Direct marketing involves more than marketing messages going through the mail. The most common forms of direct marketing are telephone sales, solicited or unsolicited emails, catalogs, leaflets, brochures and coupons. Successful direct marketing also involves compiling and maintaining a large database of personal information about potential customers and clients. Direct mail then, is a marketing message that's delivered to prospects by mail. Direct response is direct mail that requests a response from the recipient through the mail. Thus, it is a marketing technique in which the seller sends marketing messages directly to the buyer. Unlike other forms of marketing communications, such as TV advertising or placing articles in newspaper, with direct mail you don't have another medium carrying your message for you.
Direct mail is a unique blend of advertising and sales. With direct mail, you have total control over the presentation of your message, and direct mail allows you to present the product or service, make an offer and try to close the sale. Direct mail is used in many different situations, limited primarily by the imagination of the advertiser. Stores typically use direct mail to advertise new products or to distribute coupons. In addition to the simple goal of creating sales by offering products through the mail, direct mail is a tactic used for other marketing goals, such as exposing your product to a larger geographic market. You might also use direct mail sales results as a way to test new markets for store locations. Furthermore, you can obtain qualified leads for follow up. If your product or service is expensive, direct mail may be a cost-effective way to gather qualified prospects.
Although most people are familiar with direct mail to consumers, many businesses also advertise their products and services to other businesses. Business to business direct mail is a particularly lucrative segment of the market; marketers can target their messages to precisely those recipients that are likely to become customers. In the end, direct mail allows companies to isolate their marketing dollars to high-probability prospects and avoid wasting money on those that are likely to be uninterested. Direct mail experts agree - your sales success with direct mail is directly related to the quality of your mailing list. Even the best product or offer will be wasted if your direct mail is sent to the wrong people. For more information on how to reach the most effective audience, please contact Avalon Communications to learn about their direct mailing services and tips at (310)644-7777, or visit http://www.avalon-communications.com
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Direct mail can be used alone or in conjunction with other tactics that are part of a campaign.
ReplyDeleteFor example, publishers clearing house often used television with direct mail. i.e. "Watch your mail box for your change to win."
While lists are the top factor, the right offer at the right time is second. To use direct mail successfully you need to know how to use it to your own specific situation. That means you need to educate yourself on the subject first.
Another important factor when it comes to using direct mail, or any marketing tactic, is to make sure you have an idea of what the Long Term Value of a new customer is, and what is an acceptable cost to acquire these new customers.
Some people new to direct marketing use direct mail one time and say it didn't work for them because the amount of initial sales from new customers didn't pay for the mailing. Yet if they figured in how much a new customer would spend over the next year or years, they may find out that the effort was hugely successful.
If you are looking for direct mail marketing statistics to plan a successful marketing campaign, two studies are available from the National Mail Order Association, NMOA. They are, the DMA Statistical Fact Book, http://www.nmoa.org/catalog/dma/dma_stats.htm and the Response Rate Trends Report, http://www.nmoa.org/catalog/dma/dma_response.htm