 
By John Graham
Why would any company use direct mail today? Perhaps the straightest answer is simply that it reaches people.
A recent survey noted that overall spending on direct mail beat out search engine marketing, print advertising, email and electronic newsletters. Robert Coen, Universal McCann’s director of forecasting, predicts 2005 direct-mail spending will come in at $51.5 billion, up almost 10 percent over 2004.
If direct mail is growing, then why did so many marketers seem to abandon it in favor of email, web advertising and websites?
First, there was a massive, lemming-like migration to the latest technology. Everyone was doing it and nobody wanted to be left behind. Like so many other new tactics, though, electronic marketing tactics were adopted without proof of effectiveness.
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You can toss mail in the trash if it fails to connect with you, but it takes more than a click to get rid of it.
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The second reason was cost. As soon as banner advertising and “email blasting” became available, the promoters of electronic marketing emerged from the woodwork with promises of an easy-to-implement way to reach tens of thousands of buyers at a fraction of the cost of direct mail. It was nothing less than a feeding frenzy. Yet, it was little different from any of the other get-it-quick marketing schemes that hold out the lure of easy sales.
Reality check
Now, the migration is back to direct mail, and the reason is simple: the other communication tactics failed to deliver the promised results, while “opt-in” requirements put the brakes on email blasting. Furthermore, the constant bombardment was too much for customers to bear, and they increasingly rejected what they received. Mail, on the other hand, still connects with people, and here’s why:
- Mail gets attention. Everyone takes mail seriously. We wait for the mail to arrive, and we complain if it’s late. When there is no delivery on holidays, we feel deprived. When arriving home, we can hardly wait to go through the mail. At the office, we stop whatever we’re doing when the mail arrives. In other words, we view mail as a priority.
- Mail is tangible. You can touch, hold and handle mail. You can toss it in the trash if it fails to connect with you, but it takes more than a click to get rid of it.
- Mail is more personal. If your name is on it, it’s yours, even if it’s a postcard. At the same time, we give the most attention to the mail that seems the most personal. We reject the mail that’s nothing more than an ad and we accurately label it junk mail.
- Mail is easy to retrieve. Experienced marketers aren’t surprised when they receive a telephone call or a response card returned months after a mailing. It’s common to put direct mail aside until there’s more time to read it. That’s possible with email, but it occurs far less often.
Tips you can use
You can see why direct mail is a compelling option, but for your campaign to be really effective, pay attention to these factors:
- Focus on the prospect. While it seems almost unnecessary to suggest this, going through a stack of mail confirms how rare it is to find a mailing that focuses on the customer and not the seller or the product. A company that can distinguish between being a sales machine and being a marketing machine knows that its entire focus should be on understanding exactly what customers want—and then giving it to them.
- Keep it personal. There’s a major difference between the mailing that says you are prequalified for a credit card and the one that states the amount for which you are prequalified. The same is true for insurance sales: While using individual names is essential, personalization must include how the offer relates to the individual.
- Make the offer compelling. Make your services stand out so that if your offer arrives in the mail along with those of five other agents, yours is the one that catches their eye.
- Stay with it. There is always more than one reason why any marketing effort fails to deliver expected results, but one of the biggest is lack of persistence. The task of attracting a group of prospects and turning them into clients results from creating a plan for a direct mail campaign that rolls out over time and unfolds the total message through a series of meaningful contacts.
- Provide response opportunities. Make it interactive by offering the recipient a variety of ways to communicate with you, whether by mail, phone, fax or online. Direct mail should allow customers to ask questions, obtain information and express interest in setting up a time to talk to you.
Like any type of relationship, building contacts with new prospects doesn’t happen overnight. But by being totally genuine and maintaining an appreciation for what’s important to your potential clients, you can develop a direct-mail campaign that brings you the prospects you want.
John R. Graham is president of Graham Communications, a marketing services and sales consulting firm. You can contact him at 617-328-0069, through j_graham@grahamcomm.com, or through the company’s website at www.grahamcomm.com.
August 2005
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