Do you remember “mail”? No, not the electronic kind that shows up incessantly on your smartphone, but real mail, brought to you come rain, snow, sleet or hail by a postal worker?
Direct mail (marketing your small business via flyers, circulars, etc.) is still a thing, but does it produce results? Is it possible to actually make a sale for bulk mail rates? Sure — as long as you’re smart about it. Here’s how to make your direct mail strategy work for your small business!
Narrow Your Focus
Unlike relatively inexpensive digital marketing (such as social media, email and mobile), direct mail has some significant costs associated with it. You’re not just looking at postage here; you also have design and printing costs, plus the expense of actually assembling and sending your small business’ mailers.
This is why it’s so important to send your missives only to the people who want them and are most likely to act upon them — past customers, people on your existing mailing list and others who fit your target demographic to a tee.
Solicit a Response
If your targets are using your mailers as bird cage liner, you’re throwing money away. The goal is to get people to respond to your direct mail attempts, so give them a reason!
Whether it’s a matter of using a coupon code found on your postcard for a discount on their next purchase, setting up an appointment for a free estimate or demonstration, or having the chance to win a prize, make sure you’re giving your customers an incentive to act.
(Pro tip: Free small business swag doesn’t hurt, either!)
Measure Your Success
Because direct mail can be costly, it’s important to know whether your strategy is successful. But tracking that success requires a bit of extra work.
Designate a separate landing page for your direct mail traffic. This makes it easy to see how your mailings stack up against your other marketing mediums, and will ultimately help you decide whether your campaign is a hit.
Alternatively, you could include something for your recipients to mail back to you (postage paid, of course!), which would help you keep track of how many people are responding.
Many small businesses have success with an A/B testing strategy, where one segment of your audience gets one mailer, and the second gets a different one. Although this is more time-consuming, it makes it much easier to tweak your strategy and see what resonates best with your audience.
Direct mail isn’t a substitute for your other marketing strategies, but it’s far from dead, too. Just think of it as one more touchpoint to add to your marketing toolbox!
Need more tips on how to market by mail? Send Mischa Communications a letter! (Or just call or email us.)