Direct Mail - America's Most Wanted
If we weren’t in the business of growing other businesses, you would never be reading these two pressing words. They would remain a secret to be uncovered only through tireless marketing experimentation or by accident.
These two words will change your business forever and make you rich in the process. If you already know these words, you are undoubtedly already successful in your marketing efforts. So simple, so effective, and yet often overlooked and talked down by pessimists who tried and once failed. If you’ve heard it before, hear it again. Are you ready for it? Two words…
What? That’s it?
That’s it. In direct marketing, mail has the Highest Average ROI of all of ALL verticals over time. Master Direct Mail and you will never run out of qualified business. It’s that simple. You will become wildly successful whether you are selling widgets or pitching a complex sale. A 0.5 – 5% response rate may not sound high, but direct mail draws better than any other media. Imagine running a radio ad with 100,000 listeners returning the same response – you couldn’t even handle the resulting torrent of 500 – 5,000 calls.
The big boys know it (Why else would your mailbox overflow daily in a title wave of shiny postcards and letters?) We know it (At Lead Research Group we manage over 10 million pieces of outgoing mail every month for our clients), and now you know it. Direct mail.
Don’t believe me? Afraid of change? Think mail isn’t sexy enough? Any organization more captivated by their current company culture and procedure vs. ongoing research, execution and growth should heed a “change or die” warning. Competency in any new marketing vertical is always built over time, trial, and expert advice.
Pioneers in profitable business research, seek, become competent and shape company culture around the most productive channels. In most cases, organizations with or without experience, look to outside firms providing full service mail services. Rarely does a firm have the capacity to handle every branch of mail operations in house. Once you have absorbed this advice, here are some keys to direct mail that will keep your business at the forefront of the marketing race:
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” ~Albert Einstein
Simplicity is one of the most important and simultaneously neglected facets to your success in direct mail. Ever heard of K.I.S.S.? No not the rock band; “Keep-It-Simple-Stupid.” Adding zeal to a mail piece is not nearly as effective as building curiosity. Mail is easy and your mail piece should be too. A shiny, colorful postcard with the same call to action as a letter format will often get less than half the response.
“There must be consistency in direction.” ~ W. Edwards Deming
Consistency is ultimately the key to success in Direct Mail. Statistically speaking, one or two out of ten mail drops are going to bomb. Such is the nature of the vertical. After managing thousands of client campaigns, we can vouch for this phenomenon. We like to call it “the perfect storm effect”. Just like fishing, your campaign may not bite even if you are using the right bait in the right spot. You can’t average out the result of a single campaign. The average of 1 is 1. Consistency is key.
“If you ask the right question to the wrong person, guess which answer you’ll get.” ~M. Lee Miller
Matching the mailing list to your offer is the greatest asset of direct mail. Qualify and then pitch. When you sell to the people who want to buy, you are identifying the problem you can solve and mailing to those who need your benefit. It’s the only way to go.
“There is no such thing as a failed experiment, only experiments with unexpected outcomes” ~ Richard B. Fuller
Experimentation will keep things fresh and prevent “mail rot”. Even the most successful mail pieces get stale over time. In Direct Mail, you cannot be afraid of experimenting. Try mailing versions of your piece with different ad copy, pictures, and format. However, it is important to test only one variable at a time. As your results begin to shift in favor of a particular change, cement it, and adjust another element. Test your market over and over again, always refining the creative until you know your mail is a winner!
