How Can Direct Mail Help Your Business?

Going Postal Yet?

Experts of different stripes argue for their favorite forms of marketing. Proponents of electronic media like to claim that print and direct mail are dead. Print media fans argue their side with vigor.

Writing off any one form of marketing as a whole is a bad idea. It’s important to consider a variety of possibilities and use a combination of efforts to get the best results.

Direct mail still offers benefits. I recently visited with Mike Bruton of Mailworks to learn more about the benefits of direct mail.


RECENT TRENDS

Marketing budgets have been reduced and money spent on traditional media has dropped in recent years. Some are emphasizing electronic communications and others are simply communicating less. This is true both in commercial and institutional settings. But, according to emarketer.com, traditional media spending might be on the rebound. It has at least leveled off from its plummet of recent years.

One point to note is that electronic communication is not free. Some efforts, like social media, appear to offer the promise marketing power without cost. It certainly has its advantages but there is a cost. It requires time and effort. You either do it yourself or pay others. Direct mail also has its expenses but it offers some great benefits. And it you use a direct mail house, they can help you reduce expenses.


BENEFITS OF DIRECT MAIL

-   Targeting is much easier: You can get very detailed geographically or by other criteria. If you have a roofing company, for example, you can easily target an area that recently had a bad storm. A hobby shop can buy a mailing list to reach an audience with specific interests.

-   Solicit Feedback: You can include reply cards for feedback. You’ll get warm leads and other marketing intelligence. If you have a lawn care service, for example, you can get feedback regarding peoples’ satisfaction with their current service.

-   People Like Fat Mail: You can send samples, electronic discs or larger pieces of information like a catalog. Mike Bruton has a large customer who makes their industrial catalogs available online, but printed versions are often requested. It’s easier to take a printed version to a co-worker and turn to the correct page than to ask them to scroll down 40 pages of a .pdf.

-   Raise Awareness: People who don’t know you exist can find out about you through direct mail. It’s true that people are more often using online searches to find what they need. But that does NOT mean that you can’t raise awareness through other methods. And being online doesn't automatically mean that people will find you on Google. A lot of resources go into a successful SEO effort.

-   Combine with Electronic: You can use direct mail to drive traffic to your website or social sites. Consider the use of PURLs (Personal URLs). You can also use electronic efforts to collect information to get physical mailing addresses.

-   It’s Less Intrusive: Buying email lists is considered poor practice. And people have stronger feelings about Spam in their inbox than unrequested direct mail.


FOLLOWING THE GUIDELINES OF A DIRECT MAIL HOUSE WILL REDUCE STRESS AND MAILING COSTS


PREPARING FOR DIRECT MAIL

Get a direct mail house involved early on. Graphic artists are sometimes unaware of postal rules and how the design can increase or decrease mailing costs. Field size and background color of large post cards are two considerations. If not designed properly, you'll feel the pain in postage.

It's also good to know that a direct mail house will sort your database before labels are printed. Proper sorting can greatly reduce mailing costs.


ABOUT YOUR DATABASE

Be sure that your database is built properly from the beginning.

Collect as much information as possible without being intrusive. Building greater trust or offering a great incentive will make people willing to provide more detail.

Use only two address fields. You can use more if you only use them internally and call them something different. If you export a list with more than two address fields you'll end up with problems.

Proper entry is critical. If your database gives you the option, set it up so that data entry staff can only enter info in the proper order.


IS DIRECT MAIL RIGHT FOR YOU?

The basic question to ask: “Is the return worth the investment?” The costs are easy to project, so it’s a matter of considering the value of each sale and comparing it to your estimation of the response rate.

The other question to ask is, "What ELSE are we doing?" limiting yourself to one single method is not a great idea. Instead, an integrated effort with combined methods will help you a lot more.


Want to know more about the benefits of using a direct mail house?  Mike Bruton can be reached at (314) 432-7411


ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
- Traditional Media Spending Making a Return?

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Steve Smart provides small business marketing help for small business owners.