Apr 10, 2023

DM Crash CourseDM Crash CourseDirect Mail Advertising

in Less than 60 minutes!

presented byAlan Rosenspan

And

Keith Goodman

Direct Mail Advertisingin Less than 60 minutes!

presented byAlan Rosenspan

And

Keith Goodman

WHAT IS DIRECT MARKETING?WHAT IS DIRECT MARKETING?

“Direct Marketing is an interactive system of marketing which uses one or more advertising media to effect a measurable response and/or transaction at any location.”

Direct Marketing Association

•Each dollar spent on direct marketing yields, on average, a return on investment of $11.65

•By comparison, each dollar spent on non-DM advertising yields an ROI of $5.29

Source DMA Annual Report

DIRECT MAIL IS PROFITABLEDIRECT MAIL IS PROFITABLE

• Convenient–It’s on your kitchen table or desk

• Written record–File it, save it, show it to others.

• Targeted–Mail just to the prospects most likely to buy

• Measurable–You know who responded

• Scalable–250 customers or 1,000,000 customers

ADVANTAGES OF DIRECT MAILADVANTAGES OF DIRECT MAIL

•Email is a great tool for communicating to a subset of your existing customers.

•Direct mail (especially with postcards) gives you a 100% connection with your current customers.

Yes! 10%-15% Open Rates for email…

Should not be confused with click through or response rates!

DIRECT MAIL OR EMAIL?DIRECT MAIL OR EMAIL?

• 92% of consumers read the mail the day they get it• What do you do when you get home?• Most people sort mail into 2 piles…

Relevant Junk Mail

DOES MAIL GET READ?DOES MAIL GET READ?

COMMON USES OF DIRECT MAILCOMMON USES OF DIRECT MAIL

1. Generating traffic to your store or website

2. Generating leads

3. Responding to competitive activity

4. Generating customer loyalty

5. Generating customer referrals

6. Special events / sales / seminars

• What do you want to accomplish?

• What makes your store/product different?

• What are the benefits to your customers?

HAVE A PLANHAVE A PLAN

• The question we ask…

“What kind of response will I get?”

• The question we should ask…

“What kind of response do I need?”

WILL ANYONE RESPOND?WILL ANYONE RESPOND?

• What would you pay for a busload of customers?

HOW MUCH IS A “PASSENGER” WORTH?HOW MUCH IS A “PASSENGER” WORTH?

The basic formula…

Average Sale $300

Gross Profit $150

Annualized Value (2X) $300

Lifetime Value (3 years) $900

WHAT IS A CUSTOMER WORTH?WHAT IS A CUSTOMER WORTH?

1. Timing

2. Mailing Package

3. Copy (Text)

4. The Offer

5. The List

WHAT IS CRITICAL TO YOUR CAMPAIGNWHAT IS CRITICAL TO YOUR CAMPAIGN

40%

THE LISTTHE LIST

• Time Sensitive Offer

• Relevant Imagery

• Excellent Copy

• Clear Call to Action

TheWrong

List

No Response!

THE WRONG LISTTHE WRONG LIST

• Your buyers and responders are your most responsive lists.

• Capture relevant data.

• You can profile, append and model your existing list

• You cannot grow without prospecting

YOUR HOUSE LISTYOUR HOUSE LIST

Take your best customers..

Then find more that look just like them!

THE KEY TO PROSPECTINGTHE KEY TO PROSPECTING

• Consumer Data- Acxiom, Experian, Equifax, InfoUSA

• Business Data– - D&B, InfoUSA, Compass

• Occupant Data– - Valassis, Compact Information

• Specialty Data

OVER 74,000 LISTS AVAILABLEOVER 74,000 LISTS AVAILABLE

IDENTIFY PROSPECTS WITH MODELINGIDENTIFY PROSPECTS WITH MODELING

• Snapshot of over a dozen demographic elements

• Comparison on local, state or national averages

• Applicable towards media buys for other channels

SEE WHO YOUR CUSTOMERS ARESEE WHO YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE

• Automates the target list selection• Ties in the predominant demo and geo

characteristics• Illustration of response rate potential and relative

impact

IDENTIFY THE MOST LIKELY PROSECTSIDENTIFY THE MOST LIKELY PROSECTS

Provides available prospect qty, after customer file suppression, by desired geographic area and decile

MODELED PROSPECT LIST COUNTSMODELED PROSPECT LIST COUNTS

• Acxiom B2C• D&B B2B• Occupant Data• Bundled Selects• Low Minimums• FREE Counts

WEB-BASED LIST COUNTS AND ORDERINGWEB-BASED LIST COUNTS AND ORDERING

• Relevance– Will it make the keeper pile?

