The US Post Office and Direct Mail

While they are in the mailing business, the US Postal Service has done a great job of promoting and marketing direct-mail marketing. On a visit to their website the other day I found a whole collection of information that is a good resource for you if you are considering integrating direct mail into your marketing program.

The USPS cited a number of advantages of DMM on their website. Direct mail is:

• Targeted
• Personal
• Flexible
• Tangible
• Measurable
  
• Easy to start and run

Now, if the guys who deliver the mail say all of these things, than it must be true, right? Well the DMA (Direct Marketing Association) backs them up on their website and most professionals in the field, including ourselves, say the same things.

But remember, too, that direct mail is most effective when it is part of a concerted, coordinated, branded program. And you have to give your targets the option to "opt out." Courtesy is still important.

The Executive Pressman

www.executivepress.com

Why Use Direct-Mail Marketing?

Using direct-mail marketing as a part of your marketing mix still is valid.

A source no less than the US Small Business Administration's SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) advocates direct-mail marketing. In a recent on-line post, SCORE reiterated why to use direct mail as a part of your marketing mix:

1. It works when you aren't working.
2. It leverages your efforts.
   
3. It targets your audience(s) with precision.
4. It gives you an immediate response.
5. It is easy to track return on investment.
6. It is relatively inexpensive.
7. It gets you one-on-one attention.
8. It is something you and touch and feel.

As the story points out, it hangs around, too. One of the biggest documented users of direct-mail marketing is Google. Why would the largest search engine in the world need to use a service and technologies that are so 20th (and maybe 19th) century? Because people still read their mail and react to it.

"Nothing replaces direct contact," Jennifer Beaty says. "Whether it is in person with a handshake or landing a piece of mail or a package on someone's desk, nothing replaces tangible contact," she continued. Jennifer is the managing partner of Executive Press, a North Texas company that specializes in direct-mail marketing.

"Our clients like the personalization of it," Jennifer said. "And being able to target very specifically and track the results quickly have made a real difference in their marketing programs."

As you formulate your marketing plans, seriously consider direct mail as a part of them. For more information visit Executive Press' website or call 214-217-7000.
The Executive Pressman

To read the whole SBA story go to www.score.com.

Direct Mail Ideas

Now that you have decided to use direct mail as a marketing tool, how can you ensure the campaign's success?

Here's a list of a few things to consider:

• Provide a coupon or some other incentive and give it a time limit. For example, so many cents off until the end of the month.
• Participate in a co-op mailing. Is there a valued partner you can team with to make sure teh mail gets attention?
• Test the program. Try sending the initial mailer and offer to a smaller sample than you plan just to see the response.
• Use the mailer to drive traffic to your website. There they will find teh rich content they are looking for to make a buying decision.
• Use a catchy headline. Underlined copy or colored blocks also help draw attention to what needs to be read.

There are more. These are some basic ideas to start with.

The Executive Pressman

Direct Mail: Making Sure Your Program is a Success

Before you embark on that direct mail project too far, make sure you have the right elements in place to make the program a success. Here is a short list of things to consider as you devise your strategy:

• Are your lists in order?
  
• Are they correct?
  
• Are their duplicates?
• Is the list matched to the offer you are making with the mailing?
• Can you monitor the results?
• Do you know what works and what doesn't in terms of design and copy (message)?
  

A successful direct mail program is more than just printing a post card and stamping it. You have to be very deliberate about who is getting and when and what you expect them to do with it once they receive it.

Thanks to our friends at Frugal Marketing dot com for the ideas presented here. Here's the whole story (http://www.frugalmarketing.com/dtb/directmail.shtml)
The Executive Pressman

The Value of Direct Mail

With all of what today's technology offers in the way of outreach to potential customers and clients, we shouldn't discount the value of direct mail.

While it is a bit 20th century, people still receive and open mail received either by the US Postal Service or the package delivery companies.

A recent story at Printing News.com came up with these three key attributes for direct mail:

1. The colors in a print add or mailed piece are usually more correct than what you can see or print at home from an on-line site.
2. We are still tactile and like to hold things in our hands. Direct mail is a thing you can hold.
3. Print has credibility. The reader knows that this piece they hold in their hands had to be research, edited, proofread and press checked before it got to them. Something comforting about something that gets that scrutinized.

So, before you cast direct mail to the scrap heap, consider these ideas. For the whole story, go to http://www.printingnews.com/publication/article.jsp?pubId=3&id=7093&pageNum=1

The Executive Pressman