Transcript Is Direct Mail Relevant?
Is Direct Mail Relevant?
C L Graphics Seminar Presentation April 2015
Is Direct Mail Relevant?
A Look at Options, List Sources and Key Elements of a Campaign
Rick Schildgen, Ginny Boss – C L Graphics Renee Paris Picot – USPS Mailing Solution Specialist
C L Graphics is a Marketing and Cross-Media resource offering creative marketing, print and mailing services.
Is Direct Mail Relevant?
Every Door Direct Mail – Renee Why is it so popular?
Targeting Your Audience – Rick The real strength of direct mail is in the power of lists!
What’s Your Offer – Ginny What will give your audience a reason to respond?
Testing, testing… - Ginny Learn ways to test to increase your campaign’s effectiveness Can’t Track It, Don’t Do It! – Ginny Tips on ways to track your direct mail effectiveness Integration is the Key! – Rick When and how to use direct mail in an integrated campaign
Every Door Direct Mail®
Every Door Direct Mail®
Direct Mail Works
Direct Mail Works
more than almost any other medium
Every Door Direct Mail®
Why Customers Use Every Door Direct : • Cost Effective: Postage is as low as 15.7¢ per piece Retail, or 17.5 ¢ Bulk Mail option based on entry point (non profit $.077) • Reach: Up to 85% of a store’s customers come from a 5-mile radius*. Now you can reach every address in the area around your business with Every Door Direct Mail ® service • Ease: Every Door Direct Mail Online Mapping tool makes it easy to prepare the necessary paperwork and find the customers that matter most.
*Source: BizReport 2010
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Every Door Direct Mail®
Why Customers Use Every Door Direct : • Drive new revenue to your organization/stores and/or drive customers to a web site • Make an announcement • Targeted direct mail to neighborhoods surrounding your locations Geographic scope
Every Door Direct Mail®
• • Standard Mail Flats Simplified Addressing format must be used with Every Door Direct Mail – Retail or BMEU
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• of the following dimensions must be met: greater than 10.5 inches Long but not to exceed • 15 inches greater than 6.125 inches High but not to exceed • • 12 inches g reater than ¼” inches Thick but not to exceed ¾ inches at least .007” thick Reference - DMM 140, 143-146
Every Door Direct Mail®
• Retail Entry: • Piece weight can not exceed 3.3 ounces • Does not require a mailing permit • • Must be dropped at each individual post office Has a limitation of 5,000 pieces per day • BMEU Entry: • Piece weight cannot exceed 15.994 ounces • • • Requires a mailing permit imprint Must be dropped at a BMEU Has no quantity limitation per day
Register/Sign In
Online Tool ACCESS THE TOOL AT: www.usps.com/everydoordirectmail
Search Location
Online Tool ACCESS THE TOOL AT: www.usps.com/everydoordirectmail
Online Tool
Mailing Options: Radius Bar
ACCESS THE TOOL AT: www.usps.com/everydoordirectmail
Sort Route Results
Online Tool ACCESS THE TOOL AT: www.usps.com/everydoordirectmail
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Easy Steps to Get Started 1.
Register on Business Customer Gateway Determine your scope of mailing Prepare your mail piece Enter your mailing – Retail or Bulk option Measure your results Repeat
Next Steps
Targeting Your Audience
Who are your ideal clients? What are their demographics? Why do they buy from you?
How can you find more of them?
Basic questions, but need to be answered!
Targeting Your Audience
Create a client profile…
Export a list of your top clients/members/donors Database is submitted and matched with thousands of existing data sources A demographic profile is created
Typical client size by revenue/employee counts, SIC codes, locations, contact types
Results will substantiate your true audience
Targeting Your Audience
The real strength of Direct mail is in the power of lists!
No other media format at this time can provide as targeted of a list of prospects as direct mail
Due to the historical records and track-able information that is available
Public/County records – real estate transactions, etc Surveys, Purchase registrations Company lists, Nonprofit Donor lists
Scary to realize, but a fact none the less!
Targeting Your Audience
The real strength of Direct mail is in the power of lists!
An example… want to know how many individuals within a given area that :
Own their home, and how long they have lived there Have an income level of $75,000 an up Have children between the ages of 1 and 10 Have an interest in Cooking, Exercise and either Basketball or Soccer
Own a Chevrolet vehicle Okay, here you go… 16,640 (See handout for detail)
All within 5 minutes!
Targeting Your Audience
The real strength of Direct mail is in the power of lists!
Or, for B2B…
Info USA, D&B, Reference USA Reference USA is a great resource available thru local libraries Sort by SIC codes, employee size, sales volume, contact title, etc.
Caution… Business lists are typically not as accurate as consumer lists
Most typically contact names need to be verified if personalization is being used…
Or, use titles only
Targeting Your Audience
The real strength of Direct mail is in the power of lists!
