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Make sure your direct mail hits the spot - not the bin

Direct mail can be one of the most cost-effective ways of generating sales leads for your business, but there are pitfalls that must be avoided

Well executed direct mail campaigns can result in volumes of sales leads that are simply out of proportion to the level of marketing investment. However, get your campaign wrong and, at best, customers will regard your direct mail item as junk, or at worst, it could annoy your customers and damage your business reputation.

With busy executives receiving more and more mail and e-communications, the first rule of effective direct mail campaigns is to make sure your mail item really stands out from the crowd. In the past, some marketing and design agencies have achieved this for their clients by (I-eating complex design concepts that may be eye-catching, but are very expensive to produce. In some cases, complex concepts are justified. However, with agencies making a margin on the production costs the bigger the production cost, the more lucrative it is for the agency. So, it's worth assessing whether a complex mail item is justified for a specific campaign, or whether a lower cost approach could achieve similar results.

Can you achieve more but spend less? Often, instead of money-no-object direct mail items, it's worth devoting some effort to selecting a design and print team that is creative enough to make your direct mail item grab the reader's attention, without costing a fortune. Brief them on your target audience and the key messages you want to communicate. If you choose a team that's experienced in direct mail, you could be amazed at what a crisp design, with efficient copywriting, can achieve on relatively modest budgets.

There may be a hundred and one reasons why customers should buy your product or service. However, it's best to be fairly brutal in limiting the number of messages you convey and the number of words you use to express them. Include too many messages and you run the risk of confusing your audience. Use too many words and few recipients - if any -will read your direct mail item. Short, punchy copy is more likely to be read and more likely to get your points across.

Environmental concerns

In addition to deciding on the main messages you want your direct mail item to express, it's wise to invest a little time considering what you want the recipient to do after they've read your direct mail piece.

In most cases, it's worth spelling this out as a clear, unambiguous 'call to action'. If you tell your target audience what you expect them to do, they're more likely to do it.
Finally, with the environment on everyone's agenda, direct mail items that include a lot of materials -such as plastics or metals -can alienate your customer-base. If card / paper-based concepts suit your campaign, that's fine, but be aware that excessive use of plastics and other materials can be counter-productive. If your campaign justifies a more sophisticated direct mail item than paper can deliver, try to ensure the item will have use beyond the initial campaign period. An item that's likely to find use on the recipient's desk not only helps to avoid concerns about waste, but also helps to keep your message and your brand in front of your customer for a longer period.

Here's your team...

Kall Kwik has a long track record of delivering successful direct mail campaigns for clients in a wide range of industries. Our designers and copywriters are experts in helping clients to decide on the optimum strategy, define the messages that need to be communicated and deliver a campaign - on time and on budget.

Kall Kwik also offers personalized print so that individual direct mail pieces are personalized to each specific recipient. Personalized print can really grab the reader's attention, often with the recipient's name creatively added to the main copy, not just the opening greeting.