Marketing Your Business with Direct Mail: 4 Steps for Success

When many business owners delegate their time to different aspects of owning and operating a business, it can be a difficult task for them to design a successful direct mail marketing campaign. Although it may seem simple, there are many factors to take into account to ensure steps for success.

Companies can run effective and targeted direct marketing campaigns at a fraction of the cost of broadcast advertising. A targeted direct marketing campaign will also give you a better understanding of how your customers respond to the products or services you offer.

Continue reading to learn how to create a direct mail marketing campaign that lead to conversions.

4 Steps for Success with a Direct Mail Marketing Campaign:

1.   Conduct Research

The First step in any successful direct mail campaign is to know your customer. Your best prospects will look like your current customers. You might be able to work with a larger range of prospects but in direct mail, you want to focus on your best type of customer. So you need to ask yourself; what does my customer look like? Where do they live? What products do they buy and how frequently? All of these are great questions that you should know going into your direct mail campaign so that your marketing efforts are focused towards your best customer.

Most businesses fail to realize that simple point and waste tons of money trying to find a needle in a haystack by marketing to everyone they think could use their service. The best way to find new prospects is to target those that most look like your current ones. So figure out where your clients are located, what they look like and what products they respond to. Then build your direct mail campaign focused towards that.

2.   Buy a Mailing List

Once you’ve figured out what your ideal customer looks like, you have to locate them. Working with a mailing list company will allow you to identify those top prospects and purchase a targeted mailing list. The Mailing list will become the most important part of your direct mail campaign because marketing to the wrong person can cost you thousands of dollars.

There are tons of lists out there and finding the right list can be frustrating at times, so we encourage you to work with direct mailing list specialist to ensure you are targeting the right prospects. Attaining an up to date mailing list is crucial for the success of your campaign.

3.   Create the Direct Mail Piece

Now that you know your customer and have the right mailing list, you need to create a direct mail piece that will get their attention. Make sure your design represents your brand and is relevant to your target market. Choosing a design and messaging for the right audience can make or break your response rates, which is why you need an expert like Modern Mail and Printing Solutions who’s familiar with all the underlying factors.

When thinking of your creative, be consistent with your company brand and other marketing collateral you have used to build on your brand awareness.  The more that prospects see your name and message, the more they will know what it is you do and offer, so staying consistent with your Brand is very important. Highlight the services that are most relevant to your audience and put forth a strong offer/call to action that will impel your prospect to respond now and not later.

4.   Track your Response

One of the biggest benefits to a direct mail campaign is the ability to effectively track your response rates. By including ways to measure your response rates with your direct mail it will allow you to know what is working and what isn’t. Tracking allows you to test different offers, images and messaging within your campaign so that you can make adjustments before sending it a second time.

Using direct-in-dial phone numbers, Personalized URLs and Promo Codes allows the business owners to evaluate the effectiveness of a direct mail program and make adjustments where needed. Without putting measurables in place, businesses can spend lots of money on mailing list and marketing services that aren’t successful. By taking the time to implement some tracking on your direct mail, it will help you identify which customers are most likely to need your services, your efforts can be focused where they stand the greatest chance of success.

Modern Mail & Print Solutions offers an effective marketing strategy that is affordable for both large and small businesses. We have a wide range of direct mail products and services to help you. Contact us if you would like to get started with marketing your business with direct mail.