Why direct mail continues to be a strong lead generation tool
What's more personal than direct mail? With the help of bulk mail software, business owners can connect with their customers and prospects nearly every day of the week. Because mail is a physical presence in most people's homes, consumers have a much more difficult time ignoring this type of content than they do with other kinds of messaging. Accurate contact information and data-driven marketing strategies allow for more personalized appeals that strike a chord with potential customers. In fact, direct mail should be part of a company's approach to lead generation.
Consumers can't ignore the mail
The marketing data enterprise Experian highlighted the strengths of this channel for small-business owners in particular. Citing data from the U.S. Postal Service, Experian explained 98 percent of people in the U.S. look at their mail on a daily basis, while another 77 percent make it a point to organize the pieces the moment it's received. As opposed to other media, including television and some digital channels, used for marketing purposes, direct mail can be personalized to a greater degree for the exact person who will open the item.
In the same way that marketers have turned to advanced analytics to look at email, social media and search engine optimization as they relate to generating new leads and interest in a brand, business owners can carry out the same tasks using direct mail items. By carefully tracking response rates based on various iterations of direct mail items, companies can better determine which tactics are most effective for distinct consumer segments.
How to generate additional business
When using direct mail for lead generation, there are a number of elements that business owners should remember to include. For instance, incorporating a call to action in every direct mail piece is critical to ensure consumers know how to respond.
If the goal is to generate greater engagement through social networks, it will likely be beneficial to include a quick response code or a link on the direct mail item that allows the recipient to connect via Facebook, Twitter or whatever platform the particular audience tends to use. Or a coupon as a call to action is effective, but only to the extent that business can target consumers within a given geographic region. Offering discounts to consumers who live well outside of a company's general vicinity can yield poorer results. Why? Customers often weigh the costs and benefits of traveling long distances to take advantage of an offer, and if the deal doesn't attract them, then the business will have wasted its time appealing to those individuals.
However, it's important for business owners to get consumers to interact with direct mail. One suggestion from Target Marketing magazine is to include scratch-off elements. This strategy builds off people's unrelenting curiosity to uncover hidden information along with the chance of winning something exclusive. It's the same reason that the lottery continues to be a strong source of revenue for many retailers and state operators. The magazine also indicated that consumers are more likely to respond to promotions presented in this manner because they feel as though they've won something.