Direct
Mail - Easily Place Your Marketing Message in
Front of the Eyes of Targeted Prospects
For
those of you who aren't using direct mail as part
of your marketing strategy, then I say "shame
on you". You're leaving hundreds of thousands
of dollars on the table by not using this incredible
medium.
I'm
sure most all you receive a ton of junk mail everyday
and if you're like me, you're probably standing
over the trash can sorting through the pieces
you'll keep, while tossing the others right into
the trash receptacle.
Many
small businesses don't use direct mail, but most
of the larger corporations use it on a regular
basis. Direct mail works and it's extremely profitable
if used correctly, and I'll prove it to you with
an example of course.
I
market a line of photo blankets, here is the site:
Photo
Blankets
My
preference is going after mothers who just had
babies and with direct mail, it's very easy to
do. I purchase "mailing lists" and with
mailing lists, you can be as specific as you want.
For this particular product, here is what I must
be available when I purchase a list:
I only want new mothers between the ages of
25-35
Baby must have been born within the last 90
days
She must have purchased items via mail or Internet
in the last 180 days
And she must have a credit card
When
I buy a list from a new mailing list broker, I
typically buy a small batch of 5,000 names to
test the quality of the list (5,000 is typically
the minimum amount you can buy). I'd recommend
testing 3 myself...
The
5,000 names here typically range anywhere from
about $500 - $750 depending on the number of selects
(requirements) you request. Not bad for 5,000
qualified names and addresses of people most likely
to purchase your product/service.
It's
not necessary to mail to all 5,000 names, in fact,
I'd split them up and mail one package to a group
of 2,500 and the other package to the other group
of 2,500. Why? Let's say you don't know how much
to charge for the blanket? So instead of trying
to figure it out for yourself, why don't you mail
a package with 2 different prices to see which
one customers respond most too...
And
lower prices don't always win...
You'd
be shocked to learn that you'll sell more blankets
at $169 than you would at $99. Hard to believe?
It happens all the time. Let's assume 2% of the
people who received your package decided to purchase
a blanket. 2% of twenty-five hundred people is
50. Let's say you sold 50 blankets to a group
of 2,500 people at $169, and let's say you sold
50 blankets at $99 to the other group of 2,500
people...
If you never tested the price (or allowed your
market to determine the price), you would have
lost tens of thousands of dollars! Let's break
down the numbers:
50
blankets at $169 = $8,450.00
50 blankets at $99 = $4,950.00
-----------------------------------------------
A difference of: $3,500.00
Not
impressive enough? After testing everything, let's
assume you decide to mail out 50,000 packages
the following month, with the same 2% response
rate: 1,000 blankets sold!
1000
blankets at $169 = $169,000.00
1000 blankets at $99 = $99,000.00
-----------------------------------------------------
A difference of: $70,000.00
It
didn't cost you a dime more to mail a package
at $99 or $169. But if you didn't test your price
point, you would have left $70,000.00 on the table.
There
are a lot of other variables to consider when
using direct mail, but when used correctly, it
can take your business to another level.
It's
been said that the success of a direct mailing
campaign can be broken down into three components:
- The
mailing list (your audience)
- The
marketing message conveyed in the overall package
- The
offer (incentive for the customer to buy)
Direct
mail allows for high target market selectivity,
personalization, testing, and most importantly,
it enables you to test and measure results.
Advantages
of Direct Mail
Targeting - An important aspect of direct
mail is its ability to precisely target previous
customers. If a suitable list was available,
it also did a good job of targeting prospects.
Personalization - Direct mail can be
addressed to the customer personally and be
tailored to their needs based on previous transactions
and gathered data.
Optimization - Because of its direct
accountability, direct mail can be tested to
find the best list; the best offer; the best
timing (and many other factors). Then the winning
tests can be rolled out to a wider audience
for optimal results.
If
you're interested in moving forward, feel free
to contact us right
now.
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