Direct Mail - In Vogue Again

Do you remember the days when your mailbox was chock full of ‘junk mail’. No more – our physical mailboxes are empty and nowadays it’s our inboxes that are full of “junk”.

To me, as a veteran Direct Marketer, this means there is great opportunity for marketers who use direct mail and target their prospects with relevant offers.
Last week’s USA Today’s front page featured an article about the Postal Service alone with statistics about the kind of mail people want to receive. Relevant is in. Targeted offers to the right prospect group is in. Blanket emails are out.

Smart Segmentation: Build A Great Reputation

Segmentation – analyzing your list to determine those for whom your offer is most relevant – is a practice that separates the great marketers from the also-rans. It doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s e-mail marketing or direct mail, for some reason most marketers just can’t resist blasting their message to everyone within earshot. There’s no quicker way to ruin your reputation than to blast unwanted, irrelevant offers to your prospects. After you’ve created a quality piece with an authentic offer, take the time to segment your list so that those most likely to benefit are on the receiving end. It’ll save you money and help build your reputation as someone worth listening to.

Quality Counts

Quality suffers in today’s 7/24 marketing frenzy. This is especially true of the barrage of online marketing your prospects receive. Most emails demonstrate little thought to proportions of white space and copy (is it even called copy any longer?). Garish graphics are clip-art, or worse. There are spelling errors galore and those darn links everywhere. So when your prospect receives your compelling offer in her mailbox, the quality of your creative can really make an impact. Make your piece something a person wants to hold in their hand and appreciate. When a mailbox has only the newsprint circulars and bills in it, your direct marketing piece done on substantial stock, with authentic images bathed in a silky flood finish that appeals to both the eye and the hands, can give your message that extra 15 – 20 seconds of prospect attention to really make an impact. Quality counts, more than ever.

Authenticity Matters

Marketing Authenticity Guru John Rooks argues that people crave authentic relationships. He goes on to suggest that authenticity is a powerful competitive differentiator in a world where even news takes on the quality of propaganda.
Just the other day I received a postcard urgently proclaiming that a company had been trying to contact me about the free vacation package I had won. I would miss out if I didn’t respond within 24 hours. First of all, the postcards was addressed to resident rather than to me personally; it was sent via bulk mail and everyone knows that a postcard sent via bulk mail isn’t a time sensitive delivery format. Not authentic and not worthy of my response.

Direct mail, done correctly, creates the opportunity for your business to establish an authentic connection between your brand and your prospect. Make your offer sincere. Make it authentic to what your business stands for. It will pay off in the quality of response you receive.

So if you’re the kind of marketer who really wants to get noticed, re-think direct mail. If all the noise in your prospect’s inbox, Facebook & twitter has you fighting to get noticed… it’s time to re-invest in the tried and true, the reliable and measurable, the segmented & targeted, the responsive and profitable, the valuable and very “in” medium of direct mail.

Direct Mail Bests Online Marketing with Personalization

If you’re looking for a revenue-generating powerhouse for your business, you’re looking for direct mail. Direct mail campaigns are the Old Faithful of marketing—businesses count on them because they’re dependable and promise a consistent ROI.

You can push direct mail’s ROI from consistent to record-breaking with a focus on personalization. Some online marketers mistakenly think their methods are more personal than direct mail. But thanks to Internet cookies, over-sent emails and Google Ad Words, consumers are turned off and tuning out.

Direct mail bests digital marketing tactics in the area of personalization because, to the consumer, it feels more human.

The key to effective personalized direct mail is to get as much useful information as you can from your customers and prospects. Use sales records, surveys and social media to collect good data about your mail leads.

Now it’s time to personalize your direct mail piece. To craft a message that’s relevant to the prospect without being creepy, you’ve got to use your data carefully. Let’s say, for example, that your jewelry store wants to market diamond engagement rings. You’re working form a list of young people who you assume—or hope, for your business’s sake—are single (and you should know that from your data).

It makes sense to write copy that speaks to a buying audience in the mail piece you will send to males. On the other hand, the mail piece sent to females should feature different photos and copy. Although who will buy and who will receive such a gift varies, catering the message of the direct mail according to gender is a subtle method of personalization.

The best marketers have to interpret the data and use it in a way that tactfully shows consumers that your business is just what they need. But you don’t have to be selling jewelry to personalize direct mail skillfully and in a non-intrusive way. Think about your audience and how their demographic information may affect their buying habits or business needs.