Specialty lists – Propensities Description:
Audience Propensities are selects designed to predict consumer behavior, as well as product and brand affinities. They provide insight into a consumer's likelihood to respond, convert and remain loyal.
Compilation Process:
They are a proprietary blend of demographic, transactional, media behavior, purchase intent, and attitudinal indicators. This model is compiled with data provided by 49 different industry leading research and transactional data partners, making it superior to any other pre-built model on the market.
Targeting Your Audience
Specialty lists – Propensities
List of Propensities (Retail : Home Improvement) : Likelihood to Purchase Lawn & Garden Products Purchase Products from Warehouse Home Center Stores Likelihood to Purchase Caulk/Glue/Adhesives Likelihood to Purchase Faucets and Showerheads Likelihood to Purchase Hand Tools Likelihood to Purchase Lighting and Electrical Fans Likelihood to Purchase Outdoor Power Equipment Likelihood to Purchase Power Tools Likelihood to Purchase Protection and Safety Likelihood to Purchase Storage/Organization Purchase Products from Department Stores Purchase Products from Flooring Specialty Stores Purchase Products from Hardware Stores Purchase Products from Kitchen & Bath Specialty Stores Purchase Products from Lighting & Electrical Supply Stores Purchase Products from Lumber/Building Supply Stores Purchase Products from Mass Merchant Stores Purchase Products from Outdoor Power Equip Stores Purchase Products from Plumbing Supply Stores Purchase Products from Specialty Paint Stores
Targeting Your Audience
Specialty lists – Propensities
List of Propensities (Health Care : Health Care Advertising Actions Taken) : Refilled a Prescription in the Last 12 Months Made a Doctor's Appointment in the Last 12 Months Discussed an Ad with Doctor in the Last 12 Months Discussed an Ad with a Friend or Relative in the Last 12 Months Asked Doctor to Prescribe a Specific Drug in the Last 12 Months Consulted a Pharmacist in the Last 12 Months Visited a Product or Drug Website in the Last 12 Months Visited Another Website in the Last 12 Months for Medical Information Requested a Free Sample in the Last 12 Months Called a Toll Free Number for Medical Information in the Last 12 Months
Targeting Your Audience
Improving response thru personalization…
When data is accurate, use to create engaging dialogue with recipients
Can include past history Promote shared interests Highlight repeat offers Increase relevancy Can include personalized images as well as copy
Targeting Your Audience
Improving response thru personalization…
Targeting Your Audience
Improving response thru personalization…
What’s Your Offer?
You need to incentivize your audience!
The single best way to get people to act is with the offer.
The offer is the contract of a direct mail proposition – the deal between you and
your contact.
What’s Your Offer?
You need to incentivize your audience!
A strong offer combined with a compelling call-to-action will contribute up to 30% of your direct mailing success.
What makes a good offer?
Depends of the goal of the promotion
Something of value that the prospect can’t get anywhere else
What’s Your Offer?
What will give your audience a reason to respond?
Lead generation offers: get people interested in what you’re promoting.
White papers, special reports
Information kits Catalogs, newsletters
Webinars
What’s Your Offer?
What will give your audience a reason to respond?
Traffic building offers: bring more customers into your store.
Discount coupons
Free events
What’s Your Offer?
What will give your audience a reason to respond?
What’s Your Offer?
What will give your audience a reason to respond?
Fundraising offers: asking for donations.
Donors feel good for donating to a cause that’s important to them
How you structure the “ask” amount is considered the offer Offer premiums or a free gift for additional incentive
What’s Your Offer?
What will give your audience a reason to respond?
What’s Your Offer?
What will give your audience a reason to respond?
Presentation is everything – always present the offer as something of value and importance.
Free is key - shout it! It will almost always increase response.
Make it unique - come up with an offer that money can’t buy.
Be specific – the more specific you get with the offer, the more people will respond to it.
What’s Your Offer?
What will give your audience a reason to respond?
What’s Your Offer?
What will give your audience a reason to respond?
Cost versus perceived value – it’s not what your offer costs, it’s what value it has to the recipient.
Example: In the software business this is called, “value pricing” and it allows them to charge $400 for a disk that cost $3 to produce
What’s Your Offer?
What will give your audience a reason to respond?
The “strong offer” myth – implies that your offer is superior to other offers that produce fewer responses. Not necessarily the case!
An offer that produces high response rates will almost always produce low-quality leads.
The goal is to produce the right response rate for a given sales effort.
You need to test the offer to see what works best in your market.
Testing, testing…
Try variations…
Direct mail is the king of measurement because it allows for continual improvement through its ability to be tested.
