Direct mail has plenty of detractors, but as can be seen in my post last week, Is Direct Mail Dead?, there are plenty of people incorporating direct mail successfully into their marketing mix. So what can explain the dramatically different results from one person’s campaign to the next? In my 6 years in the industry, I’ve been first-hand witness to many successful and many failed direct mail campaigns, and in my experience, here are the key ingredients for a successful campaign.
Don’t Overlook the Importance of the List
According to John Coe, author of The Fundamentals of Business-to-Business Sales & Marketing 50% -70% of the success of a mailing campaign is determined by the mailing list. The same holds true for nonprofits. Nonprofit expert & author, Mal Warwick’s research shows that on average the mailing list is responsible for 50% of the success or failure of a mailing campaign. These statistics scream out that one of the most overlooked components of mailing campaigns is the list!
Start with Existing Customers or Donors
Existing clients or donors are like low-hanging fruit and should be the first group targeted when investing money in direct mail campaigns because they represent the highest return on investment. Most nonprofits are aware of this, but many for-profit businesses neglect opportunities for cross-selling and referrals that exist with their own customers.
In cases where budget constraints prohibit mailing to an entire list, the list can be segmented in such a way that a smaller group of existing customers can be sent a more specific message that has even greater relevance to them.
What should I expect from the Initial Contact of New Prospects?
When venturing outside of existing customers or donors, the initial campaign needs to be approached as an investment, not as an immediate money-making proposition. Industry research shows that between 7 to 9 touches are required on average before a new prospect will make a purchase or donation. An important message here is that one-shot campaigns have a very low success rate. Developing new clients needs to be a long-term goal, and needs to include multiple direct mail touches, or touches via other channels such as by phone, in person, via e-mail etc. The initial touch is in most cases just an opportunity to make an introduction and establish rapport with the target audience.
Finding a Quality List of Prospects
The “just moved” mailing list is the most heavily-marketed mailing list in the direct mail industry, but with the exception of mattress salesmen, this is a poor prospect list for most other types of organizations.
I’ve written a several blog posts highlighting a variety of virtually unknown lists that are available for targeting prospects. For nonprofits, there is a list a Charitable Donor Mailing List . Lifestyle Lists represent another commonly overlooked resource for either for-profit or nonprofit.
Business to Business Mailing Lists contain extremely detailed amounts of information including estimated annual revenue, number of years in business, number of employees etc. These business lists can be further segmented by industry. For medical professionals, there are even Medical Ailment Lists available.
Unfortunately, the default list for most small organizations is a prospect list that is based solely on geography, and this type of list completely overlooks the potential of starting with a common bond between the organization sending the offer and the potential donor or customer.
Determine the Definition of a Successful Outcome in Advance
All successful campaigns have a definition of “success” before the first piece of mail is sent. The goal of the campaign should be specific; examples include getting recipients to
• Sign up for an e-newsletter
• Become a Facebook Fan
• Call to set up an appointment
• Make a purchase online
• Make a donation
• Sign up to be a volunteer
It’s much easier to identify a target mailing list and structure a successful campaign once “success” is defined.
KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)
Don’t bombard prospects with excessive text! The temptation of all organizations is to tell their complete story and to avoid omitting any small detail that could possibly be of interest to a customer, donor, or prospect. Unfortunately, people have limited attention spans, and the most successful campaigns, pick 1 specific topic, request or offer and present that to their audience.
Thank you in advance for sharing your comments below identifying other ingredients for successful direct mail campaigns!
