By: Lindsey Graham

Small businesses may want to put more of their business marketing efforts into direct mail, as the medium has recently witnessed significant growth after spending several years on the decline. 

According to a report revealed by the Winterberry Group, direct mail advertising sales saw a 3.1 percent increase in 2010, compared to its 20 percent decline from the three years prior. This figure is expected to increase further next year to 5.8 percent, Medill Reports noted, a boost that experts attribute to a rebounding economy.

“As companies see the economy turning around, they tend to increase their spending on marketing, because so many of them have cut back their spending during the recession,” Bob Lieber, CEO of marketing strategy and services firm Original Thought told the source.

This news could be beneficial to the United States Postal Service, which has been fighting to regain growth and draw in new direct mail advertisers via beefed up marketing and advertising campaigns.

According to the source, the rise may be due to the fact that many consumers’ email inboxes are filled with an overwhelming number of messages. Due to this, many opt not to open them and instead choose to delete them. Therefore, it may be easier to target consumers with a piece of correspondence that they can hold in their hands and interact with directly.

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posted originally on www.amsterdamprinting.com

Very few things in life are ever perfect the first time around, and this is even more so the case when it comes to marketing – there are always little tweaks that can be made to generate more exposure and close sales. As Bigger Pockets recently suggested, small business owners should always be looking to improve on their direct mail marketing initiatives.

The best way to this is through split testing, which in the case of direct mail means splitting a list into two and then sending different components to each list. For example, if an entrepreneur wanted to experiment with different calls to action, he or she could send one postcard to the first group and another to the second group. Whichever gets more responses should be the one the company uses.

“In the end, it really doesn’t matter how you track your results, but never again, should you send out a letter without tracking the response. If you start to do this today, in just a few months you should be able to determine the best letter in your ‘arsenal’ and increase the number of deals you do very quickly,” the website explains.

There is no limit to what a company tests – different ad copy, images and print materials are all good places to start. Once the company finds a strategy that makes a return on investment, then they should switch to that format.

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Originally posted by Mark Haslan on overnightprints.com

Can Your Data Pass a White Glove Test

Clean, accurate and pristine data is the core of any business to business marketing campaign. It doesn’t matter how articulate, clever and persuasive your marketing campaign is if, when your prospect opens their mail, they are staring at the wrong name. If Bill Taylor’s name has somehow become Sybill Tal drop the blame directly in the lap of your database because the information provided was inaccurate.

You can spend hours writing a clever message; work through 3, 5, 10 versions of art to spark curiosity, but if your data is dirty then you are wasting your time.  If Jason Smith somehow gets Jane Simpsons name on his mail he will greet your mailer with irritation not intrigue.

Frankly, too many businesses don’t pay enough attention to the data they are using to mail. In house lists with warm leads, existing clients and lapsed ones are updated randomly, usually when the complaints are coming in left and right from mildly grumpy customers and potential prospects that are no longer prospects.

If you want to win business and keep your current customers happy you need to clean your data. Before you begin any marketing campaigns – online and off-line. It’s not that hard but it can be time-consuming, especially if you are embarking on an intensive database maintenance as opposed to a basic process. While it can require time and personnel to clean data pays for itself in new sales.

  • Good data means accurate personalization, and a great first impression for your company.
  • Bad data will alienate your customers. You won’t sell a thing if Jack Smith gets Jill Simmons mailer.
  • You can segment your mailing list to send specialized messages to certain sections of your data list based on buying habbits, income, loyalty, or any other reason.

When your marketing decisions are based on up-to-date data you have a much stronger advertising campaing and you will get a better response on your mailing. If you are using outdate inaccurate data put your message in a bottle and see what happens.

 

If there is one traditional marketing tactic that gets close to as much flack as advertising, it has to be direct mail. You’ve probably heard it all before. “Direct mail is like throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks.” “Direct mail is a close cousin of cold calling.” “Direct mail is so…indirect.”

Like King Kong, I think direct mail as a marketing tactic is just misunderstood. There are just as many ways now as there were 50 years ago to use direct mail effectively and in an engaging style. Probably more. Like with everything, we just need to think in some different ways. Here are some ideas about how to make direct mail a more effective, more engaging marketing tool for your business.

1. Apply email logic: You probably have heard by now that before blasting out an email, you want to make sure you get people to opt-in to your communications. Otherwise you can be labeled as spam. With direct mail, there is a similar reaction – it’s called, “This piece is going right into my trash can.” Before sending out a mass direct mailing, qualify your audience. There are lots of ways to do this, including:

  • Renting names from a list house where geography, type of industry, and other factors can be filtered.
  • Rent a list from a trade publication that is audited – that way you know the list is qualified.
  • Rent a list from a trade show/event. This list of people is clearly engaged in the industry.
  • Send an email to your database saying, “Hey, can I send you…xyz.” Use email to opt in your audience.

2. Keep that consistent message: Is this starting to sound like a broken record yet? If so, good. This is so important. If you are tweeting to people and then you decide to send that same audience a direct mail piece, how can you let them know that you’re the same company? That you value their relationships just as you indicate online?

3. Make it useful: Just like with email, people are getting bombarded every day by come-ons, little gadgets, catalogs – all kinds of stuff. You know. You get all of that stuff, too. What sticks out in your pile of paper? The thing that can help you solve a problem. I always think of that scene from Chicken Run. “I’m tired of making miniscule profits!” And then, there on the desk, appears a flier that asks, “Tired of making miniscule profits?”

4. Let your audience interact: The people you are sending mail to are hopefully overlapping with the people who are liking your Facebook page and following your tweets. They’ve established that they have insights about your company, your products, and/or your services. Why muzzle them with your direct mail piece? Ask them to respond by posting a video to your Facebook page, or include a survey that could be returned as entry into a contest. Include a link or QR code that takes the recipient to a relevant video. Converse.

5. Think outside the box: This is so important, just as it is with your website, with your advertising, and with all of your marketing. Postcards can serve a purpose, but there is so much more that can be done now with direct mail campaigns. From DVD mailers to things I’ve never seen and can barely imagine, this marketing channel is ready and waiting for a slam dunk, thoughtful, engaging campaign. Are you ready to send one out there?

Traditional media is not dead. Far from it. It can offer a depth to online marketing that you may be missing at your own peril. And traditional media does not negate the need for Social Media, video, and mobile interaction. In order to grow your business, you need to be able to do it all. And you need to be able to do it all in a way that engages with your customers and prospects.

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Originaly posted on business2community.com