Two main reasons to test:
Access the viability at a minimal expense Improve your average response rate and maximize your return
Must have a “control” – your original creative, so you know if you’re improving results
Testing, testing…
Try variations…
Types of testing include:
A/B split test – use the same package except for one element in which two versions are created.
Copy Offer List
Multi-variable test – involves testing multiple elements all within the same campaign.
2 different list 2 different offers
Testing, testing…
Try variations…
Six key things to test are:
Offer – you give this, you get this.
List – whether it’s your own or a rented list or both Creative – how it looks; colors, paper, size, number of pieces included Copy – personalized versus generic Cost or Donation: $25/$100/$500 Timing – Seasonal considerations
Testing, testing…
Try variations…
When to test: an ongoing activity to continually improve your results.
Fine tune a good mailing for even greater results When your response isn’t what you expected or needed Expanding your market with a larger list Your package changes – cost, offer, types of payment
Testing, testing…
Try variations…
Format variables to test include:
Postcard vs. self-mailer
Standard envelope vs. large envelope
Window envelopes vs. closed front envelope Stamps vs. bulk mail indicia
Reply device vs. no reply device
Brochure included vs. no brochure
Testing, testing…
Try variations…
Copy variables to test include:
Headline vs. no headline in a letter
Bulleted items vs. no bullets
Personalization vs. generic Teaser copy on the outer envelope vs. none
Handwritten notes vs. no notes
Testing, testing…
Try variations…
General rule in testing - for a test to by analyzable, you need a minimum of 50 responses to the mailing. On a 5,000 piece mailing this represents a 1% response rate, which is respectable.
Can’t Track it, Don’t Do It!
How you can measure the effectiveness…
Track your results - to ensure your direct mail campaign is achieving desired results in:
Overall response Leads generated/sales made
This requires staff training and a system for capturing information for analysis
Can’t Track it, Don’t Do It!
How you can measure the effectiveness…
Ways to track direct marketing campaigns:
Dedicated phone lines or call tracking URL/landing page or QR codes Tracking code or coupon on the mailing piece Donation reply cards Text messages Bring in the mail piece
Can’t Track it, Don’t Do It!
How you can measure the effectiveness…
Was the mailing worth it? Keep track of all the costs:
List Data processing
Mail processing
Postage
Can’t Track it, Don’t Do It!
How you can measure the effectiveness…
Keep track of the list history so you know which list(s) to use in future campaigns.
Performance of a specific list each time you use it Timing – one month vs. another
Frequency of use
Can’t Track it, Don’t Do It!
How you can measure the effectiveness…
Putting tracking mechanisms in place takes time and planning, but the benefits for measuring and evaluating your campaigns are worth it.
Can’t Track it, Don’t Do It!
How you can measure the effectiveness…
Cost per response - CPR: how many people took action because of your offer
Cost: $1000 Responses: 50 CPR: $20
Cost per sale – CPS: number of sales that occurred due to the campaign
Cost: $1000 Sales: 2 CPS: $500
Can’t Track it, Don’t Do It!
How you can measure the effectiveness…
Results show that people responded to the offer, but not many are converting
Even if CPS is high at first, consider the lifetime value of those new customers
And what is the sales price of your product? How many sales do you need to get the return on your investment?
Integration Is The Key!
Look to combine your direct mail campaign with additional media options
Direct mail E-mail QR Codes Landing pages Social Media Video
Integration Is The Key!
Look to combine your direct mail campaign with additional media options
Reinforces your message
Everyone responds differently
Allows for follow-up strategies
Integration Is The Key!
Drive people online – your website is the ultimate destination!
To gain additional information For client testimonials For online chat service To request/schedule appointments To complete purchases
Integration Is The Key!
Drive people online – create a specific
landing page
One specific purpose – event registration, request for download, watch video, sign-up for service, etc.
Branded to match mail piece/e-mail Can be personalized – pURL’s Activity can prompt automated follow-up Tied to your website, but not always visible
Integration Is The Key!
Marketing automation…
Total campaign design, coordination
Initial mail piece
Follow-up e-mail
Landing page (personalized)
Immediate notification of visit – lead generation Reply e-mail confirmation Prompt for follow-up mail piece/e-mail dependent upon response
Integration Is The Key!
Marketing automation…
Is Direct Mail Relevant?
Conclusions…
70% of customers say that mail is more personal than the internet
We are getting too many online distractions!
76% of customers have been directly influenced to purchase by direct mail
More often than not, it is a direct mail piece that drives people online!
Every Door Direct is very effective for local, retail businesses
Direct mail is not for everyone… best if targeted at a specific audience – and personalized!
Is Direct Mail Relevant?
Questions?
Thank You!
Ginny Boss, Rick Schildgen C L Graphics 815-455-0900 Renee Paris Picot USPS 815-229-4798