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Inserting |
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Addressing |
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Folding |
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Postage
Meters |
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Bindery
Service |
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Data
Entry |
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Data
Manipulation |
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Data
Conversion |
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| About
Direct Mail - Provided by the USPS |
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Q. |
How
does Direct Mail relate to other
advertising media? |
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A. |
Many marketers have found
that a mailing's response will
be higher when it's part of an
integrated campaign which also
includes advertising in the
print or broadcast media. The
resulting "recognition
factor" can work in favor
of a mailing and bolster its
results. If Direct Mail is your
only advertising vehicle, you
may want to adopt a different
creative approach than when your
packages are supported by other
media.
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Q. |
How
does Direct Mail's
cost-per-thousand (CPM) compare
the other advertising media ? |
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A. |
It is true that, for mail,
the CPM is greater than those of
the print and broadcast media.
However, mail's cost per
response and in many cases its
cost per sale is in fact the
lowest of any advertising
medium. Recall that, by
definition, the CPM figure
refers to the cost per thousand
people reached. Most broadcast
and print vehicles include a
considerable amount of
"waste circulation,"
bringing your message to
thousands or even millions who
are simply not interested in
your product or service. But
with mail's precision targeting,
a marketer can zero in directly
on the right people, and not
spend money reaching large
numbers of the wrong people.
With mail, you pay to contact
fewer individuals, and every one
of them really matters so the
result is the industry's
hardest-working advertising
dollar.
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Q. |
What
can affect the response rate of a
Direct Mail package? |
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A. |
We began with this particular
question because it's hard to
overstate the point that just about
everything can affect response: the
mailing list, the creative format, the
offer, degree of personalization, and
so on. We'll be covering a lot of
these factors in more detail below.
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Q. |
How
can the success of a Direct Mail
campaign be measured? |
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A. |
It depends on what you want your
campaign to do for you. Ask yourself
some questions. Are you selling
directly and looking for
cost-per-order that provides a certain
profit margin? Are you trying to build
in-store traffic? Are you attempting
to create long-term customer loyalty?
Do you want to generate requests for
information at a certain
cost-per-inquiry? Are you willing to
settle for a break-even response rate
if it means garnering a list of names
that you can continue to sell to in
the future? In other words, the
measure of your success is in the
mastery of your goals.
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Q. |
When
I send out a mailing, how long should
it take for responses to start coming
in? And when can I be fairly certain
that responses have run their course? |
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A. |
For one thing, response time will
depend on whether you mailed
First-Class or Standard Mail A.
First-Class packages reach their
destinations sooner, and so naturally
bring back a faster response. If you
chart responses against time elapsed,
you'll generally see the classic
"bell-shaped" curve
well-known to statisticians.
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Q. |
Will
seasonality affect the response rate
of a mailing? |
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A. |
It can. Some packages, such as
those containing gift catalogs, have
obvious seasonal correlates. But even
others can show improved performance
if mailed at certain times of the
year, or in some cases, at specific
times of the month. For starters, you
can use your existing sales patterns
as a barometer of when to mail. Also,
you might factor in the timing of your
competition's mailings. As is often
the case in Direct Mail, some modest
experimentation can provide you with
guidance. You can send out test
mailings at different times to track
seasonal rises and dips for your
product or service. And if you have a
package that seemed promising from a
creative standpoint, but didn't
perform as hoped, by all means
consider after trying it again during
a different period.
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