Direct Mail: Us vs. Them

So many times, poorly executed direct mail campaigns come down to how we wanted to send it vs. how recipients wanted to receive it. This can and should be avoided. Just because we went to a seminar on the latest direct mail trends that taught us all the things we need to be doing doesn’t mean that they will go over well with our audience. Direct mail is not a one size fits all. Let me repeat that, direct mail is not a one-size-fits-all!

In order to get a good response from your direct mail, you need to know what your recipients want. Yes, this means that you will have several different messages, offers, designs, etc. in your campaign. That’s a good thing. This can seem a bit daunting, when faced with several segments, to figure out what to do for each one. However, if you take this one step at a time it’s really not that difficult.

3 Step Plan:

1. Who

Who are the people you want to send your direct mail to? What are their preferences? What have they bought from you in the past or what have they shown an interest in?

2. What

Based on the above information, what offer will they most likely respond to?

3. How

Based on both who and what above, how can you design a direct mail piece that will allow you to be consistent with your brand and drop in the variable information for the offer and message?

For your direct mail to work, it needs to be all about them (recipients) not us (senders). Yes, we create the pieces, but they aren’t meant to be shoved down someone’s throat — they are meant to entice them to purchase. Keep in mind that sending a direct mail piece that has multiple offers on it so that you can send the same piece to your entire list is a bad idea. Here are a few tips on how to be more “them” than “us”:

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Kirkwood Direct is largest service provider that offers comprehensive and effective end-to-end direct marketing communications solutions to their clients. It offers various services like Data Management/ Data Acquisition, Commercial Printing, Mailing Services, E-marketing and many more. Call (978) 642-0300 or visit site.