• Read– Do they want to find out more?

• Response– Will they call you?

• Revenue– Is your customer going to part with their cash?

• ROI– Increased profitability because everything worked!

DM AND THE 5 R’sDM AND THE 5 R’s

• Graphical treatment– Format, Imagery, Layout

• The copy– Prospect pain points,

Benefits, Features

• The offer– We will give you…

• Call to Action– All you have to do is…

4 KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL PIECE4 KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL PIECE

Ever feel like your home mortgage is like 60 tons of water ready to crush you and your family?

We can help!

7 Quick Tips 7 Quick Tips Guaranteed to Guaranteed to

Improve ResponseImprove Response

1. Do 1. Do OneOne Thing Different Thing DifferentMost direct mail is ordinary, dull, and looks like every other piece of direct

mail.

Do you want to blend in with everybody else, or do you want to

stand out?

2. Do Just 2. Do Just One One ThingThing Make sure your message is single-

minded

Make sure your message is relevant to your market

Make sure it breaks through the clutter

The “Bed of Nails” ApproachThe “Bed of Nails” Approach

3. Add Value3. Add Value

1. If your direct mail package has no added value in it – then I’m probably going to ignore it

2. If the only time I ever hear from your company is when you want to sell me something…

…then I’m not sure I want to hear from your company

Turn your direct mail packageinto a Fortune Cookie

Make it something that people will be happy and excited to open

4. Add Credibility4. Add Credibility

Many other forms of advertising have a “halo” of credibility

Magazine ads in Time magazine. Banner ads on websites. “As seen on TV” adds credibility

Direct mail arrives naked at the door – buried in a pile of (mostly) unimportant, untargeted, unsolicited

“junk”

Who are you?Who are you?

The first question any prospect will ever ask about your company

Explain who you are, how long you’ve been in business, how many satisfied customers you have

You may think everyone knows who you are – but they don’t

Who are your customers?Who are your customers?

Customer Lists are extremely important in B2B

They minimize the risk for business people

They give a better idea of what kind of company you are – or what kind of products and services you sell

You can’t always list them, but it’s worth trying

Why should I trust you?Why should I trust you?

Testimonials are incredibly powerful – when used the right way

They should not be overwritten or over-enthusiastic

They should be localized or targeted if possible

Add Extra CredibilityAdd Extra Credibility

Be specific about your claims

Use real examples, if possible

Use numbers; they add 68.5% more credibility. They are 5X more effective. They increase response by an average of 2.3%

5. Focus on your Prospect5. Focus on your ProspectMost direct mail focuses on a product

or a company.

The most effective direct mail focuses on a person.

6. Improve Your Offer6. Improve Your Offer

The fastest way to improve response is to improve your offer.

Make it “an offer they can’t refuse…”

Offer GuidelinesOffer Guidelines

Make it an offer “money can’t buy”

Be very clear about the offer, and why it’s valuable

Build your entire direct mail package around the offer

7. Always Be Testing7. Always Be Testing

Some companies do direct mail as part of their marketing mix.

Some companies live and die by direct mail- Non-profits - Catalogs

- Credit cards

These companies always do extensive, continuous, comprehensive testing…

• Tracking your responses– Create response codes– Varying discount offers– Multiple response vehicles

• Record the numbers– How many calls or visits?– How many sales?– Average order value?– Future value of your new customers?

IT IS ALL ABOUT ROIIT IS ALL ABOUT ROI

ARE YOU MAKING MONEY?ARE YOU MAKING MONEY?

THANK YOU FOR LISTENINGTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING

Keith GoodmanVP, Corporate SolutionsModern Postcard

Phone: 800-959-8365 ext. 2059Cell: 303-517-3119Email: keithg@modernpostcard.com

Alan RosenspanPresidentAlan Rosenspan and Associates

Phone: 781-784-8283Email: arosenspan@aol.com