to your blockbuster points. Start with them. You have only a few sentences to convince your prospects to keep reading your letter. Give them what they need to make sure they continue.
6. Never end a sentence at the bottom of a page in a sales letter.
Always use a broken sentence to carry your reader forward onto the next page of your letter. Kind if tricky, but it works.
7. Share some "inside" information.
Direct mail affords a perfect opportunity to appeal to a person's vanity-a need to feel special. An ideal way to do this is to share some exclusive information. Make it clear that this offer is being made only to them.
8. Feature the offer.
Everyone loves a good deal. Make it a key focal point of your letter. A strong offer can often be the extra incentive that will convert your "maybes" to buyers.
9. Give something away for FREE or Run a contest.
Free samples, trials, demonstrations, consultations, or information are all super ways of getting customers to give your product or service a hands-on try. Sometimes that is all it takes to close the sale. Give away a free enrollment in your seminar, a free subscription to your newsletter, or anything else that appeals to your buyers.
10. Use a special "before the price increases" offer.
If you plan to raise your prices, make your regular customers a special offer at the old price for a limited time.
11. Make a time-limited offer.
Offer a special deal for a limited period of time. And do just that-legally you can't continue a time-limited offer indefinitely.
12. Base your offer on a limited supply.
A close-out of your inventory can create strong demand. A limited supply offer can be used to designate exclusivity and prestige.
13. Offer a special deal to the first 100 people who order.
The key is to keep it to a meaningful limit as an incentive for customers to act quickly.
14. Make a "last chance" offer.
Last chance at this price, inventory close-outs, and last chance before a model change can all be used to successfully win more orders.
15. "Buy 1 get 1 FREE" always out pulls "2 for the price of 1."
Although the savings are precisely the same, the first format sounds like the customer is getting a better bargain.
As mentioned in the beginning, not all of these techniques will work for every mailing you create. The key is to review the techniques whenever you're planning a mailing. Pick the ones that best apply to your situation and put them to work. Always remember the most important three words in direct marketing...test, test, and test!
Here in the North East the weather has begun to warm. Snow is gone and plants are beginning to peak their heads up out of the soil.
If you are a House Painter, Landscaper, General Contractor, Pool Guy or any other Owner of an outdoor based business-you've probably got most of your year booked. But there are still some opportunities to fit odd jobs in to maximize your profitability this year.
Targeted direct mail to a pre-defined customer prospect list is an excellent way to grow your local business. Why not buy mailing lists?
How Do I Do It?
Here is how I suggest you go about doing this. There are two different schools of thought you can entertain here as to how to select your prospects.
#1: The first is to look at your existing customers and come up with a few characteristics that you see as consistent amongst them. For example, is there an affluence level? If so, determine whether you want to target based on estimating Home Value, or Household Income. Is Age, Gender, or Ethnicity a factor? Once you've created this "existing customer profile" then you would order a mailing list that targets these elements.
#2: The second school of thought is to try to hit the "home-run" Who is your dream customer?-don't mean one that doesn't complain...ask for free add-ons or pays on time. Rather, what are the demographics of that huge painting job, someone who might need to re-landscape a few acres, need a new pool, want to build an addition, etc...
Of course, you can do both if your vendor can/will run your order as a two part order. One portion can be from school #1, and the balance can be from school #2.
How Do I Figure out Where I want to Mail To?
This really comes down to your own business model. How far are you willing/able to travel-even with travel expenses added on-to do a job? There is no perfect answer here it's all your preference.
Here are some ideas of how to decide.
- Do you need to stay within the towns/cities that you currently do business in? If so, order buy town or zip codes.
- Perhaps you have a central zip code that you do most of your work in and are looking to expand outward. Then I would suggest doing a radius (It's like drawing a circle around something) in terms of miles outside of a targeted zip code.
-
Le'ts say you are a Nursery, and there are other Nurseries in your area. You know that your customers typically only drive about 10 or 15 miles to get to your Nursery, otherwise they go to a competitor. Then I would suggest doing what is called a "Rooftop" radius. This is a bit more exact than a zip code radius. It takes the exact location of your business and draws that radius circle using your business location as the center point.
Ok, so you figured out what criteria you want for your list, and you know the geography you want to pull from. What's next?
What are you going to Mail?
What is it you are going to mail? A letter? A flyer? A brochure? How about a nice color postcard? As mentioned in prior postings, postcards have certain advantages in the mailbox over other media. Why? Because you can see what is on a postcard without having to do anything. It gives you the best chance to get noticed.
Have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me and I'll be happy to assist you any way I can.
After William Caxton started littering the Streets of London with his various and sundry handbills in the 1480's, direct marketing took off. While the good folk of the 15
th Century didn't have to contend with Adult websites and genital enhancement email spam, they did have to contend with Real Estate "opportunities" distributed through this budding new media.
William Penn--Direct Land Sales Pioneer
The first American direct advertisement, according to the Philadelphia Public Ledger, was a pamphlet published in 1681 by William Penn. It should be noted that Printing had not yet made its way across the pond, so Penn's, land scheme was imported from England, where it was printed to stimulate emigration to Pennsylvania.
