How to increase marketing ROI: By creating ultra effective direct mail

According to the book 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save the Earth, Americans receive almost 4 million tons of junk mail every year. While we don’t necessarily agree with their recommendation to stop direct mail entirely (that’s how we make our living, after all), we do agree that nearly all four tons of direct mail sent out yearly is junk. The reason? It’s ineffective and, therefore, a total waste of money. Here are three widespread direct mail problems and three sure-fire ways to increase your direct mail return on investment.  

Problem 1:

Nearly every piece takes the same form. Postcards are cheap to print and cheap to mail, so people always send postcards, making them easily forgotten.

Solution 1:

Change it up for a better response. One of the most interesting ways to keep your piece flat like a postcard but to add some bang is to use ShipShapes. (http://www.shipshapes.net) This unique company worked with the post office to create durable, die-cut plastic cards that can be printed with messaging and mailed without a separate envelope or box. They’re more expensive per piece, but the response rates, and in turn your return on investment, are exceptional compared to typical postcards.

Problem 2:

It never gets past the gatekeeper. Typical direct mail’s worst enemy is the gatekeeper, who could be a spouse, secretary or anyone else filtering the junk. It’s easy to spot everyday direct mail, which means it’s easy to immediately throw away – before the person you sent it to ever sets eyes on it.

Solution 2:

Sneak it under the gate. Oftentimes, when our clients are interested in getting the attention of A-list prospects, we create a stealth mailing. This could take several forms – by being packaged inside a FedEx envelope, delivered by courier or disguised in a sophisticated, high-end envelope that contains no exterior messaging. Regardless of the shell around the sales piece, this is a guaranteed method to get your materials in the hand of the person you want to solicit.

Problem 3:

People don’t spend time with direct mail. And more than likely, you need them to spend at least a few minutes digesting what you or your agency has spent time writing and designing.

Solution 3:

Make it worthwhile for them. Develop your direct mail in concert with great writers and designers who can craft the messaging and concept so it’s sticky. Making the piece interactive (so recipients have to spend time revealing the ultimate message and are rewarded by it) and/or dimensional are great ways to heighten interest and recall.

Our formula is to break the formula with direct mail. Follow the case study links to the right to see how we successfully did it in real life for our clients, or see a direct mail campaign we created for The Broe Group. If you want to talk more about increasing your return on investment on direct mail, drop me a note at kreedy@leereedy.com.