You’ll enjoy the direct mail benefits, once you learn the ropes!
(Or Else Your Direct Mail Campaign Will Probably Fail!)
How many times have you gotten a direct mail piece that was addressed to someone named resident? And what did you ultimately do with it? Exactly.
The direct mail benefits probably get lost on the typical cash starved small business owners and or service providers, who constantly lose money with that type of approach.
Because for one thing, they’re probably using the ‘cold marketing instead of the proven warm marketing’ approach.
Meaning- their using inexpensive postcards with limited space to contact a complete stranger.(An extremely big an costly mistake!)
Case in point. If your cell phone rings just as you’re about to sit down to dinner and your digital screen reveals a number or name you’re not familiar with. What will you probably do? Exactly.
On the hand, if it’s a call from a close friend, relative or valued associate, aren’t you 500% more likely to answer the call? Bingo!
Five Things You Must Avoid Or Your Direct Mail Campaign Will Probably Fail!
Remember, after you’ve tested a few main power headlines and you know which benefit pulls the best overall response. That headline and body copy can now work overtime and give you incredible marketing leverage.
Because unlike your top sales rep, your best market tested postcard can be delivered to hundreds or thousands (even) hundreds of thousands of your customers, (and) deliver the exact same market tested sales presentation to all of them!
But before it can work for you, it has to be set up correctly. So make sure before you dedicate the time and the money to doing direct mail wrong. Although these five rules are incredibly simple and inexpensive.
You Can Definitely Help Put Your Direct Marketing Strategies In The Position To Help You Profit!
You violate them and your money is probably wasted! Far too many clueless (cash poor) small business owners and or service providers attempt direct mail, and on average they won’t even receive a one percent response rate.
And as a direct result their project goes down in flames and they wrongfully conclude that direct mail simply doesn’t work. The first thing you have to be sure of is that your mailing sequence is correct.Huh?
Are You More Likely To Respond To A Friend Or A Complete Stranger?
Meaning- you need to be mailing to:
A.) The right list; that means your mailing your postcards to current (or at best) past inactive or ex customers and or clients.
B.) You’re making a reasonable offer: The right offer meaning; you’re trying with that extremely limited space, to (either) to get your current customers to not only come back in and use a powerful bribe, that you either supply yourself (or) you get them from one of your top (JV) joint venture partners.
Sadly The Vast Majority Of Your Major Competitors Will Never Experience And Or Profit From The Advantages Of Direct Mail Campaigns.
Or you’re bribing inactive or ex customers or clients to come back asap!
C.) Or you’re sending an endorsed direct postcard mailing to a list of one of your top JV partners list, and the JV partner is directly endorsing your product or service to their customers.
In the beginning, you want to avoid mailing to certain areas surrounding your business/service, or simply buying a list (of glorified) strangers and trying in vain to make a sale.
Don’t Make It Harder Than It Has To Be For Your Sales Funnel To Consistently Produce Results!
On that note, here are your five rules:
Rule # one: Stay away from compiled list of any kind! Meaning- (in the beginning) you don’t hire a list broker (who) picks some list of of some kind, based on so called demographics, psycho graphics and or your geographic area. (Forget about that stuff for now!)
Rule # two: Know your numbers upfront, before you invest a nickel!
The More You Know And Understand About Your Target Market The Easier It Will Be For Your Marketing Funnel To Consistently Produce Results!
Here are (just) five of the important numbers you need to understand, before you lay out any money.
And this proven criterion definitely applies to a mailing to your customers or clients.This concept also leads into you (both) knowing and understanding what your customers “total lifetime value” is.
That way you know going in exactly how much you can or can’t safely afford to spend in order to create and perpetuate sales!
A.) Conversion rate: This is the actual number of people that do what your mailing is asking them to do, in proportion to the total number of pieces mailed.
Constantly Strive To Put Yourself In The Position To Make Your Direct Marketing Campaigns Successful!
(For ex; If you mailed 1,000 pieces and 77 people take action (meaning) either they buy something or call your toll free or direct number, and sign up for something etc; your conversion rate is 7.7% (77/1,000=.077 x 100=7.7%)
B.) Break even point: Your break even point (simply) tells you how much money your sales have to gross, (typically) on the initial front end of your particular sales funnel, in order for you to break even.
C.) Response rate: Your response rate tells you what percentage of the people that received your mailing campaign, took action in relationship to the total number of pieces mailed out.
D.) Return on Investment (ROI): Your (ROI) is the total amount of money your mailing(s) grossed, minus the total amount you spent to do it. Meaning- your postage & type setting costs etc.
E.) Product price: Basically the selling price of your product.
If You Don’t Take The Time To Lay The Proper Foundation You’re Already Making It Much Harder For Your Direct Marketing Campaigns To Be Successful!
Rule # three: In the beginning (until) you get your feet wet, you’re only going to invest in a mailing if your preliminary numbers indicate, you can at least expect a one percent response rate or more! (On the initial front end of your sales funnel.)
Rule # four: Whenever possible try to get your best market tested index (sized) post card, included in other local cash starved, (non directly competing) small business owners and or service providers out going mail, where they’re mailing out (fulfillment) orders.
This way, your offer is more like a ‘bounce back’ order offer, as opposed to simply mailing your offer to their customer list.(Who probably has no clue who you are. 😀 )
The rational being, if someone ordered a product via the mail, when you make an offer to the same customer offering them some type of incentive discount, you dramatically increase the chances of making a sale!
Rule # five: Use your postcard mailings to bribe your existing customers to bring a friend or two with them back to your store asap!
Use A Contest Of Some Kind To Get Your Best Customers And Clients To Lead Generate For You!
Create a contest of some kind. Think about it. You’re offering the top three (or X) number of winners who bring the most new first time customers back to your store.Over a certain period of time.
The grand prize winner “wins” $500 dollars in gas cards, and second and third prize winners “win” $250 and $100 dollars in gas cards (or X) respectively.
You apply these five proven rules and it won’t be long (at all) before you and or your major competitors are consistently enjoying the direct mail benefits!
No matter what your specific product, service and or niche is. Don’t you agree?
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