The world of marketing has transformed before our very eyes, in such a short timeframe. To get eyes on your business, marketing has to be more than word of mouth. In fact, you or your business have to get a bead on several technologies, to reach your goals. However, doing things digitally doesn’t have to be your only strategy.
Resorting to the traditional ways of physically mailing something to your consumers can be just as effective. This is also known as direct mail. Direct mail marketing has been used for decades, and it leads to successful results if the right steps are followed.
Given that we live in an increasingly digital-only world, keep in mind these tips on how to run a direct mail campaign:
1. Mailing List
If you are a business owner, or work in some form of marketing role, you know how vital it is to be organized. You can’t expect to see tangible results by marketing your products or services to every consumer in sight. As a result, you’ll want to develop an organized mailing list first and foremost.
Not only can a mailing list help you stay organized, but it allows you to keep a good record of potential consumers. Whether they are large or small, you can use this list to gauge who engages with your campaign. This method works regardless of what you are physically mailing out, be it a letter or a package.
2. Designing The Piece
Designing the piece is another important tip on how to run a direct mail campaign. Before you get ready to mail out your prospective item, or piece, you’ll have to think about certain factors. In order to make your consumer engage with your piece, it has to be designed to be engaged with! Sending an item that does not include a call to action may discourage the consumer from interacting further.
A good rule of thumb to keep in mind when designing the piece is to make it valuable. Visuals are incredibly important, which can spur the consumer to engage with it beyond a glance. Be clever with the text you put on the piece, and highlight the key parts. A call to action should always be directly visible, for instance.
3. Quality Control
Even if you think your physical item is ready to be mailed out, it doesn’t hurt to do some proofreading. Failure to do this may result in your piece being ignored at best, or losing a consumer at worst. As such, you should always take the time to do some quality control once ready.
Check all text to ensure that there are no spelling mistakes present. For the design elements, ensure that you have it reviewed by a professional. A good graphic designer can spot potential flaws a mile away; this is vital for a successful direct mail product!
4. Coding Responses
When it comes to your mailing list, the quantity of consumers you have can be larger than expected. This can quickly become cluttered, especially if you don’t know how to track who has responded and who hasn’t. Coding your mailing products will be your best friend in this light.
Adding a batch number identifier to your item ensures that you know what was sent and who it was sent to. It is a simple way to make sure that you can keep track of those consumers who actually responded back. Once that is taken care of, you can take your engagement to the next level.
5. Experiment
Running the actual direct mail campaign may be tempting, but conducting a trial run would be in your benefit. So, take about a quarter or less of your mailing list, and run a trial campaign. Not only does this help with seeing who engages, but it gives you a window into how successful you can be!
6. Customer Responses
In what is perhaps one of the most important parts of the process, your consumers need to be tended to carefully. If you work with a company, a customer’s inquiry should be turned to the right department. These responses should also be paid attention to as soon as possible!
7. Analyze
Once the campaign has been ran, you’ll have to do a debrief on how well it worked. Take a look at engagement levels of your physical items. What has worked, and what hasn’t? These metrics will assist you in your next campaign.
8. Follow Up
Don’t forget to send a small gesture of kindness to those who have engaged with you! It can be as simple as sending a thank you note, or by sending them future promotional items. Always try to indicate to your consumers that you care about them beyond the campaign.
Although it may seem risky at first, direct mail campaigns can work if done correctly. Preparation is vital, just as much as the final analysis is once the campaign is finished. The traditional ways of marketing are not yet obsolete after all!
