notes version: direct mail fundamentals
TRANSCRIPT
9/30/2011
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30-Sep-11
DM Crash CourseDM Crash CourseDirect Mail Advertising
in Less than 60 minutes!
presented byAlan Rosenspan
And
Keith Goodman
Direct Mail Advertisingin Less than 60 minutes!
presented byAlan Rosenspan
And
Keith Goodman
WHAT IS DIRECT MARKETING?
“Direct Marketing is an interactive system of marketing which uses one or more advertising media to effect a measurable response and/or transaction at any location.”
Direct Marketing Association
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•Each dollar spent on direct marketing yields, on average, a return on investment of $11.65
•By comparison, each dollar spent on non-DM advertising yields an ROI of $5.29
Source DMA Annual Report
DIRECT MAIL IS PROFITABLE
• Convenient–It’s on your kitchen table or desk
• Written record–File it, save it, show it to others.
• Targeted–Mail just to the prospects most likely to buy
• Measurable–You know who responded
• Scalable–250 customers or 1,000,000 customers
ADVANTAGES OF DIRECT MAIL
•Email is a great tool for communicating to a subset of your existing customers.
•Direct mail (especially with postcards) gives you a 100% connection with your current customers.
Yes! 10%-15% Open Rates for email…
Should not be confused with click through or response rates!
DIRECT MAIL OR EMAIL?
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• 92% of consumers read the mail the day they get it
• What do you do when you get home?
• Most people sort mail into 2 piles…
Relevant Junk Mail
DOES MAIL GET READ?
COMMON USES OF DIRECT MAIL
1. Generating traffic to your store or website
2. Generating leads
3. Responding to competitive activity
4. Generating customer loyalty
5. Generating customer referrals
6. Special events / sales / seminars
• What do you want to accomplish?
• What makes your store/product different?
• What are the benefits to your customers?
HAVE A PLAN
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• The question we ask…
“What kind of response will I get?”
• The question we should ask…
“What kind of response do I need?”
WILL ANYONE RESPOND?
• What would you pay for a busload of customers?
HOW MUCH IS A “PASSENGER” WORTH?
The basic formula…
Average Sale $300
Gross Profit $150
Annualized Value (2X) $300
Lifetime Value (3 years) $900
WHAT IS A CUSTOMER WORTH?
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1. Timing
2. Mailing Package
3. Copy (Text)
4. The Offer
5. The List
WHAT IS CRITICAL TO YOUR CAMPAIGN
40%
THE LIST
• Time Sensitive Offer
• Relevant Imagery
• Excellent Copy
• Clear Call to Action
TheWrong
List
No Response!
THE WRONG LIST
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• Your buyers and responders are your most responsive lists.
• Capture relevant data.
• You can profile, append and model your existing list
• You cannot grow without prospecting
YOUR HOUSE LIST
Take your best customers..
Then find more that look just like them!
THE KEY TO PROSPECTING
• Consumer Data- Acxiom, Experian, Equifax, InfoUSA
• Business Data– - D&B, InfoUSA, Compass
• Occupant Data– - Valassis, Compact Information
• Specialty Data
OVER 74,000 LISTS AVAILABLE
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IDENTIFY PROSPECTS WITH MODELING
• Snapshot of over a dozen demographic elements
• Comparison on local, state or national averages
• Applicable towards media buys for other channels
SEE WHO YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE
• Automates the target list selection
• Ties in the predominant demo and geo characteristics
• Illustration of response rate potential and relative impact
IDENTIFY THE MOST LIKELY PROSECTS
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Provides available prospect qty, after customer file suppression, by desired geographic area and decile
MODELED PROSPECT LIST COUNTS
• Acxiom B2C
• D&B B2B
• Occupant Data
• Bundled Selects
• Low Minimums
• FREE Counts
WEB-BASED LIST COUNTS AND ORDERING
• Relevance– Will it make the keeper pile?
• Read– Do they want to find out more?
• Response– Will they call you?
• Revenue– Is your customer going to part with their cash?
• ROI– Increased profitability because everything worked!
DM AND THE 5 R’s
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• Graphical treatment– Format, Imagery,
Layout
• The copy– Prospect pain points,
Benefits, Features
• The offer– We will give you…
• Call to Action– All you have to do is…
4 KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL PIECE
Ever feel like your home mortgage is like 60 tons of water ready to crush you and your family?
We can help!
7 Quick Tips Guaranteed to
Improve Response
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1. Do One Thing DifferentMost direct mail is ordinary, dull, and looks like every other piece of direct
mail.
Do you want to blend in with everybody else, or do you want to
stand out?
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2. Do Just One Thing Make sure your message is single-
minded
Make sure your message is relevant to your market
Make sure it breaks through the clutter
The “Bed of Nails” Approach
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3. Add Value
1. If your direct mail package has no added value in it – then I’m probably going to ignore it
2. If the only time I ever hear from your company is when you want to sell me something…
…then I’m not sure I want to hear from your company
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Turn your direct mail packageinto a Fortune Cookie
Make it something that people will be happy and excited to open
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4. Add Credibility
Many other forms of advertising have a “halo” of credibility
Magazine ads in Time magazine. Banner ads on websites. “As seen on TV” adds credibility
Direct mail arrives naked at the door – buried in a pile of (mostly) unimportant, untargeted, unsolicited
“junk”
Who are you?
The first question any prospect will ever ask about your company
Explain who you are, how long you’ve been in business, how many satisfied customers you have
You may think everyone knows who you are –but they don’t
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Who are your customers?
Customer Lists are extremely important in B2B
They minimize the risk for business people
They give a better idea of what kind of company you are – or what kind of products and services you sell
You can’t always list them, but it’s worth trying
Why should I trust you?
Testimonials are incredibly powerful – when used the right way
They should not be overwritten or over-enthusiastic
They should be localized or targeted if possible
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Add Extra Credibility
Be specific about your claims
Use real examples, if possible
Use numbers; they add 68.5% more credibility. They are 5X more effective. They increase response by an average of 2.3%
5. Focus on your ProspectMost direct mail focuses on a product
or a company.
The most effective direct mail focuses on a person.
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6. Improve Your Offer
The fastest way to improve response is to improve your offer.
Make it “an offer they can’t refuse…”
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Offer Guidelines
Make it an offer “money can’t buy”
Be very clear about the offer, and why it’s valuable
Build your entire direct mail package around the offer
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7. Always Be Testing
Some companies do direct mail as part of their marketing mix.
Some companies live and die by direct mail- Non-profits - Catalogs
- Credit cards
These companies always do extensive, continuous, comprehensive testing…
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• Tracking your responses– Create response codes– Varying discount offers– Multiple response vehicles
• Record the numbers– How many calls or visits?– How many sales?– Average order value?– Future value of your new customers?
IT IS ALL ABOUT ROI
ARE YOU MAKING MONEY?
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THANK YOU FOR LISTENING
Keith GoodmanVP, Corporate SolutionsModern Postcard
Phone: 800-959-8365 ext. 2059Cell: 303-517-3119Email: [email protected]
Alan RosenspanPresidentAlan Rosenspan and Associates
Phone: 781-784-8283Email: [email protected]