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Best practices for boosting direct mail effectiveness
Despite the wide variety of digital marketing channels, direct mail is still highly effective because it's unique and eye-catching. Unlike email marketing, you don't compete with hundreds of other promotional messages at the same time. However, marketers need to take all the necessary steps to ensure they are crafting both visually appealing campaigns and getting their messages in front of potential customers. Address verification can ensure companies aren't sending mail pieces to the wrong locations and wasting marketing resources.
Many customers still appreciate personalized mail messages, but you need to ensure your pieces stand out. The following tips can help you maximize the effectiveness of your direct mail campaigns:
1. Personalize mailer with variable printing or even handwritten notes
Consumers like to feel special, so personalization can have a strong influence on recipients. If you're sending a relatively small campaign, you can opt to handwrite the addresses to make individuals feel like they are getting special attention. Another option is variable printing, which enables you to include customers' names, locations and other information in the rest of the mail piece's copy. Personalization can increase the odds of a sale, according to Business2Community. Tools like mailing software can facilitate this process, to ensure you are addressing it to the right person.
2. Is this relevant to me?
No matter how good a postcard or letter looks, it isn't likely to have the desired effect without the right body copy. Content should always be relevant to recipients. For example, a long-time customer won't want to read the same copy as a potential new client.
3. Design a readable layout
Direct mail is a highly visual medium, and it's important to create an appealing look and feel. One of the most important aspects of this is layout. Recipients won't want to read a mail piece with too-small text or large blocks of copy. Instead, you can use bullet points to improve readability and list the top points of the message. The most important parts of the piece can be highlighted with different sized fonts and colors. Images add to the appeal of your mail piece, but you need to use them judiciously to avoid a cramped postcard.
4. Timing of an offer or message may be crucial
If you're running a limited-time promotion or using a seasonal design, when you send out the mail piece is a crucial consideration. It also may be worthwhile to consider when competitors will be mailing their offerings. Companies need to think about when customers will receive mail to schedule campaigns at the most relevant time.
5. Address correction is a critical step
All of these considerations will be pointless unless mail pieces are arriving at their intended destinations. Without verifying customers' contact information, mail could be sent to the wrong place or clients could receive duplicates. This is a waste of marketing budgets. Address correction ensures mail is being sent to the right customers and standardizes the format when new contacts are added to your list.
