The Secret to Direct Mail?
Hint: It’s not a compelling sales message (although that helps).
It’s not terrific design either (but, again, that helps).
It’s not even hitting the same people more than once.
Give up?
It’s the list.
I was reminded of this yet again at a meeting last night where the organization’s marketing committee spent three hours(!) going over a website full of pre-designed postcards wondering which one to put their logo on.
Now, despite the fact that I work in a marketing agency full of genius designers, I’m not opposed to pre-packaged design. (Example: http://www.outreach.com/.) It’s convenient, fairly cost-effective and some of the designs are pretty slick.
What I’m opposed to is spending more time on the postcard than the mailbox it will go into. So if you’re planning to launch a direct mail campaign anytime soon, start with the list first. Because even if you have the world’s greatest coffee-grinder, it won’t make a bit of difference if your sales materials land in front of a tea-drinker.
Have a great Easter everyone!
posted by Anonymous at 4:11 PM
1 Comments:
Business Cards Can Be an Effective Means of Targeting Promotions
Too often organizations don't take time to best identify their audience. Sending promotional pieces just for the sake of doing so will lead to wasted resources, no matter how visually appealing or well-worded, as Emily points out.
There are numerous methods of pinpointing a targeted mailing list, but one of the simplest I've found is to look no farther than accumulated business cards. This assumes that you've been devoting time to network within professional settings that are relevant to your services.
Whenever we make face-to-face contact with prospects, this provides them with an introduction to who we are and what we do. Although some introductions go better than others, all have the potential to yield better results than a "cold" mailing, due to the value of the human element.
Realize that each networking opportunity is the start of a business dialogue process, and plan your collateral materials accordingly. Along this line of thinking, you might realize that the opportunities lost from pitching business cards may cost much more than printing and stamps.
10:10 AM
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