There’s nothing worse than witnessing your money being wasted on a direct mail campaign that just didn’t get your phone ringing or sending customers through your door.  When it happens, it’s likely not direct mail delivery method, but your actual campaign that flopped.  Here are the five most common direct mail mistakes most businesses make.

The Direct Mail List

Not spending enough time and money on the list itself that targets your best type of consumer is a major campaign deal-breaker.  Quite often we throw a direct mail campaign together without a thought to what kind of marketing list we are going to use.  We find out later that the direct mail piece, the message and the call to action was perfect but the list, which we “rushed” to purchase without checking the validity and the integrity of the list broker has let us down.

Solution:  Due your diligence and find a reputable list broker and explore the quality of the list. The types of consumers on the list can sometimes change the direction of what kind of marketing message you are going to use if you happen to find another target market ready to buy your product or service.

Your Direct Mail Campaign Should be Tested

Testing your campaign is a necessity.  More than half of our direct mail customers will give us their direct mail campaign, the list and then fail to provide us with some parameters on changing  how the mailing piece looks.  There are so many things to test such as the color of the envelope, size of the piece, the message, making it “lumpy,” and so on.

Solution: To test the headline, the direct mail piece design, the over message and power of the call to action, put yourself in the mindset of your customer and be a test “junkie.”  You will find you will be consistently doubling and tripling the money brought in on a campaign when you test each campaign for its effectivenss.

Your Direct Mail Message Should Distinguish Features From Benefits

Stress the benefits to the customer in your marketing message as opposed to the features of your product or service.  The customer does not care about the fancy, schmancy features of your product.  As a matter of fact, they do not have the time to listen to how great you are; they want results!  What kind of result can you customer achieve by using your product?

Solution: Features are the objective facts about your product or service (size, color, appearance, usability) while benefits state what the product or service does for a customer (makes money, saves money, heals, saves time, etc.)  Make sure you clearly tell your readers what your product or service can do for them and how they will benefits from using it.

Your Direct Mail Campaign Needs a Call to Action

Even if the intent of your direct mail campaign is to reach potential customers and make them aware of your product or service, you still need to have an offer.  What is a direct mail campaign good for if you do not have an offer? Even just asking for the order in your message is good enough to get you results.

Solution: Your readers need to be prompted to take action and it’s your job to offer the right incentive for them to do so.  Research what kind of offers you are going to make and make sure it is compelling and benefit driven.

Your Direct Mail Campaign Isn’t a One-Time Deal

On average, people need to see or hear an advertising message seven times before they take some sort of action.  Mailing out a campaign just once doesn’t do the trick.  It’s called a “campaign” for a reason and entails multiple mailings to be the most effective.  It’s not your customer’s job to keep your information and recall it when they need it; it’s your job to always be in front of them.

Solution:  Be sure to follow up with your potential customers, either by multiple direct mailings or phone calls or a combination.  It’s important to time your campaign well and stay top-of-mind, especially when your customer is in need of your product or service.

 

Call us today!  Greenway Print Solutions knows the direct mail market and can provide you with the mailing lists you need to execute an effective direct mail campaign.