How to Profit from Direct Mail Part 3
Last week we covered the first two steps of your direct mail campaign; how to determine your target audience, and how to communicate to your target list and make them an offer that will entice them to act immediately.
This week we will cover the last three steps of your campaign:
- Developing a compelling direct mail piece
- Pick your timing
- Follow up
Develop a compelling direct mail piece
You are in control of how your format your message. Are you sending a letter? A brochure and a letter? A postcard? The format of your direct mail piece needs to be tailored to your target list, and reflect your product or service. A younger audience may respond to a postcard, but an older audience may appreciate a formalised letter. Ensure that whatever format you choose, the piece is professionally designed, prominently includes your logo and company branding, and is professionally produced.
This piece of paper has to act as an ambassador of your company – you absolutely need it to appear impressive and professional.
Pick your timing
Some products and purchase decisions are best made at certain times of the year, or the month. If your business or service is seasonal, then there are good times and bad times to try to generate leads. Consider the best purchase windows for the people in your target marketing. When do they get paid? When do they have the money to spend on your product/service? When do they spend the most money?
Anticipate these windows, and time your direct mail campaign accordingly. If you run a lawn sprinkler installation system and summer is your peak season, run a direct mail campaign mid-way through spring, and at the beginning of summer.
Some common time windows include:
• Holiday season (November – December)
• Fridays (paydays)
• The 15th and 30th of every months (also paydays)
• Seasons (spring, Summer, Fall, Winter)
• Financial cycles (year-end, tax time)
• Sports seasons (cricket, hockey, football, rugby, etc.)
Follow up
Comprehensive follow up to a direct mail campaign means two things:
1. Following up on your letter with a phone call or second letter
Often it takes more than a letter to get a potential customer to take action. This can be a result of the accuracy of your mailing list, your offer, the time of the year, or the quality of the marketing material (brochure). If you are certain that your mailing list is accurate and up to date, follow up the piece with a phone call, or sends another letter.
2. Recording, measuring and analysing your results.
It is essential that you evaluate each direct mail campaign based on your time and financial investment and your rate of response. How else will you be able to tell if it was a successful or effective strategy?
For each campaign, record and analyse the following information:
• Number of letters sent
• Number or responses as a percentage
• Number of sales directly resulting from the campaign
• Number of enquiries
• Total value of sales directly resulting from the campaign
Based on this information, determine if the campaign was successful (did it make you money?) or not. Consider making some changes to your list, your offer, or the piece itself, and try again.
If you want some help in putting together a great direct mail marketing strategy and running a good campaign visit: http://mybusinessdevelopmentacademy.com or make an appointment with me on : https://my.timedriver.com/62NK1
Until the next time.
Vernon Simpson, Nydes Business Coach
Coaching Business Owners and Executives to their next level of Excellence
Profiting from Direct Mail Part 2
Last week I explained that direct mailing is a very versatile marketing strategy that can help you achieve a number of business objectives from lead generation to customer retention. And to get the most out of this strategy you need to get the pin point accuracy of your mailing list right.
Now that you have a laser-sharp mailing list, you will want to do everything you can to target your message to the recipients on your list.
An effective direct mail piece:
• Has a clear structure. The piece is clearly a letter – there is an engaging headline, clear message, point form list of benefits, and postscript.
• Features an irresistible offer. The purchase opportunity is too good for the target audience to refuse. It includes an element of scarcity and urgency.
• Focuses on customer benefits. The customer clearly understands “what’s in it for me?” The product or service is clearly positioned as something of value and a solution to a need, problem, or desire.
• Is personal and conversational. The letter is personally addressed, and reads as though it was composed specifically for the recipient. It is written in conversational tone, with 100 short sentences and limited description.
• Is short. The letter communicates what it needs to, and closes. It does not go on for pages in length. The messages are clear, succinct, and simple.
• Is urgent. The piece gives the reader the need to act immediately.
There is a time limit or a quantity limit to the offer that requires an urgent response.
• Includes a Postscript. The offer or urgency is repeated after the signature at the bottom of the letter. Like a headline, everyone will read the P.S.
