6 Steps Towards Dynamic Direct Mail

1. Be realistic. Don't get carried away with the numbers game and ignore the realities of the marketplace. You may project a market of 40 million customers for your product or service and figure you will mail to all of them with a 10 percent response. But are you new to the market? Is the market already dominated by one or two giants? Sometimes it is better to narrow your focus and conduct a phased roll-out of your direct mail piece that provides you with a series of small successes to build on.


2. There's no better way to sink a mail campaign than by using a mediocre mailing list. How do you find the best list? One place to start is with list brokers. But the key is to shop around and really do some leg-work. Talk with several brokers, and study the list descriptions they provide. The more you can nail down a list's age, gender, geographic location, buying habits, etc., the more likely your direct mail piece will be effective.


3. Develop an offer they cannot refuse. Spend time formulating an offer that is unique to stand apart from offers made by your competitors. Make it easy for readers to pick your product or service over that of your rivals.


4. Prepare for success. Be sure you're ready to handle the leads or orders that your mailing generates. Otherwise, the only results you'll get from the money spent are angered prospects and customers.


5. Figure out the math up front. Common sense tells you that unless your mail campaign generates enough leads and sales to recoup your investment, you may be wasting your time. So sharpen your pencil early on and look at how much your mailing will cost versus what your realistic response rate may be. With the majority of direct mail campaigns these days garnering between .02 and 2 percent response rates, counting on a 6 percent response for your campaign means you're probably being unrealistic.


6. Be clear. It's easy to get lost in nuances and subtleties when you're developing direct mail copy and design. Step back and remember your target audience has a million other things on their minds besides your company. Does your copy clearly communicate the basics of your offer? What about the unique characteristics of your product or service? Consider testing your piece with a focus group to ensure your approach isn't more complicated than it needs to be.