Direct mail pieces have long been a weapon in many marketing campaigns. Even with the proliferation of the Internet, direct mail is still a viable marketing tactic. As technology improves and color printing costs go down, there’s no reason not to send out direct mail pieces, like catalogs and brochures.

But to get a good response rate from direct mail, you need to follow a few guidelines. Outlined here are some guidelines to help you get started with your successful direct mail campaign.

Know your RFM. This pertains to the people on your mailing list. The “R” means their “recent purchase,” “F” stands for “frequency” and “M” means your customers’ “monetary profile.” You need to know when each customer last bought something from you, how often that person buys your product from you (and a similar product from a competitor), and how much she generally spends for your product or your competitors’ product. You need to know who you’re sending your direct mail pieces to so that you don’t waste your money by sending pieces to people who don’t buy that often from you.

Send out three direct mail pieces a month to each customer. Experts say this is the minimum number of pieces consumers need to see to notice marketing. These three pieces don’t all have to be the same kind of marketing piece – you can send out a brochure one week, a letter the next week and a postcard the last week.

Give consumers a great offer. You want customers to take action after reading your direct mail pieces. To encourage them to take the action you want, you’ll need to entice them – with a coupon, a free trial or sample, or a special deal that’s only available for a limited time. A great offer will get customers out of their houses and into your store.

Test your direct mail materials. You can either test your materials by sending out only a few hundred to a segment of your target audience and tracking how many respond, or you can test more informally by presenting your materials to employees, families and friends. Ask for honest feedback (best in an anonymous form, like a comment card) and then incorporate that feedback into your materials.

Keep it simple. Too many words plus one little postcard equals a direct mail piece that won’t be read. The same goes for a brochure that has so many images and text on it that you can’t tell which side is the front and which side is the back. You want to get a lot of information on your direct mail piece, which is fine, but don’t forsake your design for content. A cluttered piece will simply not be read. One tactic to get around this is to send out three pieces to the same person with different information highlighted on each of the three pieces. Another tactic is to include a few benefits on the direct mail piece and then include a call to action that directs the customer to your Web site for more information.

Here are some tips to help make your envelope a winner…..

1) Don’t feature your corporate name and address if it doesn’t mean anything
to the reader. For example, there’s a good chance the words “Quicken” or
“QuickBooks” means more to prosepcts than the name “Intuit”. That’s why it’s
okay to put your corporate name, return address and logo on the back of the
envelope.
2) Load up your envelope with copy
There’s no law that says teaser copy has to be just one line long.
3) Don’t use any teaser copy at all
Why the complete contradiction to point number two above? Because there
are times when a blank envelope will work just fine. If there’s no copywriting on
the envelope the reader HAS to open it in order to check out the contents.
Which works best? LOTS of copy or NO copy – for most purposes, when you are
mailing bulk – give envelope copy a shot first.
4) Try using a different size envelope
If you’re locked in to using #10 envelopes, try testing another size. The obvious
choice is the 6″ x 9″ format but consider using a large envelope as a well. Sure
a big envelope costs a little more, but anything you can do to stand out from
the other letters in the pile is a plus.
5) Give a window envelope a try
Very often a window envelope, with the personalized Business Reply Card
showing through, will pull better than a closed face envelope. Consider giving
this a test.
6) Use more than one window
Sometimes a little second window can be used to grab the reader’s attention.
When should you use an extra one or two windows? When you have a four-color
brochure or reply device, and can let some of the provocative copy peek through.
Don’t settle for what you’ve always done in the past. Stretch yourself and test
something new.
7) Use the space on the back of the envelope
It can be a mistake to completely ignore the back surface of your envelope.
You never know how your package is going to fall on someone’s desk. That’s
why it makes good sense to use both sides of the envelope if your budget permits.

A final word…..the envelope really is one of the keys to success in any mailing.
Sure the letter does all the hard selling, but if the envelope never gets opened,
the greatest letter in the world will go unread. Test some new approaches and
see how they work for your company.

Source: Inside Direct Mail – Ivan Levison
Ivan does freelance creative work for such companies as Intel, Microsoft,
Bank of America, and Fireman’s Fund, writing sales letters, emails and ads. Category : Direct Mail | By : Cathy | Comments [10] | Trackbacks [0] 04 Sep 2009   12:34:32 pm Let mslDirect get you the most for your marketing dollar….

During rough economic times, it’s easy for those who control the budget to say that if response rates are down, they don’t want to invest in testing. Wise executives know that the time to spend more marketing dollars is when sales
are down. It’s true there is a risk involved in testing new ideas in an effort to “beat the control” and increase response rates. Testing takes an investment in time and resources, often including additional funds. However the outcome is
often worth the risk.

You want to test, not only to increase your ROI, but also to learn. The more you know about what works the best, the better you can market to segments that emerge as your marketing programs evolve.

1) Start With the Basics
It’s imperative to go back to the basics. Think about your business and marketing objectives and what you need to learn to improve. What variables will make the most difference in your results? Create a plan for your testing that will lead to methodical improvements. Test only one element at a time, and use appropriate quantities to provide statistical significance. Or, if you are testing multiple elements, add separate test cells to your testing matrix. While this seems obvious to direct mail veterans, time and again we have clients who are confused about this. For example, if you test lists and offers at the same time within the same test cells, you will never know which element provided a lift.
Recognize the importance of your lists, offers/positioning, creative and the timing of your touches, in that order. No matter what the current economic conditions are like, lists still make up the majority of your marketing success – 40 to 50%. Understanding this. along with the power of relevant offers (30 to 35% of your success) is critical to jump-start your response rates and lift your ROI. Don’t be lured into testing a new format or design unless you have done a better
than average job of testing lists (both house and prospect files), offers and message positioning/copy platform. Then, it will be prudent to develop some new creative tests to try to move the sales needle north.

2) House Databases Need Top Priority
In an economic downturn, data and its hygiene become even more critical to your ROI success. Understanding key segments and relying on your best customers will get your further ahead than almost anything else. Know who the buyer is and who the decision makers are. If you have a great understanding of your segments, test a referral program to your top customers and watch the results pour in. Combining segments with offers is also a wise idea. Focus on customer service and retention FIRST in economic downturns. To create raving fans, you need to prove that you care about your customers. If you do that, when you go to them and ask for additional business, referrals and testimonials, they will be more than happy to help. Far too many companies, even in this economy, assume that their customers will stick with them. Don’t assume! Actions speak volumes over words. Customer service and retention are areas that are quite testable, yet few firms test enough here. Segment and rank your customers in importance. All customers are not created equal. Considering channel preferences, offer motivators, RFM and other key factors
like geography and the aforementioned timing will help your testing efforts. When you hone in on specific market or audience, you can specialize your offer, messaging and tactics to specifically appeal to its wants and needs. You just may find your loyal regulars ready to spend extra for the something more you suddenly
have to offer them.

MORE THOUGHTS ON TESTING….NEXT POST!!

Source: Inside Direct Mail – Grant A. Johnson
Grant is a marketing maverick and founder of Brookfield, WI based
Johnson Direct. He is passionate about measurability and messaging
revelance in an over-communicated, multi-channel marketing world.

1. Font selection and sizing is the most simple way to increase visibility of your design.