The Five-Step Direct Mail Campaign
1. Determine Your Target Audience
As we discussed previously , you will want to ensure that you have the most accurate, targeted list possible for your direct mail campaign.
Be clear about the purpose for your direct mail campaign –this will help you decide if you want to send your letters to your entire target market, a segment of that market, existing customers, or potentially a referring business’s customers. Then you can determine how you craft your offer, how you structure your letter, and when you choose to send it.
2. Choose what you want to say
What is the message you want to communicate to your target list? What can you offer them that will entice them to act immediately?
Create a specific offer for each direct mail campaign to ensure each time you communicate with your target list you have something new to say. Tailor this offer to each mailing list.
Decide what product or service benefits will be most compelling to your target audience, and include those benefits prominently in your letter.
Next week we will cover the last three steps for your effective direct mailing campaign.
Until the next time.
Vernon Simpson, Nydes Business Coach
Coaching Business Owners and Executives to their next level of Excellence.
How to Profit from Direct Mail
In the next coming weeks I will be talking about developing and running an effective direct mail campaign to boost turnover and profits. You see, if you really want to make dramatic improvements in sales you cannot simple rely on having great presence on line. You need to have a range of strategic marketing weapons to make the most of your target market. And direct mail is one of the most powerful marketing weapons you can have.
You are running a direct-mail campaign every time you mail an existing or potential customer a letter and ask them to respond or take action.
Direct mail is a marketing strategy that can help you achieve a number of business objectives. From lead generation to customer retention, direct mail campaigns are a highly versatile and relatively cost-effective choice for business promotion.
What you probably don’t realise is the direct mail is one of the most targeted marketing strategies you can implement, and one of the easiest to track, measure and analyse results.
It is also one of the most personal. Instead of an advertisement, flyer, newspaper insert or catalogue, you are sending each customer a personalised letter that is tailored to their unique needs and desires.
Getting the most out of your direct mail campaign is easy. With a laser-sharp mailing list and irresistible offer, your direct mail campaign can easily flood your business with qualified leads.
Let’s get started!
A List of Ideal Customers
Unless you spend time carefully crafting a mailing list of ideal customers, you may as well pack and up go home. The success of a direct mail campaign largely rests on the pinpoint accuracy of your mailing list.
The only people you want on your list are your potential “ideal customers.” The people who are most likely to buy from you – often and in large volumes – and who are a delight to deal with. They are the type of people who will account for 80% of your revenue, and just 20% of your total customer base.
You have a number of options when you are creating your mailing list:
• Existing customer database. This is a list of all of the people who have previously purchased from you. It is important to gather their full contact information at the time of sale so you will be able to get contact them again.
• Existing Leads database
This is a list of all of the leads that have come through your door, but have not purchased from you. This may include those who responded to your last direct mail campaign, but have not yet become customers.
• Outsourced list. This is a list that has been purchased from a market research firm, the government, or the post office. These lists are pulled based on demographic information – age, sex, location, income, family structure, etc.
Putting the mailing list together
Once you have determined the source(s) for your mailing list, you will have to spend some time assembling it and preparing it for your mailing.
1. Make sure all contacts are up to date. Phone old contacts to confirm their mailing address. An out-of-date list will cost you money in printing and postage.
2. Ensure all contacts are accurate to the list criteria. Take a read through your list to make sure there are no contacts that shouldn’t be on the list.
3. Use a database management program to manage your mailing. This will allow you to keep a master list, and create custom lists for each mailing. Remember to save the file name as something that describes the mailing so you can easily find it.
Next week we will talk about writing effective direct mail pieces, and the first two steps of the Five Step Direct Mail Campaign. In the meantime if you want some help in putting your campaign together visit: http://businessgrowthforyou.com
Until the next time.
Vernon Simpson, Nydes Business Coach
Coaching Business Owners and Executives to their next level of Excellence
Multiply on Your Maximising Resources – Part 1
The next series of posts will cover how to take maximising resources and multiply them for even bigger results.
