According to the Direct Marketing Association, on average, direct mail returns ten dollars for every dollar invested. However, as noted earlier, the most pivotal element to direct marketing Success is having the right list. What does it look like? Where does it come from? Where do you start? If you are prospecting for new customers you will probably not have their names. But, names of qualified prospects are available through list compilers and brokers. However, to buy mailing lists it is essential to know what your best prospective customers look like. That’s where your house list comes in handy. Scanning through your house list you can identify the traits that are common among your best customers. For example, you may find that your best customers live within five miles of your business and have incomes of more than $75,000. This demographic information will help you purchase a list of customers that will buy. There are two main types of lists that can be purchased: compiled lists and response lists. Compiled mailing lists are comprised of information from public records and sources such as the phone book, courthouse records, bankruptcy filings, mortgage deed records and more. On the other hand, response mailing lists consist of individuals who have responded to an offer either through the mail, phone, television, or through other means of mass communication (e.g. a magazine subscription list, a catalog mailing list, etc.).

These types of lists must be understood – each has a set of unique characteristics that enables it to achieve specific and distinct objectives. The key to success is to understand when it is most appropriate to use each kind.

Compiled list are ideal for those businesses that need special demographic selectivity to target a well-defined market, for instance targeting auditing companies specializing in bookkeeping, manufacturers with 50 or more employees, or families with household incomes of $50,000 who live within 10 miles of your store. All of these examples are likely to do better with a compiled list than a response list. This is good news if you understand the demographic profile of your customers since compiled lists are generally less expensive than response lists – costing between $40 and $70 per thousand versus $90 to $125 per thousand for response lists. Response lists are the best choice if you need to cover an entire market of prospects with similar characteristics. For example, if you are selling a specialized software engineering tool, or to every Certified Public Accountant in the State, there are lists available from publications that serve these markets. Often information is even available on how frequently these prospects typically respond to offers they receive.

Read the rest of this entry

Direct mail is now a widely used everyday marketing tool, but all too often businesses aren’t sure exactly when they should be using it, or how to achieve the best results. This article identifies some of the most common and proven occasions when direct mail is the best tool for the job.Use direct mail to gain new customers

New business development and customer acquisition all mean the same thing – gaining new customers for your business. And direct mail has an important role to play. Working from a profile based on your existing customers you can use direct mail to target more of the same type of customer. Or you can use direct mail to reach new types of customers in new areas, or sell new products or services.Use direct mail to sell more to existing customers

If you take into account the acquisition cost of gaining a new customer, it may be that you only start to turn a profit when the customer repeat orders for a second or third time. Therefore you can use direct mailings to contact existing customers and sell them product replenishments, upsell to newer or larger purchases, try new products and services, or gain repeat purchases.Use direct mail to keep existing customers for longer

Read the rest of this entry