Direct Mail and postcard mailings have been a tried and true marketing strategy for retailers. Here are 8 tips to make your mailings more cost-effective and profitable.

Tip #1:
Create an E-mail and Mailing List. Current customers are your best source for new incremental business. In other words, a marketing dollar spent on a current customer will yield a better return on investment than a dollar spent on attracting a new customers. Current customers know your brand and products already and many times they just need a marketing “push” to get them back in the store. In past marketing research I have typically seen an annual increase of over 15% in current customer spending as a result of ongoing communications.

Tip #2:
Promote the List. You will find that most of your customers want to hear about upcoming events and sales. In fact, you may find that you will have upset regular customers that aren’t notified, “Do you have a mailing list? Why aren’t I on it?” Make sure your staff is asking for mailing and e-mail information. If you can’t enter the information directly into your POS system, then have a card that the customer can fill out.

Tip #3:
E-Mail and Mail Your List. E-mail is cheaper and more convenient; that’s a fact. The other fact is that the open rate on e-mails is typically less than 20%. Most e-mail systems have a way to track who opens your e-mails. Typically you should attempt to e-mail a second time to non-openers, then direct mail those that don’t open your e-mails. Just about all flat mailers like postcards will get read. With the e-mail / direct mail strategy, you’ll reach at least 90% of your customer base. Few will fall through the cracks.

Tip #4:
New Customers Won’t Come In Unless They Know You Exist. This is so obvious it barely needs mentioning. That said, even if you’re in a shopping mall with lots of foot traffic, there are still people in your trade area that may not know you exist. Furthermore, you may need that extra marketing “push” to get them to walk in: a featured product, a sale, a gift certificate, an event, or other special offer. You should assume that many potential customers in your trade area simply don’t know you exist.

Tip #5:
Define Your Trade Area and Targeted Customers. Most trade area research is common sense. Geographically, you can map where customers will or are coming from. You know most won’t cross a river, or highway, or train tracks, or drive more than 10 minutes. Furthermore, your instinct is usually good enough for understanding demographics – young, old, wealthy, families, young kids, gender, and interests. Plug in your geography and demographics, then instantly get a report that shows the potential number of customers. If you know how many current customer you have, you can then also figure out your market share: 10% is good, 20% is great, and 30% is phenomenal!

Tip #6:
The More Targeted Your List, the More Direct Mail is The Right Solution. Typically, if the combination of your trade area and demographics shows that you have less than 10,000 prospective customers, direct mail is a good solution. Direct Mail is great for a variety of more specialty retailers: pet stores, shoe store, picture framers, optometrists, dry cleaners, toy stores, sporting goods, bakeries, specialty apparel (women’s, men’s, kids), etc. Direct mail is typically not a good fit for convenience stores, cialis cheap grocery stores, big-box retailers and others. Typically, when you go over 10,000 prospective customers, other forms of mass media may be more effective: radio, cable TV, print, bill boards, and magazines. Mass media reaches more people at a lower cost per impression.

Tip #7:
List, Offer and Graphics. The List is the #1 driver of response; the Offer is #2; and Graphics is #3. A current customer list will drive the best response rate, anywhere from 1% to 15%. A targeted purchased list should have a response rate of .5% to 5%. You won’t get any of these response rates unless you have a great offer, and “Free” is still the most powerful word in direct marketing, or e-mail marketing. The graphics are least important, but they represent your quality and brand. They should look professional, have all of the text needed to explain your product or service, be recognizable (make sure they know it’s you from a glance), possibly have a “wow” factor, and clearly showcase your offer.

Tip #8:
Frequency, Frequency, Frequency. There’s marketing research that shows that the more a person sees your brand, the more that person feels more favorable toward your brand. Also, the more a person sees a brand, the more they remember the brand when making a purchase decision. Frequency matters. To maintain awareness in your trade area, we recommend mailing at least 4 times per year. Remember Tip #4: if they don’t know you exist, they won’t come in.

Most of the work in the direct mail world is done online these days. You can get your mailing list, speak with a direct mail expert and get postcards and other print collateral online in minutes. Using these online resources is the smart way to reach your target audience efficiently and effectively.

Author Bio: Marc Trimble is a web developer and CEO of West7th Design and Development (www.west7th.net). With over 18 years of internet experience, Marc Trimble helps small business and non profits succeed online using direct mail lists and other web 3.0 technologies.

Category: Marketing/Direct Mail
Keywords: direct mail, direct mailing list, direct mail lists, direct mail list