Who is most likely to respond to my offer?
What does this person “look like”? Male or Female? Age? Income bracket? Who has purchased your product or service in the past?
Speaking of OFFER, what exactly am I offering?
What is the product? (or service?) Be sure to answer your prospect’s unspoken question: What’s in it for me?
Why should my prospects buy NOW?
Am I extending a discount? Giving a value-added (something free for buying)? Giving special terms (pay $100 per month for the next 6 months?)
What will appeal to my prospects in terms of a direct mail piece?
An oversized postcard? A brochure in an envelope? A self-mailing flyer?
How many should I mail?
See below before you answer this question!
You may be surprised to learn that the three most important aspects of a direct mail promotion are: The list; 2) the list; and 3) the list!
That’s right! The more targeted your mailing list – the narrower you define your prospect customer, the better your results will be. AND the more expensive or targeted your product or service, the longer the sales cycle. In other words, your prospects will need more information and longer to make a decision.
Direct Mail can be expensive – very often the postage per piece is the most costly element of the process! But… don’t get me wrong, direct mail can also be very effective, if planned out and executed correctly.
- Don’t mail to everyone in a particular set of zip codes or towns without targeting your prospects using specific demographics, like income or home value or age
- Don’t send out your direct mail and sit and wait for the phone to ring. Most small businesses cannot afford to just mail and wait – consider this:
- An excellent response rate for direct mail is around 2% — that means that for every 1000 pieces of mail you send out, 980 will be thrown in the garbage without being read or put aside or given a quick look and then discarded.
- A more effective procedure for small businesses is to create your own list of recipients – members of the Chamber of Commerce, or a select list of people or companies you REALLY want to sell to or a membership list of a civic organization you belong to. Gather up all those business cards you’ve been collecting and put them into a database!
- Decide to mail to only the number of people you can efficiently phone next week to follow up. Your goal here is to get an appointment to meet for a brief chat so you can learn more about the company’s needs (that you can fill) and to explain your products and services to your prospect. This is NOT a cold call… You’ve warmed them up with your letter or post card or brochure!
- Try this BEFORE you spend lots of money on a direct mail campaign that may yield little results. You’ll make valuable contacts and learn a lot about how your company and your product/service is perceived in the minds of your prospects.
PERCEPTION IS REALITY! This information will help you to craft your marketing message more precisely so that is resonates with your prospects.
Marketing Questions, contact Katherine Jasmine.
