Who likes their mailbox stuffed with random flyers? Probably none! But those flimsy pieces of papers hold a lot of value for small and growing businesses alike.
A winning direct mail marketing strategy is hard to figure out but has profound benefits for businesses of every size. Getting a positive response against direct mail offers still holds the card for small and house-based companies.
Many companies have shunned the idea of sending direct mails. But figures speak a different story altogether. As per the ANA/DMA Response Rate Report 2018, the direct mail response rate for house lists was an incredible 9% – registering a decent spike from the previous year.
When done it right, expect your business to receive direct inquiries and generate more business for your company. Herein, we are listing five tips that help in optimizing your direct mail campaigns:
1. Mails that Matter
Who has the time to sort the stack of tens and often hundreds of letters? Most of them end up in the trash can only. With the average human attention span lasts for eight seconds, you need to cut away from the standard and often mundane form of direct mail marketing.
A touch of personalization makes a notable difference and improves the opening rate of your mail. You can add personalization adding:
- Recipient’s name/company name
- Personalize mail content based on recent purchase history
- Special offers ( sale/discount/coupons)
As per ANA | DMA Response Rate Report, 2018, nearly 80% of consumers put their trust in companies that offer personalized experiences. Make smart tweaks in the mail letters build a personal connection with the readers, and they feel more valued and cared for
2. Content that Never Fails
A crisp, and concise written in simple language makes an instant connection with the recipients. Use a convincing tone to send the message across. Convey the potent benefits of products and services that solve the problems of the end customers.
Remember, do not oversell or go into self-bragging. Get to the point with:
- Engaging and enticing headline
- To the point – no vague titles
- A strong/compelling tone
- Jargon-free
- Provides solution
- Use legible font sizes, bold and underlined text
Ensure your mail copy is scannable, use short paragraphs, bullet points, and relevant images to grab instant attention.
3. Direct Readers – Add Convincing CTA
Having a well-crafted CTA at the right place in your direct mail drives your readers to do the needful – convert for your business.
Ponder over the easiest yet effective call to action that compels readers to dig in more information about offered products or services. The resultant action includes
- Make a call for quotes/hire/placing order
- Book a consultation
- Shop for products/services
- Subscribe to newsletters
- Download ebook
Remember, the CTA copy must be attractive enough – color, shape and even the placement. Every detail matters when you’re sending mailers regardless of the format – postcard, letter, flyer, etc.
4. Choose Your Audience
You can’t be selling fish to a vegetarian. Right? If you’re doling out dollars into strategizing direct mail marketing for your startup or boosting your business, never fall short of zeroing on to the audience.
As per MarketingSherpa, 9. 76% of recipients consider direct mails if they are to shop in the local market. Despite the digital marketing buzz, the trust of most consumers still lies in traditional marketing only.
Conduct thorough market research to target the right audience and draw out further customer segmentation to tailor your direct mails. Segmentation can be done based on
- Geographic
- Demographics
- Psychographics
- Sales funnel stage
Strategically segmenting your market audience into small pockets of groups based on their compelling needs and preferences helps to optimize your crucial resources and drive ROI for your direct marketing campaign.
Preferably, create a targeted mailing list to target only the high-quality mailing list that holds the real potential to create purchases and improve the conversion rate for your business.
5. Technology Aids Direct Mail Campaigns
While no one denies the role of website designers and developers for a striking online presence, integrating your efforts with the latest programmatic direct mail employs advanced targeting, algorithmic optimization, attribution, and quantitative analysis to effectively convert the shoppers into customers.
Such tools deeply analysis the behavior of the users on your website to determine the intent and draft direct mails that enhance the effective response of the recipients.
Unlike your annoying popups and display ads, tangible mails do not disrupt the user experience and instead triggers an emotional reaction.
The Bottom Line
In the fiscal year of 2018, the United States Postal Service delivered 146.4 billion mail which indicates the stiff market competition for local companies.
Clear the clutter and enable people to read highly informative, engaging and beneficial mail letters something that holds value for them and brings more business to your company via razor-sharp direct mail campaigns.