Good direct advertiser that he was, Penn followed up his first piece with seven other pieces (maybe he should have invented postcards for direct marketing) between 1681 and 1690. He also took a small portion of the first pamphlet and published it as a "broadside" whatever that was...?
Following his arrival in Pennsylvania, Penn published a second pamphlet entitled: "Letter from William Penn, Proprietary and Governor of Pennsylvania in America, to the Committee of the Free Society of Traders, of that Province, residing in London." Ok, so he violated every rule of direct marketing (oops, they hadn't been invented yet) with his incredibly long title. What is noteworthy is that this pamphlet was the first to use a map to help sell. Picture is worth a 1,000 words, right?.
Unfair rumors having been spread abroad in England about Penn's Woods, in 1687 Penn published another-pamphlet, the purpose of which was to offset these rumors. Here is the first instance of using a buyer testimonial to endorse a product-in this case-a land sale.
So not only did William Penn become the first successful direct marketer in The US, but he was the first to be reported to the BBB.
In our next installment we meet Ben Franklin.
Business-to-business direct mail really is different from marketing to consumer direct mail. While you are selling to some of the very same people you might reach with a properly targeted consumer campaign, you're reaching them in an entirely different environment.
First of all, your target business prospect is busy...or they better be. Secondly, business purchasers are rarely spending their own money; so many purchasing decisions must pass through layers of the company to receive approval to buy mail lists. With this in mind, here are a handful of time tested strategies to cultivate more effective b2b direct mail.
Getting Past The Mailroom
Task one is getting past the mailroom! More third class and bulk mail dies here than makes it to the recipients' desk. This is more art than science. The trick is to make your mail look personal or important. Often, a plain outer envelope works best. Try to avoid using peel and stick labels if possible...they just scream to be filed under "G". Additional personalization can help--"Here is the information you requested" or something to that affect. Official looking invitation formats also work. Product samples, and of course the odd shaped package all have been known to get hand delivered.
Mail to Multiple Job Titles
While it doesn't make any sense to send the same direct mail offer to more than one person at a home address-after all, how many times can you expect someone to respond to the same offer-Business addresses are different...and here's why. If you are mailing to large companies and corporations, purchasing decisions are often made on many levels, so you can increase your opportunity to make a sale if you touch the company at more than one level. Try mailing to different job titles simultaneously. If you can, modify the copy to address each level's concerns. You might also encourage pass-alongs of the same piece in your copy.
Provide complete information
Business decisions frequently require more consideration than consumer decisions do. That's why it's vital to provide complete product or service specifications and detailed features. But don't be so dry or sterile that you put your potential customer to sleep. You can't bore business buyers into buying.
Don't be Afraid to Generate leads FIRST to qualify prospects
When you have a complicated sale process, one that can require a significant investment of time and/or resources, or is expensive...making an outright sale is more difficult. Don't be afraid to break your sales process into two or more steps. Collect and qualify leads. Target custom solutions accordingly. This can help you identify the best prospects faster and cut overall new customer acquisition costs.
Make Responding Easy
Make it as easy as possible for someone to buy. Provide them with simple options: a toll-free phone number to call, a fax number, a unique url that takes them to an ordering page on your website, include a business reply card in your mailing piece, anything that makes it easy for someone to say "yes" to your offer.
Use Good Direct Marketing Technique
In general, your copy should be easy to read (High School level). You must present clear benefits. Your design should encourage reading and establish the appropriate image. And don't forget the call to action. Ask for the Order.
I read somewhere that around 1000 B. C. or so, an Egyptian landowner wrote what is considered by some worldwide direct marketing experts to be the earliest identifiable example of direct advertising. It was an advertisement on a piece of papyrus for the return of a runaway slave. The original was actually exhumed from the ruins of Thebes and can now be seen in the British Museum.
Whether or not the Egyptian landowner found his slave is unknown. Since we do not have the result to measure the effectiveness of the "return-my-slave" effort, I am forced to conclude that the campaign was a direct marketing failure. Direct marketing is a finitely measurable media. Measurability sets direct marketing apart from general advertising and other forms of marketing. Direct marketers can measure the response to any offer.
Later, the Babylonians would use bricks as a means of distributing direct advertising to individuals. Guess their BPS (Babylonian Postal Service) didn't have any weight regulations for third class or bulk mail. I think this is the genesis of the phrases "hits you like a brick wall" and "in your face" advertising. Interestingly, it was about this time that the first rotator cuff surgeries were performed. Apparently brick marketing also spawned the need for Babylonian HMO's.
Writing was not a common skill among the elite of the day (cave art was still big) and thus the development of direct marketing techniques was slow. In fact nothing much happened until Steve Gutenberg's (the fine Actor of Police Academy fame) Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather-Gutenberg "the printer" invented the movable type printing press around the early 1430's. This nimble gadget-about the size of a current day USPS delivery truck-enabled Gutenberg to churn out mass-produced literature in record speed. He did Bibles in about...oh...say a year-at-a-time. Big stuff! The development of printing techniques would drive direct marketing advertising pretty much up until today.
Later in the century, in England, a printer by the name of William Caxton set-up the first English printing press in Westminster Abbey in 1471 and printed his first hand-bill around 1480. With this hand-bill, the Age of direct marketing was born...