Direct mail is one of the traditional marketing efforts that still provides businesses with a certain level of success.
A business creates a mailer, chooses a geographical area to target, and then mails out the marketing materials.
However, a direct mail campaign is dependent on prospects opening the marketing material. For many households junk mail is just background noise and is instantly recycled without a second look.
Before designing your next direct mail campaign take a look at our Pros & Cons for consideration.
The Pros of Direct Mail
Radio or television advertising cannot guarantee that your marketing materials will reach every household in a community. Direct Mail can be delivered to letterboxes within a postcode ensuring that the value of direct mail cannot be overstated.
Many households are working hard to save money today and a discount code, coupon or other additional benefit may be difficult to ignore.
Outsourcing your direct mail marketing is extremely effective. The postal service delivers your direct mail piece and the customer contacts you direct. An easy way to enhance other marketing efforts or to test new ideas or products to specific areas within your community.
When running a direct mail campaign choose more than just a postcode. You could target new households that have moved to the area within a specified amount of time, say 6 months or less.
Alternatively target homes that have certain values in some areas, properties in specific conditions (ie. a property that is 90 days past it's mortgage repayment), or even specific neighbourhoods.
This allows you to test responses within various demographics so you can gain an overview of the impact for your brand.
Direct mail campaigns can be as small or large as you want them to be.
There aren't many other marketing opportunities that allow you to put tangible materials into the hands of a prospect in such a scalable way.
The Cons of Direct Mail
It is possible for an organisation to target a neighbourhood or demographic within a postcode and receive no responses to their campaign or offer. There is no guarantee that a direct mail marketing campaign will result in conversions. Even if people see a brand's value proposition, it could be rejected by everyone and result in zero incoming revenues.
Direct mail that is too frequent can have a negative impact in your brand's reputation. It can be perceived as wasting resources, or annoying for households to receive the same mailers every week, even if there is a value proposition on them. It is important to balance the benefits of new potential customers with the negative reactions.
There are some post office boxes or addresses that are essentially inactive. Some marketing campaigns can exclude known addresses like this, but there are always variables involved that means a business can be spending money to market to someone that doesn't exist.
Businesses have been using direct mail as a marketing effort for generations. You probably receive marketing material through your own letterbox at least twice a week. Adding another direct mailer into that mix of materials that has already been received may mean your value proposition is never read because the materials are shredded or thrown in the recycling.
Your text must have the proper tone to enable you to convey the precise value proposition you're offering to customers. You can do everything right and even get people to look at your offer, but if they take that offer in a way that is unintended, it can damage a brand's reputation.
The pros and cons of direct mail will generally help businesses to build their brand awareness. With the right value proposition it is possible to expand business opportunities within certain demographics, but as with any marketing effort there are certain risks that must be balanced as well. These key points can help your brand to achieve just that.
BKT can help you customise your Direct Mail so you can improve ROI and increase customer loyalty. Contact our client services team for help on your next project.