In our first direct mail primer, we discussed why direct mail marketing is so important to the success of a business — it should from a vital and integral part of your overall marketing campaign in conjunction with your email, social media and web efforts. Accomplishing this, however, requires taking just the right steps to integrate your direct mailing efforts. In this article we will look at several tips for getting the most out of your direct mail marketing efforts and how it forms a continual cycle of learning and tweaking to keep getting the most out of the process.
Direct Mail Marketing and the Mailing List
The first thing you need to do for your direct mail marketing campaign, of course, is to pull together your mailing list. This is probably the most obvious factor in your efforts — you need a list of addresses and potential customers to mail. There are several methods for obtaining these names. If you already have a solid customer list from your online marketing, that’s a great place to start.
You can also obtain mailing lists from professional mailing services. You can put out surveys where you ask people to join your mailing list, possibly offering a reward for doing so. A bit of research will turn up tons of options for building your list.
Testing and Adapting Your Direct Mailing
You’ll need to continually test and adapt your direct mail strategies. The process is one of constant adjustment and testing new ideas. Make sure that you are targeting the right market segments and earmarking those you expect to turn in the best performance. If you’ve purchased a list, it will be important to narrow down those names and addresses to the ones that are most responsive to your efforts, and weed out those that yield little to no results. Your market sector is all important.
Special Offers in Your Efforts
Special offers are a must in direct marketing. They are a “carrot on a stick” that will draw in customers — after all, everyone likes to get something for free! You will, however, need to come up with a wealth of ideas for special offers that are not only enticing to potential clients, but are applicable to your business and speak to your culture and values too. Don’t get too worried if your first offer doesn’t yield tons of results; you may have to test several offers before you hit on the right one.
Frequency of Mailing
Your client base will also be individualized in the ideal frequency of marketing. You might want to start off with a monthly mailing, and then increase the frequency to every two weeks, then every week. Test your metrics to see if you’re not mailing enough, or if you’re mailing too frequently. You want your client base to come in steadily, but not so fast that you can’t keep up and it interferes with your ability to offer the best service.
Sample size is also an important part of identifying your ideal client base in direct mailing. It’s often better to start with a smaller sample size and build up from there. This allows you to target in on exactly the kinds of mailing that are ideal for your business.
Brand Identity
Just as with your online marketing, every direct mailing you send out needs to identify who you are. After all, that’s how you’re getting people in. What this means is that in order to integrate your direct mail with your online marketing, you’ll need to make sure that your company identity, logo, slogan and other identifying markers look consistent with your online presence. This will allow your customers to instantly identify the brand name behind the mailings, and prioritize them accordingly.
Analysis and Roll-Out
After you’ve gone through a period of testing, you’ll want to analyze your results to identify which options generated the most success, and integrate that strategy into your overall marketing efforts. For a small business, this won’t take nearly as long or be as involved as for a larger business, and you’ll find that the process of testing and analysis can actually be a lot of fun! It can also spotlight where your costs versus earnings are the best and worst, and help you grow your business.
Personalized Communications
Remember — marketing is about people. The better you are at building relationships, the more fruitful your marketing will be. Don’t use templates and form letters. Use the data at your fingertips to personalize every mailing as much as possible. Including your customer’s name, their interests and even their history with your company shows that you’re paying attention and that you value their business.
Custom-Designed Envelopes
It’s imperative while undertaking any direct mail marketing campaign that your clients are drawn in by their first impressions. That means you need to stand out from all of the other envelopes and mailings they receive. You want them to open your package rather than tossing it out with junk mail.
A custom-printed direct mail envelope can be a great way to accomplish this. You can create your mailing using a wide variety of styles and designs — it can be a lot of fun to brainstorm and develop creative ideas that will grab attention and please the eye. When your clients see the package you send, they’ll know right away that it’s your company they’re dealing with, and the right envelope can entice them to open it up to see what treasures are inside.
Letter Jacket has been in the business of providing beautiful, customized direct mail envelopes to clients for years, and we have a demonstrated history of success. If you’re looking to improve your direct mail marketing efforts, we can help take your business to the next level. Take some time to browse our site and look at the products we have available, and get in touch with us today for a quote, to place an order, or to get more information on how custom-designed envelopes can help you.
