Whether you’re trying to reach consumers or other businesses, Direct Mail is the advertising method of choice for businesses looking for a better return on their advertising investment. By providing an order form, a coupon, a phone number, a website or an email address with your message, customers can actually respond to your offer—right then and there. It's targeted and responsive and arrives anywhere in Canada with the trusted daily mail.

Now all you need are customers to respond to your offer. Learn more about how to develop a Direct Mail piece that will create interest and—more importantly—generate a response.

Top 10 tried and true tips for successful Direct Mail campaigns

1. Identify your objectives. What do you want to communicate? What action do you want the customer to take? Do you want to build a relationship?
2. Sell benefits not features. A feature tells what your product does, while a benefit tells how your product satisfies a need or overcomes a problem. Customers want to know, "What's in it for me?"
3. Include an offer. Give your prospects a reason to respond—now. Make it relevant, irresistible and worth their time and effort.
4. Personalize. Personalization has a tendency to increase response. Why? Because the recipient is more likely to read your message when you use their name and personalize the offer to them.
5. Keep it simple. Get to the point and make it easy for your audience to find out what you're saying or selling. Pay attention to the language; if something is free, say it's free.
6. Always include a call to action (CTA). Tell your target what you want them to do. If you don't and ask for the sale or order, you may not get it.
7. Include a response device. Make it easy for your target to respond either with a business reply card or envelope, a toll-free number or a website address.
8. Deliver. Only make promises you know you can keep. If you say they'll receive something in a week, ensure you have the process in place to do so.
9. Use targeted lists. Direct Mail that is targeted to the right audience is more relevant to that audience and is more likely to generate the kind of response you want.
10. Track and measure your results. Test different offers, formats, lists and more. Your communications should evolve as you learn about what's working and what's not.

Direct Mail best practices

The importance of having a database
A list of customers and specific information about them is one of the best marketing tools you could possibly have. Used well, a database can help you zero in on your best customers, build a valuable relationship with them and grow your business. Once you understand who your current customers are you can go out and find more who “look like” them.

Getting to know your customers: what to consider when building a database

• Look for variables related to behaviour, demographics and lifestyle.
• Use your internal resources, such as purchase records, amount spent, enquiries, warranty registration, transaction dates, customer service interaction, survey results and more.
• Collect only the information you need to know; unnecessary information is expensive to acquire.

Using your database to uncover trends and information*

• Discover propensities for product demand, purchase or defection.
• Determine which customers hold the greatest and least value to your company.
• Try to understand what motivates your core group of loyal customers.
• Watch for patterns among similar groups and take advantage of that knowledge.

*Keep in mind that building and making use of customer lists is subject to applicable privacy laws. Be sure to educate yourself, or obtain professional advice, before collecting information about customers. Find out what you need to know about privacy.

Your offer—building one that works
A great offer can translate to success. However, there is much that goes into making an offer compelling enough to elicit the desired response. You need to get the target involved, market your offer properly and, most importantly, ensure that what you offer is exactly what you deliver.

Components to consider for any offer

• The price. Is it sufficient? Too high? Competitive? Is it perceived to be right for the value received?
• Unit of sale. Should you offer one? Two? A set?
• Incentives. Discounts or free gifts are commonly used to help entice customers. You need to determine if people would have bought without the incentive.
• Time limits and guarantees. These add urgency and validity to any offer. Simply ensure you honour them.

Finding the right offer for your audience
Testing is the only way you can determine what works best for you and what does not. Over time, you can test:

• Which offer best matches your target and your objectives.
• What product or service can produce the sales you want.
• What quantity and price resonate with your customers.

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