The Elements of Direct-Mail Marketing

When it comes to direct-mail marketing, there are several things to think about as you put together a successful program:

• What is your offer?
• Do you have a targeted list?
• What does your package look like? Is it appealing?
• Have you tested it?

Unless you know what your specific offer is, don't create a mail piece. Example offers include: half price, buy one get one free or 50% off. The more specific you can be, the more return you will get.

The more you know about your list and the more accurate and up to date it is, the more return and response you will get.

Consider the shape and size of your package or piece with reference to US Mail regulations as well as memorability. Color, shape, size are all important. Think "will this get past the executive's secretary?"

Trying things out in advance of the actual mailing is key to success. Just like a car test drive, if you can send a sample to 5 or 10 test subjects and record their responses, you can be assured that the item will work.

For more information about successful direct-mail campaigns, call Jennifer Beaty at Executive Press, 214-217-7000. Or check out this story on Answers.com, which was the inspiration for this post.

The Executive Pressman

The Three M's of Direct-Mail Marketing

This is a real simple way of remembering what is important in direct-mail marketing:

• The Market
• The Message
• The Mailing List

Any one of these without the other is pointless.

Know who you are marketing to and what you are offering to them based upon what they need. Knowing the market and its preferences makes the rest easier.

Define your message by your audience, then stay on message. Being clear about who you are, what you do and how you do it will help your suspects, prospects and clients get to know you and continue to do business with you.

Knowing who is on your list and how closely it resembles your target audience is critical. Sending your information to the wrong audience doesn't do much good for either of you.

This post of generated after reading this article by Janet Attard on the Business Know-How site.

The Executive Pressman

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

Direct-Mail is Not Dead

Direct-mail marketing is not passe--not even close.

The DMA (Direct Marketing Association) reports that in 2009, marketers--commercial and non-profit--spent $149 billion on direct marketing which was over 50% of all advertising expenditures for the year.

A big part of this effort was direct mail.

Direct-mail marketing is popular and results in a high return because:

• It is targeted to a specific prospect by name.
• The content is customized.
• The return and results are measurable.

For more information on how you can make direct-mail marketing work for you, please call Jennifer Beaty at 214-217-7000 or visit our website at www.executivepress.com.

The Executive Pressman

Coupons and Offers

Quite often a story appears in the media about people who buy their groceries with coupons and little or no cash. But coupons and offers aren't just for groceries.

"We've been experimenting with text offers and Q codes," Jennifer Beaty said. "We've had a good response, too."

Jennifer is the managing partner of Executive Press. They found that using these new age "coupons" was a natural extension of their direct-mail and other marketing offerings they provide for their clients.

"We first have tried it for ourselves to see how it would work to build our business," Jennifer said. "Our first text offer came at the recent North Dallas Chamber of Commerce's Building Business Expo."

Executive Press started with a sign in their Expo booth with an offer to text to a number for either dollars off your next order or a free digital print.

"The response was more than we expected, quite frankly," Jennifer said. "It shows that people are far more digitally oriented than we imagined in a business-to-business environment," Jennifer said.

Q codes are another option. The simple barcode variation allows customers to scan them and be taken to a specific website or custom URL.

For more information about direct text marketing and Q codes, visit www.executivepress.com or call Jennifer at 214-217-7000.

The Executive Pressman

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.