With all of the available options – print and electronic – direct mail remains the #1 choice in top direct marketers’ bag of tricks. For both B2B and B2C communications, direct mail carries many advantages unmatched by other forms of direct advertising.

Direct mail continues to provide measurable results and noteworthy ROI, thanks to its flexibility in format and ability to deliver targeted, personal and lasting messages. To be successful, apply the following principles of direct response communications:

• Target your audience
• Craft a worthy offer
• Include a call to action
• Provide a response vehicle

YOUR LIST

Your list can make or break your direct mail campaign. If you are not talking to the right person, the message you deliver – no matter how specific – will be meaningless. One of your most valuable business assets is your “house” list. Why? Customers cost less. It costs eight times more to obtain a new customer than retain an established one. Your house list is five to 10 times more likely to respond to your campaign than any other list. And, it’s free. You own the data, so you can use it as you like without incurring additional costs.

YOUR OFFER

Once you have your targeted list, choosing the right offer to appeal to your audience may take some time and testing. One of the top 10 mistakes with direct mail is not making a specific offer or request – and expecting the recipients to determine what they’re supposed to do.

YOUR CREATIVE

After settling on the offer, it’s time to choose a format. Which is best? It will depend upon your campaign objective. The primary formats include: postcard, self-mailer, letter, package with multiple elements, and dimensional enclosure.

Your brand, image, message and of course, budget, will help bring focus to the creative development of your direct mail, both in look and copy. With all of the pieces in place, your direct mail campaigns will deliver results.

For direct response planning, printing and mailing, see your Allegra Print & Imaging Hamilton professionals today.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 12:17 pm and is filed under Articles, Service & Product Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.