I have heard people say that “direct mail doesn’t work,” which may be true if there is no strategy behind the action. Sending a flyer out to the masses will yield different results than sending a thoughtful item and message to a carefully chosen group. With online activity consistently increasing, there is an opportunity to stand out with direct mail since few people are doing it anymore. Here are five tips to improve your sales prospecting by using direct mail.
1. Get super targeted – Before deciding to send an item or collateral via direct mail, it is important to figure out exactly who you will be sending it to. What kind of pain are they in and what message is going to resonate with them? If your company has its buyer personas determined, then it will make it easier to run different direct mail campaigns specific to each buyer persona.
2. Maximize creativity – Have you ever received something in the mail and – even if you didn’t buy anything – you remember who sent it because of how creative it was? For example, one day we received a custom Mojo Marketing dry erase maze that we could hang on our wall along with a thoughtful note. It was from a CRM company that we had considered in the past.
This gesture was memorable and started an internal discussion. Were we still in need or unhappy with our current solution we definitely would have considered them further. The more creative you can get the better. With direct mail you want to stand out as much as possible and leave a lasting impression.
3. Personalize your message – Whether you are sending an item or a collateral piece, you want to make sure that your message is personalized. Whoever the mail is intended for should feel like you are speaking directly to them, and that your solution will solve whatever pain they are in.
For example, maybe one of your buyer personas is an IT Director at a mid-sized manufacturing company. Take some time to figure out what they are searching for when they are researching solutions similar to yours. Also, what daily struggles may they encounter in their position? Once you do some research, take the time to carefully craft your message to speak directly to those pain points.
4. Run an email campaign first – Sending out an email campaign first will allow you to gauge interest. Why waste money on sending a thoughtful item in the mail if there is no interest in the first place? Make sure that you put a lot of thought into the email campaign, same as you would for the direct mail piece.
Whether you send the emails out via your CRM or an email automation tool, make sure that you are tracking opens, clicks, etc. so that you can gauge interest. From there, you can build your direct mail list based on who engaged the most in the campaign.
5. Follow up – Following up once the item is sent is probably just as important as sending it. Give your prospect a few weeks to get back to you after receiving the item. If you don’t hear anything, then it gives you a good excuse to reach out with a phone call or email making sure that they received it. You have already given them something thoughtful, so they are more likely to engage with you when you do contact them.
I hope this is helpful information if you are considering sales prospecting using direct mail. Need help determining your message/buyer personas or running successful campaigns? Feel free to contact us!
