7 Steps To Direct Mail Targets
Increase Your ROI?
The new age of the technology has taken over, but it is still the style of marketing communications to provide your clients and customers with printed materials. Direct mail is still the main communications tool to get in front of your clients and customers. It brings about brand loyalty and also you can have complete control of the marketing. Print, radio and television advertising, along with online-mail and your website are uncontrollable, whereas you cannot direct who is going to receive it, but going out to the masses, where it is not controlled.
For anyone who is in business knows that most of their clients will come from marketing and sales leads where they are depending on customer contact information, they have to be able to located those meaningful prospects that will bring in the business. The marketing collateral can target the prospects by flyers, postcards, letters, personalized notes and catalogs of your products by getting them directly in form of them. If the marketing collateral is well put together, eye-catching, and has the message that you would like to say, then it is more cost-effective to target those clients. Yet that is not all. It must have the right presentation, offering something and has a call-to-action, you can close a sale faster than it reaching the masses.
With the right tools, time and great execution, your direct mail efforts will result in great payoffs.
The main key is to know who your target audience because getting in front of them is not wasting our time, it is increasing their awareness of your product of service, so you cannot go wrong with direct mail marketing. Yet, the information technology is good to drive people to your website and boost sales, but it is not as effective as getting directly in front of your client. The prospect’s eye is who you should be focusing on. A great sale is getting the right message, product or service in front of the right prospect at the right time. Some experts say that 40 percent of the direct mail success is depending on our own lists of prospects.
If you are looking to increase sales, for example, look at the marketing consultant who is sending out postcards in his campaign to get prospects to come out to a seminar on marketing your business – to clients who needs marketing but doesn’t have time. Or think of the real estate agent who would send out an invitation to an open house or a home buying seminar - those are directed towards special targets that can be captured not to the masses of people on an electronic tools.
1. Know Your Expectations
We know that when you send out targeted mail to a potential client that you are running a risk o them opening your mail that doesn’t guarantee that it will result in a sale, yet if they see your information long enough and when that need comes available, your company would be one of the ones that they would call. It takes at least seven times for you to get your company brand in front of a client before they can recall your business. So your expectations would need to be realistic as you grow your lists. Having a well-targeted list will increase your odds of success.
Knowing that the average response rats varies with seasons, holidays, and other many factors that could increase or decrease your mail response; therefore, being strategic in your mailings is key. The average response rate depends on the package’s overall appeal, the offer, what the product or service is and the quality if your mailing list.
The expectations should be realistic because statistics show that the average response rate on a mailing is .1 percent to 5 percent and a 2 to 3 percent response is great. All responses near a 5 is considered excellent. Therefore, when mailing to your top 10 percent of prospects, you should expect returns to be 30 percent and higher.
Your mailing should be based on clear cut and defined goals to specific target audiences to yield the best results.
2. Know Your Target Audience & Clients
Who is most likely going to purchase your product of service? Who is going to get the most from your company? Will they be repeat customers? Am I reaching my target audience? Is how I’m reaching my audience effective for my business? All of these questions should be answered before sending out a direct mail. Because you don’t want to waste money nor time going after those prospects who don’t have an interest in what you offer.
So know who your clients and prospects look like, how much money they make and what location are they in. You must be specific in who you are targeting so that you will not fall into the trap of reaching the masses if the masses is not who will purchase from you.
Create your own lists of prospects whether you place them in an electronic database or a manual written list, which ever works best for you. Your list should grow as you meet others by networking and referrals. You can get lists from trade groups, list broker, professional organizations or your own personal referrals. Segment them by your needs such as age, geography, income, education, occupation or gender; whatever you need to assist you in your business. Then set a goal on how many you are going to target each day, week and month and reward yourself on accomplishing those goals.
Learn not to sell to everyone, because everyone is not your client.
3. Set Clear Defined Goals
You must have a strategy that will bring about a win-win for everyone. “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” is really the truth. Know who you are targeting and understand who they are and your goals. If you do your homework and understand what you are trying to accomplish, you will have excellent results. By choosing direct mail as a marketing tool you can:
• Acquire new customers or referrals
• Expand your market to a wider audience
• Act as a warm-up for later cold calls
• Stimulate higher purchases from your existing clients
• Generate sales
• Build brand recognition and awareness
• Upgrade customer service
• Test the appeal of new products and services
• Respond to competitors
• Support other marketing initiatives, like radio and newspapers
• Deliver company news such as a upcoming sale or new employee
Surveys show that the top three reasons for direct mail is business growth, expansion, a change in strategy and an introduction of a new product or service. Therefore, set goals that are obtainable and that will result in success.
4. Know What You Are Offering
The 3 S’s for your offering should be Keep It Simple, Specific, and Showcase
Simple. Keep it to the point and tell what your benefits and features are of your product or service. Don’t try and cram everything in about your company, it is not the time.
Specific. Be specific in what you are going to offer what they will receive. Don’t make it complicated for them to find. Keep it to the point and be clear about the offer so there won’t be any misunderstandings.
Showcase. Offer items that will draw attention to your business or to get them to purchase. Make sure that what you are offering is tamper-free because people can and will find loopholes. Offer gift certificates, coupons, discounts or free samples; these are always easy to control. If you are in the service businesses offer discounts, white papers, or seminars, but don’t forget the call to action. The more options you give clients to respond to you, the better the response. Options include: e-mail, pre-paid postage, fax-back, and toll free numbers, long-term payment plans and more. Be creative.
5. Your Direct Mail Marketing ROI (Return on Investment)
How much are you looking to make on your direct mail campaign? How much profit did you receive from your last direct mail? You must be strategic in what you want to yield in profits and set a goal to achieve it.
Figure out what you should earn from your direct mail efforts, not the total number of sales. It would always be advantageous to test a small population of a select group, (which is referred to as a nth mailing, because the goal is to get a fraction of the list used). This small test group will give you an idea on what should be done in refining the packaging and the budget. Be clear on what you are trying to accomplish.
6. Acknowledge Your Clients
When a client brings in one of your mailings, coupons, gift certificates, always try and recognize them by offering something extra to them for using your call to action. You are rewarding them for doing what you called them to do, so rewards should be in place.
The coupons, gift certificates and flyers should be attractive and easily identified when the client brings it in to be redeemed. It would be good to include an increase in your budget campaign for bonuses and extra giveaways for clients who bring in referrals. However, you would want to acknowledge your clients for your call to action.
7. Have a Variety
Don’t just send the same letter to the same clients. You would want to have a variety in what your prospects would receive, such as a postcard with a teaser, letter with a call to action, or sign up for a free seminar, something that would engage them into your business yet not looking uniformed. You would still want to include your brand on everything that your prospects and clients see, but it doesn’t have to be the same. Be creative in setting up expectations and recognition of your business. If you know your audience, the cost of your mailings and what your budget says you will be successful in giving a variety to your clients.
Make sure that you are measuring your results because direct mail you can control and it can be measurable. Always be proactive in gathering information when your clients and prospects use your service. Ask where did they hear of you so that you can keep track of what is working for you and what is not. Every marketing tool doesn’t work for everyone, but direct mail works for most and you have to give it time to work for you. You can’t just send out a direct mail piece for one month and not do it again and says that it doesn’t work, you much consistently try it for a minimum of six months to see if it is worth it for you.
Continue to have great success in your marketing.
No comments:
Post a Comment