In this first of the four part series we’ll cover:
- Call in the Troops
- Bring ‘Em Out of the Woodwork
- Black Sheep Clients
Call in the Troops
Finding and securing new clients can be exhausting and expensive. Instead work with other companies to help you find new clients. Find solid companies with secure, positive relationships with their customers/clients. Also, ensure that their products/services are not directly competitive with yours.
Contact prospective partner companies and talk with them about helping promote your products/services to their clients. Always offer them a commission on the sales that come from their client lists.
Make sure to include these key points in your proposal:
- Ensure that your products/services don’t compete with theirs.
- The partnership will not take away from their current or future sales.
- The partnership will increase their profits.
- They won’t have to do nor spend anything on the partnership.
- You will produce all needed marketing materials.
- You will offer an unconditional guarantee on all products/services.
Bring ‘Em Out of the Woodwork
If you take the time to put together a solid referral system you’ll draw new customers/clients out of the woodwork through everyone you already know. You can start doing this through first showing all your current clients how much you care about them.
Then show them how your products/services can significantly improve their lives or businesses. If you can do this consistently, they will naturally and comfortably bring new clients right to you.
Black Sheep Clients
One of the best ways to rejuvenate business is to find your stray clients and offer them something amazing. First you need to understand why they strayed and are no longer purchasing from you. There are generally three reasons why customers/clients leave. They are:
- Unrelated causes that have nothing to do with you
- A problem with their last purchase
- No longer benefit from your products/services
The best way to bring these clients back is to simply contact them. If you don’t make the first move, they’ll never come back. You make an appointment to visit them or call them if it’s not possible to meet in person.
Talk openly with your stray clients. Let them know you noticed they were no longer working with you and that you’d like to talk with them about their experiences with you and how you can improve things to work together again. Take the time to make them feel special and work hard to make sure their experiences with you going forward are the best ever.
This wraps up the first three areas on how to multiply your maximized resources. If you need help working on any of these ideas or processes, try our FREE test drive to work with an experienced business coach.
Next time we’ll talk about the next three areas of multiplying your resources. They include: Olympic-Size Sales Staff, Open Sea Fishing and Call for Back-Up.
Until the next time .
Vernon Simpson, Nydes Business Coach
Coaching Business Owners and Executives to their next Level of Excellence
Maximise Your Resources – Part 3
In the last post we talked about three more ways you can work on maximising your current resources. They included:
- Reveal your business’ soul
- From breaking even to breaking the bank
- Stand up and stand out
Today we’ll talk about the last three areas you can work on to maximise your current resources. They are:
- An offer they can’t refuse
- Would you like fries with that?
- Stay away from the edge of the cliff
An Offer They Can’t Refuse
The secret to success is to stay ahead of your competitors- maintain the competitive edge. To do that you need make it easier for your customers/clients to say “yes” rather than “no”. You do this by eliminating all the psychological, financial, physical, emotional and other road blocks they may have.
You can take the risks for them by offering warranties and guarantees that make the customer feel more confident in you, your business and your products/services. You also must be serious about your offer and follow through if a situation does arise. The quickest way to the bottom is to play games or take back a warranty or guarantee.
Would You Like Fries With That?
It’s the oldest trick in the book. I mean, really, how many times a week do you fall for it? Every time you sell a product or service, you need to offer an add-on, upgrade or back-end product to go with it. These products must be complimentary to the original product being purchased and must create a higher perceived value.
Avoid the Edge of the Cliff
Continuing to test and measure your systems, products, marketing methods and all other aspects of your business allow you to see problems before they happen and therefore avoid falling off the edge of the cliff.
Here are a few specific areas you can test for potential improvements:
- Marketing
- Sales Copy
- Customer Service
- Sales Letters
- Sales Presentations
- Employee-Customer Interaction
Through testing these different areas you will find products/services where you can raise the price, maybe others where you can lower the price or offer that product as an incentive item, and find many others areas for improvement that will better utilise your current resources.
This wraps up our series on how to maximise on your current resources. If you need help working through any of these or the previous areas, try our FREE test drive to work with one of our amazing business coaches.
Until the next time
Vernon Simpson, Nydes Business Coach
Coaching Business Owners and Executives to their next level of Excellence