POSTING PROFITS
DOING IT DIGITALLY is at the top of the how-to charts in the offices of contemporary captains of marketing and sales. Yet good old epistles through the post offer one of the most consistently effective forms of advertising. The direct mail industry has decreased in size but a new survey by a leading trade body reports that spending on this method of capturing customers is creeping up again.
With far less printed material clattering on to your doormat, it has been replaced by a stream of emails, texts and pop-ups hitting your screens. Hadn’t it been such a woeful waste of paper – and everyone’s time? However, less is more.
There is more targeting, more personalisation, more formats, more flexibility and more intelligent measurement, typified by relatively recent Royal Mail evaluation.
The Royal Mail Mailmen division examined what happens when post is deemed to be valuable to a recipient. The ‘This Time It’s Personal’ report, available to download from the Mailmen website, explained that once the item was found to be interesting, there was a strong incentive to take action.
That was concluded from research involving 3,000 people in the UK. They were asked to select pieces of post they had found valuable. Items chosen included brochures, catalogues, coupons and functional correspondence such as account statements.
TAKING ACTION
Valued post comprised content that highlighted or explained something that the reader felt was important. Around 92% of respondents declared an emotional response to such mail and had taken action. Nearly half of them purchased, renewed or donated.
The mail also prompted indirect activity. Well over one-third decided to search for more information online. Almost as many discussed it with others. Approximately 30% planned a future purchase, 16% recommended the brand to family or friends, 7% posted a positive message on social media and 6% downloaded an app. A total of 73% kept the mailer for future reference.
This research also confirmed that making direct mail valuable has much to do with personalisation and relevance. No longer is it acceptable to address material to ‘the homeowner’.
For advertisers expecting to maximise the value of mail it is clear that they must be contiguous, relevant and capable of evoking feelings among types who have been pre-identified as worthwhile.
With a quality direct mail campaign, possibly dovetailed into complementary and equally apposite emailing or mobile marketing, small businesses in particular can cluster their limited promotional resources where they are most likely produce results.
COST PER RESPONSE
It is straightforward to calculate a break-even point, work out the cost per response and the eventual return on investment.
Simple analysis will enable you to tweak your campaigns to improve results: including identification of those who are most responsive, so that you can target them again in future. The ultimate aim is to post profits.
Crucially, you must send the right material to the right people. If you do not have the resources in-house, seek assistance. The Direct Marketing Association (DMA), for instance, has around 1,000 corporate members, including many set up to furnish skilled support.
Firstly, tight targeting. And then, when a prospect picks up and opens your mailer, you will be on the way to establishing a physical bond with your brand – something that email is unlikely to do. Potentially, when that acceptor is thinking about making a purchase, your communication will be the first thing recalled.
You may have tapped into a whole new dimension of sales. Cost effective sales, too, with longer lasting benefits for your business.
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