If you are running a Direct Marketing marketing campaign which is aiming to generate a response, remember that there is no “ideal” per cent response rate – just the profit per reply calculation.
I have heard some people throw around figures like “you might get a 2% response from Direct Marketing if you’re lucky.” This is actually, in my opinion, complete nonsense. Too many people discount using printed material as a marketing platform basing their decisions on response rates……..it doesn’t matter about the percentage, it only matters about the profit per reply.
After all, do you think companies like Boden who use direct marketing as a huge part of their marketing worry about the number of catalogues recycled?
No. They use Direct Mail and Direct Marketing as it works. In fact, each year, more than 20 million copies of their remarkable publication thump through Britain’s letterboxes (source Telegraph March 2012). “Johnnie” now has a fortune estimated at over £300 million and the company’s most recent financial results showed turnover rising 15 per cent to £232 million and pre-tax profits up by 13 per cent to £32.5 million, with few signs of a slowdown.
Not everyone is going to be as successful as a company like Boden, but they have found a marketing platform that works and this is something every organisation must do in order to grow. If you decide to give the Boden model a go, then there are a couple of areas you must consider to get the best out of direct marketing.
1. When people respond, do get back to them quickly, preferably within hours rather than days.
2. If the follow up from you is posted, make sure that your company name is clearly visible as you don’t want your mail binned.
3. Whatever you send or however you follow up, make sure it’s relevant and interesting and make sure that the next step is clearly outlined.
Sometimes it also really pays to know what your competitors are up to with regards to any mailings they are making and what offers they contain. Maybe try and get their material and analyse it in your own terms – what does it tell you about their strategy, their services, their focus, their targeting etc? I will admit to running an email marketing campaign for a client in the automotive sector following a bit of mystery shopping!
Anyway, to recap, when it comes to direct marketing, approach it by:
1. Stating the target audience’s problem – maybe use a headline that your reader can identify with?
2. Promise a solution – with an explanation in the body copy maybe using a case study
3. Ask for a response – don’t tiptoe around here. Be hard, be direct and demand a click or a call!
At Bath Marketing Consultancy, we are believers of printed material as well as online marketing so why not get in touch and see what we can do for you.
