Your target market is being bombarded with marketing messages—make sure your mailer stands out in the recipient’s mail pile and doesn’t end up in their recycling bin…or, worse yet, overlooked entirely! Uniquely sized mailing pieces and textured envelopes like plastic or vellum make a huge impact. And don’t limit yourself to envelopes: try a colored box or a mailing tube to create extra curiosity and interest. 

A good offer is critical to a campaign’s success and increasing your response rate. Your recipients are busy, so reward them for opening your direct mail piece. Rewards can vary from educational materials (information about a new product or special event) to incentives (coffee cards, gift certificates or must-have gadgets). Also, your messaging must hit pain points and offers must drive to action, so position yourself as The Solution, not The Salesperson. Help prospects understand how you can stretch their budgets, solve their problems and ease their daily challenges.

Ensure your marketing list contains the right information and contacts. Campaign success is 50% dependent on the prospects’ targeted data. The best source is your in-house list, which consists of current customers and prospects you’ve touched in the past.  If you want a supplemental list, make sure to pick it based upon the demographics of your best customers. Then, to ensure the data you receive is up-to-date, conduct a list cleansing before you mail. Why invest in sending out a direct mail piece if it’s not going to the right prospect?

It’s important to reach out to your target audience multiple times with a variety of communications. Sending out one piece of direct mail to your target market and expecting the sales to pour in does not happen. Consider this: statistics suggest that 80% of sales are made after the 12th touch. For proven, maximum effectiveness, combine direct mail with telemarketing efforts to increase response and success. And this goes for your current customers as well: this group is your “low-hanging fruit”—they are ripe for you to upsell additional products and services. If you neglect them, you may find the next time they go to purchase, they go to a competitor.

4 ½)  Seriously…
Touch them again. Really. We insist.