How to Make Direct Mail Work for Your Business

After more than 15 years in the direct response business and the development of thousands of direct mail programs for small and mid-sized businesses, I am convinced that direct mail is one of the more valuable and least utilized marketing tools for businesses - particularly New York businesses.

Why New York in particular? New York has a highly concentrated population of businesses and residents compared to other major metropolitan areas. On one hand, it may appear that newspapers, radio, or TV with their ability to reach most New Yorkers might be great media choices. Yet for most tri-state area businesses, the cost of newspaper and broadcast media are too expensive and/or do not produce sufficient results to justify the expense.

Here are a couple of ways to take uncertainty out of direct mail and improve your results.

Targeting the Right People
Most direct mail professionals will tell you that your list choice is the single most important element in determining the success of your mailing. No matter how well-crafted your mailing piece may be, your campaign will fail if it isn't reaching the right people. The “right” people can be current customers, inactive or former customers, as well as finding prospective customers.

Current customers:

• May be your best prospects since you already know them.
• Cross-sell your other products and services.
• Increase your current customers’ purchase frequency or size of their transactions by offering a bonus or discounts. 

Inactive or former customers:

• If you know why they are inactive or switched to another supplier, notify them of improvements in those areas
• If you don’t know why they are inactive or switched, mailing a questionnaire to this group can provide you with valuable insight into your business. It is also an opportunity to make them a special offer to win them back.

New customers: 

• Carefully review your current customers to identify certain characteristics that distinguish your "best customers”
• Renting a mailing list that most closely matches the characteristics of your “best customers” will enable you attract more customers just like them.

Examples of characteristics for developing a “best customer” profile (use the ones appropriate for your product or service):

Once you have your categories, you can “rent” a list. The cost for a rented list is usually given in terms of cost per 1,000 names. For consumer lists, the cost-per-thousand tends to range between $50 and $200. For business lists (reaching people at work), rates tend to be higher. The price you pay is for one-time use of the list, unless you make other arrangements with the list provider which will normally result in a higher rental fee. Dunn & Bradstreet is probably the largest and most well-known supplier of business lists and offers a full range of additional services to assist you in developing a successful business-to-business mailing program. InfoUSA would be a good source for consumer list rental. To find lists, check the Direct Marketing Association web site, or consult with your direct marketing agency or list broker.

Saying the Right Thing
In direct marketing there is one simple rule, “Find the right people, and say the right thing.” It may sound silly, but keep it in mind as it will serve you well.

Form
The form your message takes is a critical decision. What impression do you want to make on the recipient? While a postcard might work well for a retailer or restaurant owner wanting to tell prospective customers about a special offer, a postcard to a senior executive will either be trashed by the secretary before it ever reaches her/him, or it will not be taken seriously.

Content
Many people worry about being too direct. Don’t. Write directly to people who are interested or ready to make a decision about what you have to offer. Those that aren’t interested at the moment will trash your mailing. They just aren’t prospects now. But, if you don’t get to the point, those would-be prospects will trash it because they don’t want to waste time.

Make an Offer
Every direct mail campaign should make an offer and it should meet two criteria. It must be:

• Consistent with your brand.
• Relevant to the decision you want the recipient to make.

Making an offer does not require giving discounts or premiums. In fact, in certain instances discounts don’t fit the company’s brand strategy (think Harry Winston Jewelers and Lutece Restaurant) However, a company could offer an invitation to a special event or useful information like “Ten Tips to Purchasing Stereo Equipment.” (You fill in the underscored area.). For many businesses however, trial offers and discounts are relevant and simple to implement.