Direct Marketing - How to Create Effective Mailers
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Consumers mercilessly discard direct mail in the trash can, so it is highly important that direct marketers capture the attention and curiosity of consumers quickly. Today's consumers are too busy to read all the so-called junk mail they receive, and the fact that each piece of direct mail represents a significant investment for your business doesn't concern them. The offer you're presenting must readily convey value as a ready solution to a relevant problem or it will be ignored. Fortunately, you can create effective mailers by following a few marketing principles.
1
Determine the specific business objective of your direct mail campaign; know the exact goal that a successful campaign will help you to accomplish. Common business goals that direct mail can help you accomplish are: acquiring new customers, creating product awareness for new products, increasing brand awareness where consumers already know about the product and differentiating your offering from others. As Jay Conrad Levinson advises in "Inc. Magazine," set measurable goals and determine the metrics of success in advance.
2
Use the AIDA technique to craft and convey a simple but powerful marketing message. AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. Grab your prospective customers attention and focus them on the unique benefits that taking the action you promote will convey. It is important that you don't just tout features of your product, but rather specifically communicate benefits a customer would get. Incorporate a simple and direct call to action. Provide your prospects with multiple ways to respond via phone, fax, and Internet.
3
Use professionals to create the mailer. Professional graphic designers and copywriters bring expertise and provide a fresh perspective to make your mailer more effective. For example, a professional designer can advise if you should use a postcard or letter; as well as if you should make your mailer resemble a personal letter to the customer. Be sure you will get physical proof of the mailer from the vendor you use to print the mailer. You need to hold the mailer in your hand to understand exactly what your prospects will experience when they receive it.
4
Provide multiple incentives for recipients who take action when they receive your offer. For example a free gift, properly highlighted, can greatly increase your mailer's effectiveness. Similarly, Levinson notes that you should include a powerful postscript in your mailer as many consumers read that first before deciding to read anything else.
5
Follow up to amplify the effectiveness of your campaign. While direct mail is an important sales channel, a followup phone call can amplify the benefits you convey with your mailer and nudge undecided customers off the fence.
Tags:
Direct Marketing, Marketing
1
Determine the specific business objective of your direct mail campaign; know the exact goal that a successful campaign will help you to accomplish. Common business goals that direct mail can help you accomplish are: acquiring new customers, creating product awareness for new products, increasing brand awareness where consumers already know about the product and differentiating your offering from others. As Jay Conrad Levinson advises in "Inc. Magazine," set measurable goals and determine the metrics of success in advance.
2
Use the AIDA technique to craft and convey a simple but powerful marketing message. AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. Grab your prospective customers attention and focus them on the unique benefits that taking the action you promote will convey. It is important that you don't just tout features of your product, but rather specifically communicate benefits a customer would get. Incorporate a simple and direct call to action. Provide your prospects with multiple ways to respond via phone, fax, and Internet.
3
Use professionals to create the mailer. Professional graphic designers and copywriters bring expertise and provide a fresh perspective to make your mailer more effective. For example, a professional designer can advise if you should use a postcard or letter; as well as if you should make your mailer resemble a personal letter to the customer. Be sure you will get physical proof of the mailer from the vendor you use to print the mailer. You need to hold the mailer in your hand to understand exactly what your prospects will experience when they receive it.
4
Provide multiple incentives for recipients who take action when they receive your offer. For example a free gift, properly highlighted, can greatly increase your mailer's effectiveness. Similarly, Levinson notes that you should include a powerful postscript in your mailer as many consumers read that first before deciding to read anything else.
5
Follow up to amplify the effectiveness of your campaign. While direct mail is an important sales channel, a followup phone call can amplify the benefits you convey with your mailer and nudge undecided customers off the fence.
