Are you using direct mail as part of your promotional efforts aimed at businesses? Or have you, like so many others, cut back on the mail because of costs?
Well, here are a few things to consider as you put together your 2010 campaigns:
Direct mail is accepted more than unsolicited email: We all complain about the number of unopened emails sitting in our Inbox, but we step back from whatever we are doing and take the time to sift through the stack of mail that was just dropped off at our desk.
Direct mail supports creativity that subject lines can’t: No offense to great copy writing but text is text when it sits in the subject line of an email – but direct mail offers creativity in presentation that can not only stop you in your tracks but can bring people over to your desk to ask “What did you get?”
Direct mail can be more exciting: Similar to the previous statement, this speaks to the sense of “Wow!” that you can create. Sure emails with video are fun too – but a big box with crinkly paper brings back birthdays and holidays with presents! (Oh, and as for email with video – the last few firms I worked with put a clamp on viewing video so I couldn’t even enjoy a “How to use our product to save your company millions” video.)
Direct mail is forwarded rather than rejected: An unfortunate reality off our current ‘jobless recovery’ is that you never know when your targeted recipient is going to ‘move on to pursue new opportunities’. Direct mail gets forwarded to the new decision maker while email bounces. And lets be honest – you want to reach the buyer is key to generating a sale.
B2B direct mail increases campaign response rates: Most B2B sales are complex and they require multiple steps from initial contact to purchase. So you can use it to capture the attention of the buyer and motivate action that engages rather than closes an immediate sale.
This one requires you to evaluate the entire campaign rather than just the direct mail effort – because, for example, your goal is to drive the buyer to your website in order to register for a free white paper or event (on-line or face-to-face). Your evaluation process is to focus on the cost to acquire a new customer or sell Product A – so you look at all communications and promotional efforts as they impacted performance, not each campaign on its own.
Direct mail is just more appropriate in certain situations. This might be my age showing – but then again, the people I target are typically my age or older so we share the same background and that means that direct mail is more appropriate for certain situations. For example, if you are inviting me to attend your post-conference event (dinner, drinks, dancing), I expect a letter, not an email from Upcoming.
And let’s be honest – when you are selling a product or service that is 5-figures or more, and your targeted buyer is the CEO of a $100+ million corporation, do you think you can “Wow” them with email that’s being read on their iPhone or Blackberry?
