fourteen Direct Mail Marketing Ideas to Increase Response Rates
By: Carey Howard
Submitted: 2010-05-26 23:39:56 | Word Count: 1050
As an entrepreneur or tiny business owner, you cannot afford to lose one dime on wasteful marketing. If you've got never tried Direct Mail selling before, then you simply aren't conscious of it's unimaginable value. For pennies on the dollar, you'll be able to style multiple versions of a direct mail campaign, assign a unique identification code to every version and then check different parts of those styles and measure their success. Then it's simply a matter of refining your design to extend the response rate even more and shortly you may hone the ultimate junk mail weapon for your marketing arsenal... that you can use for years to come.
The industry average on response rates for spam campaigns hovers right around a pair of%.What do you're thinking that is one of the most affordable, yet most effective, junk mail items to send?
Postcards.
Why postcards? Postcards often get a response rate of up to 4%... or additional if your selling is well-targeted and it's designed by a marketing professional. Postcards aren't only cheap to print (from several on-line printers) however they conjointly do not need opening... all the recipient has to try to to is flip the card over to be told more... no muss, no fuss.
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When it comes to designing direct mail, copy is unquestionably King, however to catch the eye of these days's customers your marketing pieces have to square but the group and pack a punch with actually valuable offers. In case you're not the foremost creative person, I will get you jump-started with the following junk tips and ideas.
1. Mail Usually: Mail regularly and mail usually, however make your mailings relevant and interesting. The additional typically you mail to your mailing list, the a lot of you're at the front of these customer's minds when it comes time to buy.
2. Use Testimonials: Ask your customers to jot down a review of your business or product, then send a duplicate to your mailing list with an invitation to go to you...and throw during a coupon with an expiration date as an further incentive!
3. Use a Loyalty Program: Reward your customers for continuing to try to to business with you. Setup triggers that warn you when customers have reached a bound purchase level (or track and collect five to 10 "punch cards") and mail them out a note recognizing the accomplishment along with a coupon or discount as a special thank you.
4. Create a Referral Program: Raise your best customers to provide you with names and addresses of friends and colleagues whom they suppose would benefit from your product and services. Send these referrals a promotional supply and reward the first customer with a gift as well. Don't forget to use an incentive to get your customers to hitch the program.
5. Hold a Seminar or have a Guest Speaker: Conduct a training seminar or organize a speaking event that ties into your product offerings and invite your mailing list. You may be educating your customers and your guest speaker gets exposure while you get increased traffic to your business.
6. Send a Monthly Newsletter: Feature new products, timely tips, employee of the month, ideas for merchandise, upcoming events and seasonal sales. It's nice for getting new customers inquisitive about your business whereas conjointly keeping existing customers informed and involved.
7. Mail a Coupon Calendar: Send your customers a monthly calendar where bound days are coupons. You may be amazed at how many sales a single calendar mailing will produce. To cut down on printing and mailing prices, you'll be able to embody this calendar as a page in your Monthly Newsletter.
8. Celebrate Special Occasions: Build positive you note special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries of customers and their significant others, then use that info to point out your appreciation of them. Concerning two weeks before a special day, mail out a number of coupons... one for one thing FREE and one with a special discount.
9. Conduct a Monthly Contest: Mail your customers a contest slip they'll fill out and submit for a monthly drawing. This brings people into your store and helps expand your mailing list for future promotions. This too can be half of your Monthly Newsletter.
10. Throw a Non-public Sale: Mail your loyal customers an invitation to a non-public sale and give them an additional discount, or a probability to buy at sale costs the day before a public sale. Customers appreciate you acknowledging their loyalty.
11. Have a Block Party: Get other businesses in your area to join forces for a block party. Usher in rides, games, clowns, or different attractions. Make a big sidewalk sale half of the event. Advertise, Advertise, Advertise! Before the big event, mail coupons and special discounts to your list and ask your partners to do the same.
12. Provide back to the Community: Send out a letter to any or all your customers saying that a bound proportion of sales during a selected period can be donated to a local charity and ask them to be partners in that endeavor.
13. Mail Customers convenient Reminders: "You are due for an oil amendment", "Time for Fido's grooming again", "Wow, Anthony's turning 10! Time for some larger shoes!". Customers respond well to reminders like this and appreciate you taking the time and effort... while it's a billboard, it's still a nice reminder for a product or service they grasp they need.
14. One final tip, if you provide a nice profit for replying, then organize for postage paid return... response rates can hit eight% or a lot of!
Hope you enjoyed these concepts and you see increased revenue by using them!
Chase Mann -Aim It Media Chase Mann has been an freelance designer (principally graphics for print and net), marketer and little business consultant for over four years and he has been involved with planning and marketing since his initial job over nineteen years ago.
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Carey Howard has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Marketing-Direct, you can also check out his latest website about:
