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MAILWAYS
A free newsletter offering direct mail marketing tips from
Bi-County Mailing & American Mail Communications
November 2010
Copyright © 2010
888-MAIL-888
IN THIS ISSUE
- Don’t Lose a Sale
- New Mailing-List Trends
- Reach Decision Makers
- Direct Mail Soars
- Our Favorite Charities
- How Are We Doing?
- Hold That Thought
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HOLD THAT THOUGHT...
“It’s difficult to soar with the eagles, if you are led by a flock of turkeys. ”
Joseph Michelli
Corporate Speaker
Selected by Long Island Business News readers as..
Ask these Questions after Losing a Sale
When you lose a sale, ask yourself the following to gain some perspective:
- What could we have done to reduce the buyer’s risk?
- How could we have better established trust and credibility?
- What type of collateral could we have used to educate the prospect?
- Could we have improved our proposal? Price?
- Could we have improved the selling process?
- Would it have helped to involve other staff members (operations, customer service, etc.) into the sales process?
- Should we have invited the prospect to see our operation before the sales call?
New Mailing-List Trends
Sharpen Targeting
In the past, direct mail marketers relied primarily on "traditional" mailing-list demographics, such as age, income and marital status.
Today, they’re adding more names to their files by mining information on hobbies, lifestyle interests and product purchases.
For example, instead of simply targeting “homeowners," businesses now can access — and make good use of — more precise data, such as “homeowners with an interest in do-it-yourself repairs” or “homeowners with 4-year-old children.”
The narrower the criteria, the more focused your effort.
Reach Decision Makers by Reducing the Clutter
According to the Senior Manager of Marketing Communications at tw telecom, “You get the attention of corporate decision makers, who are constantly bombarded with electronic marketing messages, by sending direct mail.”
To promote its fiber-based network to IT managers, the company used a folded self-mailer, asking recipients to search for the firm’s name in a major online search engine.
The use of direct mail combined with electronic marketing, generated an 8 percent meeting rate — double what the company typically sees from a promotion.
“Most marketers assume that IT managers will respond only to online communications,” said the tw telecom executive. “But pairing different media allowed us to cut through the clutter and interact with them on several different levels.”
Spending on Direct Mail Marketing
Expected to Increase this Year
By the end of this year, spending on direct mail marketing is expected to rise by more than $1 billion over last year.
According to the Direct Marketing Association’s “Power of Direct” economic impact study, direct mail spending will reach $45.5 billion by December, despite predictions that it would decline.
The study also reports:
- Non-catalogue direct mail returned over $15 for every dollar spent in 2009.
- Commercial email drove $26 billion in sales in 2009.
- Non-catalogue direct mail stimulated $445.8 billion in sales during that same period.
Our mission is to make your use of direct mail correct, efficient, effective and as hassle-free as possible. In every way possible, we will operate as an extension of your company or organization
with your needs and goals as our paramount responsibility.