Put yourself in front of your consumers...the right way.

By Sandy Barragan, One Step Services Senior Marketing Consultant

Many businesses have tried, and failed, to attract new clients using direct mail marketing over the years.  What those people didn’t know, or at least did not follow, were simple rules that make the difference between money thrown away and money well spent.  The most important factors in determining the success of a direct mail campaign is not necessarily the piece you send out, but the list you send it to, a clear message and how often you remind them of who you are and what you sell.

FACT: Your product or service needs to appeal to the consumer you are targeting.

If you sell high-end widgets or provide services tailored to people likely to need them, then it’s important that your marketing pieces land in the hands of the consumers most interested in your offering.  It is vital that you establish the “who” of your audience before you blindly mail out pieces of advertising to just anyone.  A well-tailored mailing list that targets only the specific consumer or demographic that your business would appeal to is the first step to making them take notice of any and every piece of mail you send out.

FACT: You have less than 2 seconds to make an impression on the consumer with a piece of mail.

With that in mind, you need to accomplish three things in that short amount of time:  they need to know who you are, what you sell and how the product or service you are offering matters to them.  You can spend thousands of dollars on one mailing that sparkles and shines, but if the message is not clear, the recipient will not take the time to get to know you.  A well-designed marketing piece contains all of that information visually and verbally so that it “speaks” to the mind of your potential customer quickly and effectively to leave a lasting impression.

FACT: The only way to create new business is to constantly remind customers that you exist.

We’ve talked with many, many clients over the years that tell sad tales of large mailings, costing into the thousands of dollars, that resulted in little or no response.  The common denominator in all of those stories was one thing: they tried it a few times and gave up, thinking that it was an unproductive way to market to mass audiences.  The success of a direct mail approach relies on the following principle:  send less pieces more often rather than sending more pieces less often.  It sounds simple, but far too many business people make the mistake of thinking that more is better, so they set out with wild abandon and mail 10,000 or 20,000 pieces of mail at a time and then sit back and wait for the phone to ring. These same people would have seen an enormous amount of return on their investment if they had instead sent out 1,000 pieces of mail to the same target list ten or twenty times.  Face it, consumers are forgetful.  They may see your first, second or even third advertisement as they are going through their mail, but if they are not in need of your product or service at that particular moment in time, it’s out of sight, out of mind.  You’ve got to make your presence known, you’ve got to keep putting yourself in front of them until it becomes second-nature to them to call you when they need you.  Believe it or not, every time they see a mailpiece with your name on it, it implants in their minds somewhere near the subconscious and THAT is what is going to make the phone ring.  Think of this:  how many times have you seen a catalog in the mail from the same company?  The answer:  many, many times because they, like us, know how crucial it is to keep reminding their audience that they want their business.  The key to success in any direct mail campaign is repetition.  Make yourself a household name and you’ll get them as customers, time and time again.

There is no single

more important or

more direct way

to reach your

customers than through

the mail.

The right marketing

pieces, combined with

the right campaign,

yields visibility which

equals success.

The key to a

successful direct mail

campaign can be

summed up in

one word...repetition.