How to Run a Successful Direct Mail Campaign

As more and more businesses flood the online arena, a few shrewd business owners are turning to direct mail in order to stand out from the crowd.  Direct mail continues to offer an effective way of engaging with a target audience.

However, for any business planning to utilize the effectiveness of direct mail, it is prudent to research how to run a successful campaign as mistakes can be costly.

Decide on The Objectives of The Campaign

In order to run an effective solo direct mail, you should ask yourself what you hope to achieve and define how you will be measuring the results of your campaign.  This in itself will help your campaign start to take shape.

Segment Your Target Audience

Identifying the audience you are targeting, and the action that you wish them to take as a result of your campaign, is crucial to the overall success of the campaign. Is your campaign aimed at completely new customers, or are you attempting to reactivate customers who have lapsed? Know your customers’ background and attitude before you draw up your communication in order to increase your response rate with a targeted message.

Ensure Your Message Highlights the Value to the Customer

Rather than making the details of your product or service the main message in your communication, focus instead on how your product or service can be of value to your customer. Identify the element that sets you apart from your competitors and work to highlight how that can benefit your customer.

Lure Them in With an Offer They Can’t Refuse

Make sure your offer is fitting for the amount you plan to spend on the campaign you are running. If necessary, you can run an online campaign first to establish which offer is the most compelling for your customers. Remember, sending an offer which is only for new customers can leave you with disgruntled existing customers so ensure that you avoid this common mistake.

Make Sure It Looks Great

Bear in mind that your direct mail needs to be able to grab the attention of your customer within seconds. This is often achieved with attractive graphics and direct short content that customers can glance over quickly. Remember that in this day and age, everyone is in a rush, so you need to keep your message sharp and clear.

Throw in A Call to Action

The success of a campaign can often be attributed to a good call to action.  Make sure it is clear and concise and give your customers a reason to act quickly. An expiry date on offers will often work to encourage customers to act quickly before they have forgotten all about the offer.

Set Your Budget and Stick to It

Setting your budget at this stage will not only help to guarantee the financial security of your company, but will also help you to identify the limitations of what you can do. At this point, it is helpful to do some rough calculations on the ROI of the campaign in order to ensure that the budget you set is within your expected returns.