Why Use Direct Mail?

If your company deals with direct marketing, then you are aware that direct mail Is still a viable option in your marketing campaigns; but you are not sure how to use it. Thankfully, the staff at Mailing List Connection are data experts. Not only that but they can help you understand the best way to conduct your direct mail campaign.

With crowded email inboxes and a sea of online advertising direct mail stands out from the crowd. A direct mail advertisement presents itself to the customer physically and won’t get lost among spam filters and competing emails. The mailing is in the customer’s hands making it more likely that it will be read and stored. The receiver of the mailing also gets a sense that the email is personal. Names and personal touches make the customer feel that your company cares about them.

Direct mailings can target specific demographics to sell a product or convey a message. With a target demographic it is easier to promote a product or service through devices such as catalogs, brochure, and postcards. It is also cost-effective; you can be sure that for the investment made customers will hold the mailing in their hands. Bulk rates make mass mailings affordable and profitable. Direct mail is also a time-tested marketing strategy that has survived decades of electronic advancement from the radio to smartphones.  Here are some direct mail best practices that will help you effectively reach potential customers.

Make Direct Mail Part of Your Overall Marketing Campaign

With the attention a direct mailing will draw to your product or service, incorporating it into an overall strategy makes sense. We can help you understand the best practices for your direct mail campaign.

Emails and text ads are more likely to catch the attention of your target demographic. The word campaign is indeed appropriate for this marketing strategy; it will have to be ongoing to make an impact. Multiple mailings, emails, social media, and ad campaigns will have to be executed to reach new customers. Being persistent is the key to being successful in your campaign. Make sure to record what mailings get the best response so you can adjust your campaign accordingly. With a campaign spread across multiple formats, you are guiding potential customers where you want them to be.

Make Your Mailing Personal

It’s an old axiom, but nonetheless true that people love to hear or read their own name; Dale Carnegie wrote about it in 1936, and it still holds today.  The more personalized you can make your content the better it will attract the customer’s interest. Not only does it show that you know who your customers are, it shows that your company cares about them. Personalization also becomes an opportunity for micro-targeting and reaching a specific group. It also means that your customer will remember your company name because your mailing was personal. The benefits that a personal mailing produce are more than worth the effort to tailor content to individual customers.

Make Your Mailing Data Rich

The time spent reading a mailer is likely to exceed the time spent reading a social media post or an email. While you have captured your customer’s attention, it is the perfect opportunity to convey more about your product or service. Make sure that your mailer has splashy graphics that will grab the customer’s attention and pleasant, eye-pleasing fonts. Use well-designed graphics that will continue to hold the customer’s attention.

Ask your best customers if you can get a quote from them to use in your mailer. Testimonials are a proven way to convince a potential customer that they should use you instead of a competitor. By including information on how your product or service could benefit a customer you are building both your brand and customer loyalty.

Use Up to Date Information

Using the same data for a mailing done to years ago will not yield the results you are looking for in your campaign. People move due to jobs or pass away from illness, so you want to make sure your database is up to date. Accurate data is vital to know about your target demographic and their interests. You also want to make sure that the mailings you do go to customers who can use your services.

If your company sells snow shovels, a mailing to Florida will not give you very good return on investment. Knowing which areas of the country have the most annual snowfall would help you to mail to the right customers. Having accurate data will let you know what age, income, interests potential customers have and how best to market to their individual needs.  Express in your mailer how your product or service can help them with their everyday life.

Use a Strong Call to Action

Just as with an email or social media campaign your call to action is essential to reaching customers. You want to persuade your customer that your company’s product or service can improve their life. Without a compelling call to action you will not convince customers of anything.  A clear and irresistible call to action needs to be where the customer will react to it.

The best way to get a customer to respond to a call to action is by using the right language, keeping it brief, and making sure it is seen in several locations on your flyer. Your customer is not going to be following a link such as would be included in an email or social media posts, so repetition of the call to action is crucial.  The repetition works the same as memorizing something; it becomes engrained in a customer’s mind by seeing it multiple times; this means the call to action will not be forgotten after an hour. Use the call of action anywhere you can without ruining the aesthetics of your mailer.  Days after the mailer was read customers will remember your call to action.

Let Us Help With Your Mailing Campaign

Mailing List Connection can help you generate a mailing list to reach your target customers. We can also use the direct mail best practices to help guide you through creating an effective campaign. Let our data experts get you started on the right foot when it comes to your next targeted direct marketing campaign.

Mailing List Connection is the unparalleled expert at direct mail campaigns. Call us today at 469-549-4000 or fill out our online contact form. Our knowledgeable and highly trained live support specialists are ready to assist you.