Successful direct mail.[check] This checklist provides guidance for those who wish to undertake a direct mail advertising campaign. Information technology has allowed such campaigns to become increasingly sophisticated as large amounts of information can be collected, stored and retrieved on both industrial and private consumers. It is now possible to obtain highly specific lists of addresses on particular groups to which an organisation or individual can send direct mail to advertise their products or services. Companies also collect information on their customers, ranging from birthdays to purchasing habits, so they can tailor A tailor is a person whose occupation is to sew menswear style jackets and the skirts or trousers that go with them. Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor a marketing message particular to each individual. This one-to-one one-to-one adj. 1. Allowing the pairing of each member of a class uniquely with a member of another class. 2. Mathematics form of communication can be very effective, but to do it properly requires careful planning and design. The scale of the direct mail campaign and the number of customers contacted will depend on the size of the organisation (ranging from single individuals to multi-national corporations) and the resources available. The procedure, however, remains the same Definition Direct marketing is the distribution of information, products or services through any advertising medium that involves the individual to respond directly to the advertiser ad·ver·tise v. ad·ver·tised, ad·ver·tis·ing, ad·ver·tis·es v.tr. 1. To make public announcement of, especially to proclaim the qualities or advantages of (a product or business) so as to increase . (Direct Marketing Association). Advantages of direct mail * Individuals are communicated with on a person-to-person per·son-to-per·son adj. 1. Of or relating to a long-distance telephone call chargeable only when the caller speaks to an indicated person at the number reached. 2. level. * Wastage wastage a loss of product or productivity; in terms of animal production includes losses due to deaths of animals, lowered production from survivors, including reproduction, and lost opportunity income. wastage Fetal wastage, see there can be low if targeted individuals are carefully selected. * Effectiveness is easily and quickly measured. * Initial testing is easy (by sending out to a sample of addresses). * Can save time and money for the recipient as they do not have to visit a shop * It can be more convenient for the recipient who can decide at leisure. Disadvantages of direct mail * People are often wary of/uninterested in unsolicited un·so·lic·it·ed adj. Not looked for or requested; unsought: an unsolicited manuscript; unsolicited opinions. unsolicited Adjective ("junk junk Classic Chinese sailing vessel of ancient unknown origin, still in wide use. High-sterned, with a projecting bow, the junk carries up to five masts on which are set square sails consisting of panels of linen or matting flattened by bamboo strips. ") mail--be it post, fax or email--many hate it. * A suitable mailing list An automated e-mail system on the Internet, which is maintained by subject matter. There are thousands of such lists that reach millions of individuals and businesses. New users generally subscribe by sending an e-mail with the word "subscribe" in it and subsequently receive all new must be available--it can be expensive to research and build up a suitable list. * An up-to-date and accurate mailing list is a relative rarity. * You are probably adding to the Information Overload A symptom of the high-tech age, which is too much information for one human being to absorb in an expanding world of people and technology. It comes from all sources including TV, newspapers, magazines as well as wanted and unwanted regular mail, e-mail and faxes. problem to which some people may make draconian dra·co·ni·an adj. Exceedingly harsh; very severe: a draconian legal code; draconian budget cuts. [After Draco. solutions, especially via email. Action checklist 1. Define the terms of reference Terms of reference allude to a mutual agreement under which a command, element, or unit exercises authority or undertakes specific missions or tasks relative to another command, element, or unit. Also called TORs. Identify what you want to achieve by using direct mail. Is it, for example, a general awareness campaign or is it to help launch a new service or product? The target audience for the campaign should be defined. Are there sectors who do not use the service or product, or are there those who subscribe in larger quantities? Identify the profile of your best customers and you will identify the profile of your best prospects. Assign a budget for the campaign. 2. Decide who is to run the campaign Appoint an agency to run the campaign. This may be your own marketing department if you have one which is large enough, or a special team drawn from your organisation. Consider contracting the work out to an consultant if you feel you lack the necessary expertise internally. This may prove to be expensive, but a badly run campaign can be ineffective and could also damage an organisation's reputation. 3. Prepare or obtain a mailing list Evaluate the usefulness of the information on in-house In-house In the context of general equities, keeping an activity within the firm. For example, rather than go to the marketplace and sell a security for a client to anyone, an attempt is made to find a buyer to complete the transaction with the firm. databases. If there are limitations suggest improvements, or if an in-house database doesn't exist, consider the benefits and costs of starting one. It will be much cheaper to purchase a mailing list from a specialist company. Make sure you check the company's reputation for producing lists. The addressee (communications) addressee - One to whom something is addressed. E.g. "The To, CC, and BCC headers list the addressees of the e-mail message". Normally an addressee will eventually be a recipient, unless there is a failure at some point (an e-mail "bounces") or the message is information must be up-to-date and accurate. Nobody likes receiving mail with their name misspelled or seeing the addressee as someone who moved 4 years ago, or two copies addressed to slightly different people. It is also a waste of money sending mail to someone for whom the product or service is totally irrelevant. 4. Design the mailing Check out in-house capability of designing advertising material. Be creative when designing the mailing (including the envelope) to attract and hold the attention of the addressee. Make it look as personal as possible--many people bin computer-addressed envelopes on sight. Ensure that the design matches the type of target; for example, the style appropriate for teenagers will differ from that appropriate to senior managers. Consider contracting out the design stage to an appropriate agency if your organisation lacks expertise. Remember: it is more effective to mail a smaller number of professional looking documents that have incurred the additional expense of a design agency than a large number of cheaper, poorly designed in-house ones. 5. Build in the trust factor If you are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a direct return from the recipient, such as the disclosure of personal information, offer a meaningful incentive for the recipient to meet your requirements. Most people will want to know that personal information will not be put to misuse, or sold on. Make yourself aware of the main points of Data Protection legislation. 