Direct mail marketing has long been a popular tool for businesses of all sizes to engage with potential customers. In spite of the growing popularity of digital media, the impact provided by direct mail marketing efforts is tangible and effective. According to a recent Direct Marketing Association (DMA) report, 79% of consumers act on direct mail immediately. The report also noted that the average response rate for direct mail is 4.4%, compared to email’s response rate of 0.12%.
Tactics like audience segmentation and predictive modeling can play a vital role in driving the effectiveness of a direct mail campaign as well as other types of business communications. However, in order to increase the precision of your campaigns, and send targeted, relevant offers to specific audiences, you need to integrate a few game-changing practices. Here is a step-by-step list.
Direct Mail Marketing Tips
TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE
Marketers must deliver the right message at the right time. One can rely upon basic demographic, geographic, and buyers’ data to create a segmented list of customers for whom the direct mail message is relevant.
KEEP YOUR DIRECT MAILING LIST CLEAN
According to the U.S. Census, each year, 43 million Americans move. Keep your direct mail database accurate by referring to the USPS National Change of Address database, which contains more than 16 million permanent change of address records. In addition to referring to the agency database, one can also rely on data validation services provided by a legitimate direct mailing list provider. After all, the list needs to be cleaned to remove duplicate entries, names on do-not-mail lists, and undeliverable addresses, on an on-going basis.
PERSONALIZE YOUR MESSAGE
Consumers report that personalized mails are more memorable and engaging. When direct mail messages target audience, according to individual preferences, those mailers are less likely to be discarded or ignored.
OPTIMIZE YOUR CALL TO ACTION
The call-to-action should urge your readers to act. It should be simple, clear, and easy to respond. More importantly, it should be something that is measurable, so that collecting information becomes easy and help you determine the success/failure of the campaign and make further improvements.
CREATE A COMPELLING MAILER DESIGN
Think beyond traditional aspects, and use various aspects of mailing, such as – colors, print techniques, format, and print substrate – in order to stand out from the crowd.
MAKE YOUR COPY READABLE
Create a reader-friendly design, using formatting options such as bullet points and callouts to maintain an engaging copy. A basic understanding of the principles of design can help you create a compelling direct mail marketing copy.
TRACK YOUR SUCCESS
Include unique identifiers in your CTA so that it is easy for you to track responses and measure your direct mail marketing success. Below are a few tips on ways to track your direct mail marketing campaign:
QR Codes: QR Codes in marketing is starting to gain traction. The fastest way to get a QR Code is over at QR Stuff (free) or Custom QR Codes (stylish designs). QR Codes act as a bridge between direct mail and digital content. You can also receive scan analytics when you opt for a premium account.
URL: As with a unique QR code, you need a unique web page for each campaign to measure analytics.
Coupons: To track responses as people redeem your coupons, make sure you create a unique code on the coupons used for a particular direct mail campaign.
Phone Call: As with URLS and Coupons, use a special phone number where your audience can reach to and provide a unique identification code imprinted on the mailer as a part of the order intake process.
Text Message: Text messaging is the easiest way to respond since you neither have to create a special code or set up a unique landing page. Your audience simply needs to enter the unique code from the mailer to respond to your campaign.
These seven best practices in direct mail marketing will certainly help you make the most. Subscribe to FrescoData Blog for more such direct marketing tips and tricks.
