A highly targeted contact list combined with well-written and well-designed direct mail pieces that are complemented with relevant e-mail marketing messages are three of the most powerful marketing tools you can use to get the job done. Together they give you the ability to be dynamic in reaching potential customers, generating a high quality response and delivering marketing thrust to your campaign.
Target your best prospects
Who is most likely to buy your product or service? The answer is in your current customer base.
Make a list of your top customers and identify common attributes and preferences. Then use this information to put together a list of contacts that are similar to your top customers. The greater the number of common characteristics, the smaller, but more highly targeted the list will become. And the more targeted the list, the better your response rate will be in terms of qualified leads.
Create direct mail pieces that are read and saved
Consider the look. People tend to scan their mail to see what is worth reading. Postcards designed with complementary colors that stand out from the rest of the mail and with short, simple text that flows in a Z-pattern from top left to the bottom right are more likely to be read by the recipient. Once again, less is more; a few high impact words will yield a great return.
Be persuasive and personal. People receiving your direct mail piece are not interested in who you are or what your company does. They are thinking "How does this help me?" So make the message all about them and the benefits they will derive from your product or service. If you speak directly to their needs, wants and desires, you will create an emotional response from the reader that will be quite persuasive. Then call the reader to action with specific instructions about what they must do and when they must do it in order to take advantage of your offer.
Keep contact via welcome email
Coupling email marketing with direct mail is more effective than either tactic alone. Email marketing generates an immediate response. The call to action is clear: "Click here to take advantage of this offer" or "to learn more about this service" or to "attend this event." Initial campaign response generally occurs within 48 hours of the time the email campaign is sent.
Overall, email communications with relevant messages sent to targeted prospect and customer lists can improve lead generation and customer retention dramatically. But the key to success is delivering a message that is truly relevant to the prospect. So design your email message to speak directly to your highly targeted contact, and help them connect the email with the direct mail piece so as to establish relevance in the mind of the recipient. Keep the message short, simple and focused on the person receiving the email for best results.
Less time, more leads
Perhaps you're thinking that you don't have time for all this. If that's the case, then automate your marketing system so that it runs itself. You can turn your business into an automatic marketing machine with the right system that includes scheduled communications via direct mail, email and even by telephone.
For example, once you have met with a prospect, your automated marketing system will automatically send the prospect a thank-you email followed by a personalized brochure sent by U.S. Mail inviting the prospect to view additional information on the company Web site via a Personalized URL (PURL). This can be followed by an email generated by the prospect's visit to the PURL that contains the appropriate salesperson's contact information and a personalized printed direct mail piece via U.S. Mail promoting a new customer discount.
With a little planning and the right marketing tools, you can truly get more with less. The right messages can be sent to the right customers exactly when they need your company's products and services, increasing the overall effectiveness of your efforts and those of the entire sales force.
Scott Nowokunski is president of commercial printing and marketing services firm Integraphx - A Really Cool Printing Company. He can be reached at 704-731-0654 or visit http://www.integraphx.com/
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