News
 Marketing
Strategy 3 Steps to Direct Mail Success
By Jim Klein
Direct mail is still the number one marketing
strategy used by many successful sales companies.
With direct mail, you have total control over the
presentation of your message. Direct mail is a
unique blend of advertising and sales. While good
advertising should certainly lead to sales, direct
mail allows you to present the product or service,
make an offer and try to close the sale-all at once!
Sound too good to be true? Its not! Read More
Here are just a few of the advantages of direct mail
as a marketing strategy:
Allows you to target your message to a very
specific audience.
Direct mail is a relatively inexpensive medium.
Direct mail messages can be personalized to add
reader appeal.
You can evaluate its effectiveness. You can keep
track of exactly who responded and from where.
Mail readers are actively involved. People read
their mail when they choose. So, for at least a
second or two, your message will have their
undivided attention while they open and scan it.
There are three elements to an effective direct
marketing strategy:
1. The List
2. The Offer
3. The Mailing Piece
The first of these three steps to a successful
direct mail campaign is obtaining the right list.
Targeting the right market is the key to this
marketing strategy. When selecting your list make
sure you target people most likely to have an
interest in what you have to offer as well as some
things in common with your present clients.
This common ground might be age, sex, occupation,
income, geographic area, family size, magazines they
subscribe to or any number of other demographics.
You can obtain lists that are specific to the
demographics of your particular target market.
You should also maintain an up-to-date list of all
your customers and clients. Direct mail to this list
can create additional business, introduce new
products and services or promote sales or special
offers.
The second step of this marketing strategy is the
development of a "matching offer."
The offer you make in your direct mail needs to be
carefully thought out and matched as closely as
possible to the interests, needs and motivation of
the people on the list. The more specifically you
match the offer and the list the higher the response
rate.
Let me use an example to demonstrate. When I was a
mortgage consultant many of the sales people in the
office sent direct mail. The list that was mailed to
was targeted to homeowners who had taken out
mortgages with specific lenders in a specific time
period. The lenders that were targeted were known to
be lenders with typically high interest rates.
The response and closing rate of those mailings were
higher than a mailing that was sent to all
homeowners in the same area because it was targeted
to a group of people that would be more likely to
want to refinance.
The third element of this marketing strategy is the
mailing piece or the presentation of the offer to
the list.
The most common and least expensive mailing piece
format used by small businesses is the solo format.
It's a single sheet, printed on both sides and
folded in half or thirds and mailed without an
envelope.
Another solo format that's even simpler and less
expensive is a postcard or oversized postcard. This
can be a very cost-effective way of communicating
with your list of customers and clients.
The next step in the development of your mailing
piece is to write the copy or present your offer.
Copywriting is a valuable skill. I urge you to
develop the ability to write good advertising copy.
Here are some tips to get you started.
Take proven sales letters and ads and rewrite them
to fit you and your offer.
Create a swipe file of successful ads and letters.
When you see an ad that catches your eye, save it.
Save your "junk mail." A lot of it's written by
the best copywriters in the world.
Subscribe to the National Inquirer, The Star, The
Globe, etc. The ads in these publications pull in
millions of dollars worth of orders.
Make sure your message matches your market. This
means your offer has to have perceived value to your
prospect.
Use lots of testimonials in your ad copy.
The headline is the most important part of any ad
or letter.
Use multiple PS's in your letter. Restate the
offer, deadline, free gift, etc.
Offer multiple options for your services. Label
them, ex: Gold, Silver, Bronze.
Before you write, make a list of all the
objections a prospect could have for not buying your
product or service and then answer them in your
letter.
Direct mail is a profitable marketing strategy if
it's used properly and all three components are well
thought out. It can provide you with an endless
source of targeted leads for your product or
service.
---Source: Jim
Klein is a sales trainer, personal coach and
international public speaker. Contact:
E-Mail,
Phone: 585-266-6116. Website: http://www.fromtheheartsalestraining.com
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