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To optimize direct mail, don't forget the audience and analysis
For many marketers investing in direct mail campaigns, one of the top fears in that the appeal will ultimately end up in the recycling bin. With the help of bulk mailing software, business owners can ensure the marketing item reaches the intended recipient. However, there are a few mistakes that marketing professionals make when crafting their direct mail campaign, and these missteps leave them open to budget overruns.
Just recently, local Florida newspaper The Tampa Tribune reported the ride-sharing enterprise Uber began a direct mail campaign in areas where certain political leaders expressed support for the traditional taxi service providers, which lead the call to either regulate or eliminate ride-sharing programs. Whether or not the company is successful depends on its ability to understand the consumers and measure response.
To make their direct mail appeals as strong as possible, here are a couple of blunders that marketers should avoid:
Ignoring your target audience
Regardless of the time and effort a company puts forth to make their product or service as appealing as possible, a business can't feasibly market it to everyone. As Entrepreneur Magazine suggested, there's no single item or business solution that everyone wants. Even Apple faces stiff competition from Samsung for domination in the smartphone and tablet consumer market. Accordingly, a direct mail message must be delivered to those who are most receptive to a company's offerings.
Not all organizations - especially those in the very nascent stages of development - have access to or a strong understanding of their target consumer demographic. In this case, Entrepreneur recommended businesses solidify and verify their contact lists by identifying which consumers will most likely respond to a direct mail piece. This is especially important with this marketing channel because an unstructured approach can quickly become a cost burden.
Failing to analyze campaigns
According to the U.K.-based online news source Bdaily, direct mail has high conversion rates compared to some of the digital alternatives. For instance, emails can often be directed straight to the junk folder by virtue of the filters set up in a person's inbox. A company then has zero chance of making an impression on that individual. Direct mail is a physical object that demands consumers' attention to varying degrees even if the message doesn't necessarily appeal to them.
However, it's not enough to rest on the assumption that a customer will read and react to a direct mailer. Marketers must take the necessary steps to measure response rates to get a fuller picture of the return on investment and effectiveness of the campaign.
In the era of big data, direct mail shouldn't be left by the wayside. While it's an "offline" channel, meaning it's not directly connected to digital communication tools like social media or a website, there's no reason why businesses can't invest in tracking technologies to understand the performance of their mail campaigns. By A/B testing different designs, integrating quick response codes, unique telephone numbers or including URLs to online content, companies can measure consumer response rates.