Work from your recipient data to go beyond names in personalizing your business’s direct mail. When you personalize your direct mail piece with a name, you’re working to catch your prospects’ attention. Go one step further—and one-up online marketers—by letting demographics inform your direct mail piece.

Is There A Magic Marketing Bullet?

Marketers are always looking for the “magic bullet”.
That magic marketing medium that delivers great response at a low cost.
You know, the one that doesn’t need and testing or tweaking and delivers amazing ROI.

I work with owners of many small to medium sized businesses who firmly believe that there is a quick and easy way to bring new customers into their business and that I am personally standing in their way when I provide a reality check.

Great response doesn’t come easy. There is so much involved with researching the market, determining the best groups of prospects to target, considering the best mix of media, implementing the program, then testing & tweaking and testing & tweaking some more.

The best ROI does not necessarily come from a multi-channel marketing campaign. I have many clients who have tested mail, TV, e-mail and telemarketing. Many of my clients in the Home Improvement Industry have found that telemarketing brings them more clients than any other medium. Most of my Fund Raising clients swear by direct mail.

Regardless, while there is no magic bullet, it is always magic when the responses come in!

Google +1 Button – Marketers need to take advantage of it!

Google’s +1 button is reportedly more popular than Twitter and Facebook’s "Like" button, at least amongst retailers. When it comes to social plug-ins, Google+ is already embedded on more retail websites than Facebook or Twitter.

Six months ago, , more people were using Facebook plug-ins...but the Google+1 button has taken over in the business to business space. I would guess Facebook is still first today, but only when considering all types of websites, and its lead may not last for much longer.

So, why is Google+ already winning with retailers? Well, by adding +1 buttons to their websites, businesses can potentially improve their Google search ranking. That’s something that Facebook, Twitter, and every other social network simply can’t offer.

Google’s +1 button tells Google that you like what you see. On Google+, the action can show up in your stream, but on Google, it could also improve a given website’s ranking. For retailers, being higher up on the search results page can be crucial, so they’ll do anything to increase their chances with Google.

Please take a minute to click on Dataman Group’s Google+1 Button and tell the world you like us!

Ask DataDale: What Do New Homeowners Spend Money On?

Since Dataman Group has been providing New Homeowner Lists for over 30 years, many marketers look to me as the Expert in the New Homeowner field.

New Homeowners are an amazing market segment who need a wide range of goods & services and will spend their dollars to get what they need.

So, what do New Homeowners spend Money on?

Services – 99% of new homeowners spend money on Services such as new doctors, new beauty salons, new dentist, new mechanic, new dry cleaner, etc in the first 30 days after buying their home.

Furniture – 60% of new homeowners spend money on Furniture.

Window Coverings – 57% of new homeowners spend money on Window Coverings in the first 30 days after buying their home.

Electronics – 52% of new homeowners spend money on Electronics in the first 30 days after buying their home.

Kitchen appliances – 40% of new homeowners spend money on Appliances in the first 30 days after buying their home.

Bedding/Mattress – 33% of new homeowners spend money on Bedding/Mattresses in the first 30 days after buying their home.

Smart marketers who reach out to New Homeowners with a great offer get a strong response and the opportunity to make a new customer for life!

Ten Marketing Tips for Water Quality Dealers

Water Dealers can finesse their marketing program with DataDale's Top Ten Marketing Tips for Water Quality Dealers - printed in this month's issue of Water Conditioning & Purification Magazine.

These are the Top Ten Topics I'm discussing in depth in the article:

1. Is now the time to advertise?
2. The cost of media depends on the size of your market.
3. Should Water Dealers use electronic media?
4. Telemarketing. Does it still work?
5. What about Direct Mail?
6. Using media to promote your business.
7. What about Social Media?
8. Video is a powerful tool.
9. Consistent Advertising is key
10. Taking a long-term approach

Click here to read DataDale's complete article.

Can Digital Collaborate with Direct Mail?

As a veteran direct marketer with a strong background in direct mail, sometimes I look at digital solutions and wonder how it will impact me, my business, the DM economy and our friends over at the Post Office who's declining revenue puts much of the traditional direct mail industry in jeopardy.

Apple has introduced a free Cards app for the iPhone and iPod Touch which lets user snap a photo and seamlessly send a personalized letterpress card to an actual physical street address anywhere in the county for $2.99.

This collaboration between the USPS and Apple utilizes the USPS Intelligent Mail Barcode (the same one that Netflix uses), which is printed on the front of every envelope sent via the app. It also sends out a push notification the day your card is sent out for delivery.

Maybe Apple can save the Post Office.
What do you think?