If ever a winner-take-all match took place among the marketing heavyweights—direct mail, telemarketing, and the Web—our money would be on direct mail, hands down.
Simply put, the best pound-for-pound method for targeting a large audience and gathering data is direct mail. Armed with the right data, message, and creative, direct mail can be a lean, mean, marketing power puncher that can hit your target like a ton of bricks and deliver a substantial return on investment. But if you plan to "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee" when using this exquisite discipline, you have to get a handle on the rules of the ring—because knockout direct mail isn't easy to control or leverage without a few lessons in direct marketing generalship and the sweet science of postal regulations.
To be effective, direct mail requires the careful combination of three key ingredients: the right audience, the right message, and strong, complementary creative. Unfortunately, many marketers get taken in by the glitz and glamour of creative design—the colors, folds, and converted envelopes—and forget just how crucial data and messaging are to coming out on top.
After all, showboating for the crowd is never a substitute for technical skill, and for direct mail to really do its thing and live up to its potential, it requires the right mix of people, language, and looks—in other words, strategy, strategy, strategy.
Lead with data
It's your jab. Your rangefinder. Data is what lines you up and gets you within striking distance. Overemphasize its importance is impossible. Diligence and methodical preparation will not only lay the foundation for your campaign but also ensure that you save on postage and improve deliverability when your processing procedures include best practices such as cross-referencing NCOA (National Change of Address), de-duping, and the appending of extended ZIP codes. As in boxing, it's hard to win if you haven't taken the time to size up your opponent; similarly, direct mail doesn't stand a chance without qualified, healthy data. So, long before you even start thinking about what you're going to say and what your mailing's going to look like, understand your market and source appropriate data.
Getting in touch with the right person at the right time is the most important factor in direct mail or any direct marketing effort, and the process begins by reviewing your house list and identifying who your best customers are and what they have in common with each other. Once you've established a list of reasonable criteria—those traits common to all of your best customers—it shouldn't be difficult to source suspects (potential customers) who will hopefully rise up and be worthy of the "prospect" designation.
Initial direct mail efforts are generally best for developing an understanding of a given database that will allow you, once the relationship gets rolling, to leverage additional direct mail campaigns to secure customers and loyal advocates (supporters and proponents of your business).
Follow with messaging
Once you've identified your audience, figuring out what to say is fairly easy—it's how you say it that can be challenging. We are a nation of scanners, not readers; simplicity is therefore key, and tried-and-true devices like subheads and call-outs can do wonders for guiding a "reader" through a letter. Including a postscript provides tremendous benefit, as recipients typically first look at the signature, to see who the letter's from—so having a PS that actively recaps your message/offer can quickly engage interested parties and prompt a closer review and better opportunity.