The Direct Response Channel You’re Neglecting

In an age of attribution, analytics, and new media, traditional marketing has a tendency to get a bad rap. Digital marketing allows marketing teams to evaluate data through multiple stages of the marketing funnel, which allows for a lot of immediate gratification for today’s teams. The new wave of marketers at times looks at traditional media as a thing of the past, not worth inserting into an effective media plan. The effect that this mindset and approach has on branding is another topic for another day, but one that also must be addressed. From a direct response standpoint, a tried and true medium is being omitted from many marketing plans and leaving a lot of money on the table for businesses that want to showcase their products.

Now, before you say- “ugh, I’ve tried direct mail and it didn’t work,” hear me out. You probably suck at the creative. Don’t be offended. Here’s how to get better.

There are several things to consider to create an effective direct mail campaign:

1. Open Rate- If your direct mail piece isn’t opened or viewed, it will never work. A lot of direct mail campaigns fail because the packaging/envelope doesn’t present a compelling case for someone to open them. There are a few ways to do this. For B2C campaigns, try putting urgent messaging on the outside of the envelope like “final notice” or “important information enclosed.” Another tactic is to use an oversized envelope that looks like a wedding invitation or event notice. Postcards can be quickly identified as marketing material prior to getting the full attention of a potential client, causing the response rate to go down because the offer didn’t attract the target’s full attention.
2. List- One of the first items to check when the success of a direct mail campaign is in question is the quality of the list. The best list you can mail to is one that is built through one to one contact of people that have potential interest in your business. Past, present, and potential clients all fall within this list. Purchased lists have pros and cons. The pro is that purchased lists allow the ability to target by different qualifiers like geographic location, age, income, etc. The con is there are a lot of crappy lists out there. It takes a lot of trial and error to find the most effective list vendors.
3. Gatekeepers- For B2B marketing, gatekeepers are the biggest detractors from the efficacy of a direct mail campaign. The trick is to make the piece look so valuable that the gatekeeper doesn’t feel comfortable throwing it away. Also, dangling a “carrot” for your target in B2B direct mail can be very effective. Offer a part of something of high value and only allow the delivery of the second part upon acceptance of a meeting. This way, not only will you get past the gatekeepers at a higher rate, the recipient has incentive to take the meeting and hear you out, even if just to receive the other half of the “carrot.”
4. Offer- Direct mail is a direct response medium. Give the target an offer that is compelling enough to drive an engagement. The offer has to stand out, or you’re just like everyone else trying to take their money without investing in the relationship.
5. Automation- Direct mail doesn’t have to be manual. Most people use the term “marketing automation” in reference to email marketing, but with the right marketing technology, direct mail can be an integral part of marketing automation. Delivery of a direct mail piece can then trigger a sequence of messaging through other channels like email marketing.
6. Measurement- Every direct mail campaign needs a unique tracking number. Although not always used by the recipient, vanity urls can give additional measurement and tracking to a direct mail campaign.
7. Testing- Always test direct mail. Every month, you should have a control, and test additional variables against it. Test the envelope. Test the offer. Test the format. Your control may win. That’s okay. Your execution will get better and better until you have a well oiled machine.

If you’ve addressed each of the items listed above, you’re going to find success in direct mail. Because it’s a measurable channel, direct mail will help you figure out your cost per acquisition of a client and once you’ve established that, it’s a numbers game. Just like paid social and paid search are scalable direct response channels, direct mail is one more component to generating a great ROI on your marketing dollars.