8 Steps to Successful Direct Mail

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8 Steps

to Successful

Direct Mail



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Table of Contents

Step 1: Establish Your Objectives

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Step 2: Understand Your Audience

Step 3: Create Your Mailing List

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Step 4: Decide on Messaging for Each Segment

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Step 5: Create Your Mailpiece

Step 6: Work With a Printer

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Step 7: Prepare Your Piece for the Post Office? Facility .

Step 8: Track Response and Fine-Tune Your Campaign

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29



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Direct mail

can be a

powerful

component

in your

omni-channel

marketing

efforts.

Now that it¡¯s become more dynamic through

retargeted direct mail, Informed Delivery?

notifications and Informed Visibility? tracking,

direct mail can create action with every

interaction. But for small-to-medium-sized

businesses, creating direct mail can seem

daunting if you don¡¯t know where to start.

In this white paper, we¡¯ll show you how you

can successfully integrate direct mail into your

omni-channel marketing, helping you answer

key questions like:

To help you visualize how these concepts

work in practice, we¡¯re including hypothetical

examples for each step.

By the time you¡¯ve finished this white paper,

you¡¯ll be ready to create personalized direct

mail that will complement your digital efforts,

reaching the right people at the right time.

? Whom should I target?

? What¡¯s the right message to send?

? What¡¯s the most cost-effective way to use

direct mail marketing?

? How will I know if my campaign is working?



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Step 1

Establish Your

Objectives

Before you put time and money into direct mail,

you need to think carefully about what you want

to accomplish. First, step back and take a look at

the big picture:

Now, let¡¯s look more specifically at what you

hope to achieve with your direct marketing

campaign:

? Are you hoping to attract new customers?

? Where do you hope to be in six months?

One year? Five years? What does success

look like for you?

? What are your biggest obstacles to getting

there? Attracting new customers? Hiring

qualified employees? Financing?

? What will it take to overcome those

obstacles?

? What can you do today to get started?

? What other marketing efforts do you have

in place that you hope to bolster with direct

mail?

? Do you want your existing customers to

come back more often?

? Is there a new service you¡¯re offering or a

new product you¡¯re excited about?

? Do you have seasonal offers you want to

spread the word about¡ªsay, a back-toschool special?

? Is there a specific customer segment that

might benefit from your product or service?

? Are you aiming to attract customers

specifically to your website, social media

accounts or other digital resources using the

power of direct mail?



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A hair salon owner wants to expand to a new,

larger location in a trendy part of her city.

But after gathering information on the costs

of making the move, she realizes she needs

to enlarge her customer base in order to

generate enough revenue to cover the costs.

She identifies several steps she needs to take

to accomplish her goal, and direct mail plays a

key role in the process.

follows locals on the salon¡¯s social media

platforms. Anyone who engages with these

efforts is then sent a promotional postcard

with a QR Code? leading to the booking area

of the salon website, where they can schedule

a haircut at a discounted rate.

The result? More customers from a larger

geographic area, which helps her justify

making the move. Once the new location

opens, she again turns to direct mail to help

get the word out.

First, she uses banner ads to target

prospective customers who live in the area

where the new salon would be located and

OBSTACLE

Keep salon top of

mind for prospects

who engaged with

digital efforts

START

Own a single

hair salon

OBSTACLE

20%

OFF

OBSTACLE

Get postcard

recipients to

schedule haircut

Need larger

customer base to

justify new location

GOAL

Open second

salon location

in new

neighborhood

SOLUTION

Send promotional

postcard with discount

code for haircut

SOLUTION

SOLUTION

Get the word out to local

prospects through banner

ads and social media

Include QR Code? on

postcard that leads customers

to salon¡¯s booking site



Step 1

Example

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