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Saying
it directly ...
Direct
Mail is a much maligned tool within the marketing armoury.
This is largely because it's been badly used in the past by lazy
marketers. Too lazy to clean up name and address lists to make
sure that they are only writing to relevant people. Too
lazy to write copy that presents true benefits clearly and
concisely. And so Direct Mail has a bad reputation.
Keep it
simple and relevant
Despite
this, Direct Mail can still be a very effective way of introducing
your company and its products and services to a large number of
potential customers. The trick is to keep it simple and
relevant to the reader. And that means extra work for
you.
Firstly,
you need to be very clear in how you define your target
customers. That will allow you to refine the name and
address list that you will be using down to only those that are
likely to be interested in your proposition. It may be that you need
to split the list into multiple separate mailings in order to keep
the relevancy high.
Secondly,
you must make sure that your mail piece is written so that the
benefits that you highlight really are benefits in the eyes of the
reader, and are the ones most relevant and valued by
them.
Thirdly,
make sure that any graphical design and layout ideas for the mail
piece serve to make it easier to read and understand. Many of
the mail pieces that I receive don't stick to this approach and are
triumphs of form over function ... they go immediately into the
bin (where they belong!).
Picking the
right medium
There are a number of choices of medium for Direct
Mail -letters, leaflets, novelties, postcards, email. Each has
its own advantages and disadvantages. Also, the cost
differential between them can be
sizeable.
Letters can be very effective where you are targeting
business people and your offer is quite formal. Leaflets (on
their own or accompanying a letter) are useful where you want to
explain something complicated using graphics. Novelties are
good attention grabbers, but only when the 'novelty' is genuinely
novel and somehow relevant. Nothing tacky
please.
Postcards can be more effective than letters in many
situations as they don't need to be opened before they can be
read. They are also very good at making you think hard about
how to shorten your copy to make it more
effective!
Email is by far the cheapest form of Direct Mail, but
has been so abused that it has been awarded its own verb ... 'to
spam'. Email is most effective when sent to people who already
know of you rather than as a cold-calling vehicle. This is
because the twin plagues of spam and email borne viruses have taught
recipients to be very suspicious of contacts from unknown
sources. And quite right
to.
When choosing the medium for your Direct Mail, an
intimate knowledge of your target customers has an extra
advantage. Not only will the mail piece be better designed and
written, but you can also make an
informed selection as to the most cost-effective
medium.
Memorable
marketing
Thinking
and working pragmatically like this will help you to make
your marketing work better for you in a more memorable way.
This means that your target customers will be able to differentiate
your products and services from those of your competitors and
clearly see the value in buying from you.
If you would like some advice on memorable
marketing techniques for your own business, or you know someone
at another business who might need help, then please contact Adduce Marketing. The sooner you start, the sooner you will benefit.
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Using
Direct Mail
Download this handy guide which explains how to
get the best from utilising Direct Mail in order to improve
business effectiveness.
Written by
the Chartered Institute of Marketing as part of
their Directors' Briefing series, this document makes easy
reading for business people of all experience
levels.
Marketing
Effectiveness Assessment
A
free service to small businesses in the Buckinghamshire, Berkshire
and Oxfordshire area, the Marketing Effectiveness Assessment
delivers a professional audit of how a business is using the tools
of marketing to communicate to existing and potential customers. It
also includes a series of simple and cost-effective marketing
activities that the business can implement immediately and at low
cost.
Download the factsheet now.
Useful
Links ...
Adduce Marketing
Chartered Institute of Marketing
Marketing UK (information portal)
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