Best Practices For Direct Mailing

According to a print ad survey conducted by Compu-Mail, about 73 per cent of consumers prefer direct mail as opposed to other types of ads; 40 per cent of recipients try a new business suggested by direct mailing, spend 25 minutes with direct mail, and 30 minutes with catalogues; and 48 per cent keep the mail for future reference.

Many marketers are aware of these statistics. And with the growing saturation of digital marketing and diminishing volume of direct mailing, consumers are more likely to respond to relevant and well-planned direct mailing. In this regard, here are some of the best practices for a direct mail campaign:

1. Target your campaignAs with any other digital marketing campaign, it is important to first get the necessary, up-to-date data and leverage it to identify the right market for your direct mail campaign.
2. Personalize the mailOnce you have defined narrower segments for your target audience, you can create a personalised offer for each one of them. Your customers and prospects are unique, and they should be treated that way. Use data from your CRM and external sources that gather prospect data to customise the campaign experience.
3. Use a clear and compelling call-to-actionYour direct mail must include a clear call-to-action (CTA). Your CTA must clearly communicate to the recipient what you want him/her to do. Repeating the CTA makes it visually obvious, especially for recipients who skim through their mail. Consider using sidebars and a “P.S.” section to briefly reiterate your offer and CTA.
4. Include multiple ways to respondYou should try to make it as easy as possible for customers and prospects to respond to your CTA. So, provide as many options as possible, including phone numbers for placing orders, order-form inserts, postage-paid postcards, or coupons for online and in-person use. You can also allow responses using a mobile device with QR codes, distinct coupon codes, URLs for offer landing pages, or even RFID chips.
5. Time your DMTiming is a major factor that affects response rates. Your direct mail should be properly timed so your recipients receive it using the right medium and at an opportune time, with consideration of the stage of the purchase journey that they are in.

Lastly, identify key performance indicators (KPI) and identify metrics that tell you that your direct mailing campaign is on the right track. You should plan how to measure success from the start of the campaign, and set up the programs in a way that you can track results conveniently. Interested in adding direct mail marketing to your advertising mix? Please call our Toronto mailing house at 1-866-486-0423. Troi spells success, one letter at a time! Previous Article Next Article