One of the greatest advantages to direct mail is the ability to create a comprehensive and cohesive campaign that can build upon your initial success. The first step is to find the type(s) of mailers that bring the most success for you. Done. The next step is to create a campaign and measure your results. Done. Was your campaign a success? Yes. Now what?
Though your mailer was a success, now is not the time to put your feet up and relax – you’ve got to keep up the momentum. Here are four keys to keep the ball rolling.
1. Plan
It’s the beginning of the second quarter and now is the perfect time to plan your mail campaign(s) for the rest of the year. Having a good plan in place will make mail easier and also allow you to strategically touch your customers.
What call to actions will you use? How often will you mail? What formats will you use? What kind of mobile presence will you have? These are all important questions to ask yourself when you are planning a mail campaign. Take what you learned from your first mail campaign and integrate those lessons into the new one. Did you see more success when you sent a follow-up email? Were postcards more successful than letters? How did your audience respond to QR Codes? Start with what worked before.
2. Touch
Your audience needs to know you, your product or service, and your reputation before they make a purchase decision. How do you accomplish this? Touch. Some marketers say the third time’s the charm: “I offer three mailings to the same prospect. The first one on Monday, the second on the following Friday, and the last one on the following Tuesday. By the third mailing you have a 67% chance of it being read. A follow-up call will be to a warm prospect,” explains one avid mail marketer. Studies show that it takes 7-13 touches before a prospect becomes a lead. Ultimately, it depends on who your prospect is and what you’re trying to sell. But regardless of whether it’s 3 touches or 13, it’s not one.
When designing your “touches” make it easy for prospects to respond to you in the way that’s most convenient for them. For example, when you create your mail campaign you should incorporate a variety of avenues for your customers to reach you. Include a phone number, email address, and website URL. Experiment with different calls to action (“Call now” versus “Visit us online”). Experiment with including a QR Code that links directly to your mobile website and can broaden engagement with your prospect (because they’re now engaged with you through multiple channels).
3. Change
It is important to stay consistent with your brand and your message, but it is okay (and often more effective) to change the format of the mailer, the call to action, or the promotion between mailers. There are two reasons change is important. First, you want to keep your customers excited – there’s nothing worse than a bored customer. Second, change is the only thing that will allow you to see which methods are most effective (and should be repeated later) and which ones should go by the wayside.
4. Test and Measure
The only way to hone your campaigns, improving on past successes, is to test what you’ve changed and measure your results. Keep track of how many people respond to each mailer and how many people become customers. This is not just a one-time thing; it’s an ongoing process. Just because one method worked once, doesn’t mean it always will.
When you find success in an initial mail campaign, you have the perfect opportunity to ride the crest of that wave, building on your success. These four keys – plan, touch, change, and test and measure – will help you do that. Need help developing a mail campaign? Call us Monday-Friday 9am-8pm EST at 866-665-2787 or visit us online anytime at Click2Mail.com.
