Direct mail. “Junk mail” as it’s been known in the past. Well, let us set the record straight THERE.
It’s only “junk mail” if it’s not targeted properly and being sent to those who have no interest or use for your product or service. That said, what are the advantages and what are the disadvantages of using good, old fashioned, direct mail to promote your business?
Advantages of using direct mail:
Everyone is so obsessed with e-campaigns and social media that a letter on their desk with your offer would have far less competition for the recipient’s attention!
You can test small batches to see response rate of the offer and whether your message is working correctly with the target audience.
You have the room to engage the customer, create an offer and to tell them what to do next. A sales letter does not have to be one page.
You can buy data lists, or use your own database, to target specific groups of prospects or customers (industry, postcode etc etc). The more targeted the better to keep your postage and print costs down.
You can use returned mail to clean your database and ensure it is all up to date.
Disadvantages of using direct mail:
Postage prices. With the recent increase this can be a costly exercise.
Direct mail is not perceived as environmentally friendly. But, highly targeted, recycled paper and not too many colours may be more friendly than powering huge servers to send out blanket emails.
MPS (Mail Preference Service) opt out. Consumers (and businesses) can opt out of receiving direct mail. However, this can also be an advantage as you are not wasting money sending mail to those people who don’t want it.
If you need to know if direct mail is right for your business, or help putting a direct mail campaign together, then contact us
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