The Direct Marketing Association predicts that 2008 will be the first year that direct marketing (direct mail, e-mail, and Web) spending will outpace mass media (print and broadcast).
1. TARGETING: It’s hard to sell prime rib to vegetarians
Why advertise to people who don’t want your product or service? Direct marketing lets you target only those who want what you sell. Using increasingly sophisticated data analytics, regression and predictive modeling, as well as other techniques, a direct marketing agency can find those who are highly likely to respond to your DM message. You can also apply modeling and analytics to your current customer base to help predict future purchasing behaviors and plan cross-selling strategies. With 98% of consumers bringing in their mail the day it’s delivered, and 77% sorting through it immediately,* a well-targeted direct mail campaign can deliver your message to highly qualified recipients within your chosen time frame.
2. PERSONALIZATION: Speak their language
Now that you know who you want to reach, you can focus on what you want to say. One of the many advantages of direct marketing is the ability to customize your message for different audience segments. You would want to speak differently to men than you would women, to Gen Xers differently than Boomers, and to customers in a different voice than you would prospects. In fact, direct marketing is an ideal customer retention tool, as it helps you sustain a dialog with your customers—especially when you include surveys and other feedback channels.
3. TESTING: What you don’t know can hurt you
With direct marketing, you can take the guesswork out of what makes a campaign successful. How? By testing various elements so you know exactly what works and what doesn’t, such as:
• Lists – Do age, income or other demographics affect your response rates?
• Formats – Does a postcard out-pull a self-mailer? Do follow-up e-mails lift response?
• Response channels – Is a postage-paid reply card needed? Or will phone and web response channels do the job more cost-effectively?
• Offers – Will a 15% discount out-pull a 10% discount in sufficient quantities to justify the bigger discount? Or does a free premium offer work better than discounts?
• Creative – You can test short copy vs. long copy, colors, photographs— virtually all the creative elements to find just the right combination to grab attention and get results.
• Timing – Does your product or service sell better at the beginning of the month? At certain times of the year? Does seasonality effect your sales cycle?
4. AGILITY: Battle ships vs. jet skis
With each DM campaign, you learn what works and what doesn’t, so you can fine tune for the next campaign. Trying to change your mass media campaign once it’s launched is like trying to turn a battleship on a dime. Direct marketing, on the other hand, gives you the speed and agility of a jet ski, so you can change course almost instantly, and get increasingly better results. And this agility is possible only because of testing and the relatively low cost per acquisition of direct marketing.
5. ACCOUNTABILITY: When every dollar counts, DM gives you the measurable response and results you need
Dr. Peter Johnson, the DMA’s Research Strategy and Platforms Vice President, says it best. “Marketers are moving dollars into direct marketing because of its higher ROI (return on investment) relative to other forms of advertising. This makes DM a more reliable engine for sustaining sales, incomes, and jobs at a time when the mortgage and energy markets are heightening economic uncertainty.”
* United States Postal Service