6. Get the right incentive Where the addressee needs to get back in touch offer a stimulus stimulus /stim·u·lus/ (stim´u-lus) pl. stim´uli [L.] any agent, act, or influence which produces functional or trophic reaction in a receptor or an irritable tissue. for an early response, possibly a discount or free gift, as the longer a person leaves mail unanswered the less likely they are to bother. In cases which need a mailed response enclose en·close also in·close tr.v. en·closed, en·clos·ing, en·clos·es 1. To surround on all sides; close in. 2. To fence in so as to prevent common use: enclosed the pasture. a postage-paid envelope and don't ask for too much information; minimise the time and complexity involved to complete the form. Don't tell people they have been specially chosen for a gift, or that they might be one of a lucky sample to receive a gift--they are wise to this by now, having never ever had a gift, or if they have it is one that is binned. It is often useful to produce two or three different designs to use in the testing stage. Check that everything will remain within the budget when reproduced on its full scale. 7. Test the mailing If you are to do as much as possible to avoid the 'Return to Sender Syndrome', send out a copy of the mailing to a sample from the list (making sure your sample is large enough to yield valid results--the more you want to break it down into categories, the larger it needs to be). If more than one design of mailing was produced these should be tested. Evaluate the results by checking the time taken to reply, the information obtained, and subsequently the number of sales. Look for any sectors that have not replied, for example the younger age range. 8. Make modifications and produce the package Make any necessary changes (which are identified from any confusion or doubts arising from the test) to the mailing and package. Have the final copy of the package printed to the numbers required. 9. Prepare for response Plan for a maximum response. This may mean taking on additional staff temporarily or ordering greater levels of stock. You must be prepared to meet customers orders. Staff must be aware of the pending campaign and the possibility of a large response over a short period of time. Prepare to monitor increases in telephone calls, orders, or service usage. If using email and your audience, content and style of approach have not been carefully approached, be prepared to have your PC jammed by return messages! 10. Send out the mailing Depending on the size of the mailing can make sense to outsource envelope-stuffing to an external agency. The size and importance of the mailing and the capability of existing resources and budgets will determine whether you need to take on temporary staff or not. 11. Evaluate the results Look for the same pointers as in the test mailing and the capability of staff to cope with the increased workload The term workload can refer to a number of different yet related entities. An amount of labor While a precise definition of a workload is elusive, a commonly accepted definition is the hypothetical relationship between a group or individual human operator and task demands. . Check that the stimulus for early response worked. Compare the results of the campaign, for example numbers of extra sales, against the original objectives or targets. Overall, identify problem areas and ways that improvements could be made for next time. Make as much use as possible of the incoming data in order to improve your own customer databases and the profiles of order prospects. Dos and don'ts for using direct mail Do * Research your target audience carefully. * Use the most up-to-date and accurate mailing list you can obtain. * Try to be innovative when designing your letter--but keep it short and to the point. * Make sure the recipient knows what they have to do next. * Offer a stimulus to reply quickly. * Review the results and use them when planning future mailings. Don't * Send out the mailing without testing it on a sample first. * Throw too much information at the addressee. * Use language/terminology that the addressee will not understand. * Forget that a successful campaign will increase the workload. Useful reading Copywriting Copywriting is the process of writing the words that promote a person, business, opinion, or idea. It may be used as plain text, as a radio or television advertisement, or in a variety of other media. in a week, Robert Ashton, Chartered Management Institute Inspiring Leaders The Chartered Management Institute is a professional institution for managers, based in the United Kingdom. In addition to supporting its members, the organisation encourages management development, carries out research, produces a wide variety London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003 Sharing the cost of success : collaborative marketing and consumer lead generation Response Direct Publishing London: 2003 Direct marketing: a step-by-step guide to effective planning and targeting, Roddy Mullin London: Kogan Page, 2002 Email marketing : using email to reach your target audience and build customer relationships Jim Sterne Jim Sterne is an author and speaker on Internet marketing, E-mail marketing and Web analytics. He is president of the Web Analytics Association and produces the Emetrics Summit. and Anthony Priore New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of NY: John Wiley John Wiley may refer to:
Direct marketing guide volume 2, Rev ed Teddington: Institute of Direct Marketing, 1998 How to write sales letters that sell, Drayton Bird Drayton Bird is a man with over 40 years experience in direct marketing and advertising. He began his career as a journalist and copywriter and went on to be a co-founder of Trenear-Harvey, Bird & Watson, a specialist Direct Marketing Agency in 1977. London: Kogan Page, 1997 Useful addresses Institute of Direct Marketing, 1 Park Road, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 0AR Tel: 020 8977 5705 www.theidm.co.uk Direct Marketing Association, DMA (1) (Digital Media Adapter) See digital media hub. (2) (Document Management Alliance) A specification that provides a common interface for accessing and searching document databases. House, 70 Margaret Street, London W1W 8SS Tel: 020 7291 3300 www.dma.org.uk Thought starters * Is direct mail the most appropriate form of marketing for your product or service? * How many of your competitors are also using direct mail? * What will make your literature stand out? * How have you responded to direct mail yourself? |
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