Mar
29
Lately I’ve been putting together a lot of estimates for direct mail campaigns. And even I — the detail-oriented, uber-organized professional — was surprised at the level of detail with regards to mailing lists. For example, did you know there’s a list for people with discretionary income to spend, and you can request the dollar amount? Or you can purchase a homeowner list and request the square footage of the homes you want to target. Typical selects are demographics, income level, occupation and education. But with all the data that exists today, it’s just a matter of fine-tuning who your ideal target is, then narrowing your list.
I’m such a big believer in direct mail, but the spray and pray method is a waste of valuable marketing dollars. Why not tweak your target and deliver your message with precision to those who will actually be interested in what you have to say? Once you send your mailer out, it doesn’t take long to get a response. Within one or two weeks you’ll receive about 80 percent of those who are going to reply. If the campaign works, you’ll know quickly; if it doesn’t, you’ll know that as well.
According to the Direct Marketing Association, the overall average response rate for direct mail, including mailings to both house and prospect files, was 2.77 percent, up slightly from 2.73 percent in 2004.
As far as dimensional mail is concerned, it’s no surprise the medium averaged a higher overall response rate than for flat direct mail, pulling 3.67 percent compared to direct mail’s 2.77 percent. Dimensional mail, however, was used by only a few industries. It could be because of its high cost to distribute. The highest response rate was achieved by the health services industry, at 10.76 percent, the report states.
Postcards response rate (2.19 percent) was a tad lower than flat direct mail. But in a small number of reported cases, entertainment and recreation (13.68 percent) and personal and repair services (7.14 percent) received the highest response rates. Still, the major users of postcards were catalog/retail stores, business services, financial products and services and publishing.
According to the Direct Marketing Association, the overall average response rate for direct mail, including mailings to both house and prospect files, was 2.77 percent, up slightly from 2.73 percent in 2004.
As far as dimensional mail is concerned, it’s no surprise the medium averaged a higher overall response rate than for flat direct mail, pulling 3.67 percent compared to direct mail’s 2.77 percent. Dimensional mail, however, was used by only a few industries. It could be because of its high cost to distribute. The highest response rate was achieved by the health services industry, at 10.76 percent, the report states.
Postcards response rate (2.19 percent) was a tad lower than flat direct mail. But in a small number of reported cases, entertainment and recreation (13.68 percent) and personal and repair services (7.14 percent) received the highest response rates. Still, the major users of postcards were catalog/retail stores, business services, financial products and services and publishing.
Having a wide range of choices can be daunting, but persevere. Do your research; then be direct.