What you may not know is that you must touch your customer at least 7 - 10 times before they will buy from you. So when you are sending out direct mail pieces you must acknowledge this and incorporate this repetition in your overall process.
The biggest mistake most mailers make is doing a "one and done" mailing. Meaning that they submit one mailing and then complain that direct mail does not work. But if you only send out one mailing, how can you accurately evaluate your results? You can't.
We typically recommend using a tight 45 - 60 day repetition cycle. This method can be used at any stage of your sales process. Some people use it before they even have a sales prospect. I personally used this after we had a prospect in our sales funnel. An example of this would be that you performed a painting estimate for a potential client. Your first letter could be a thank you for entrusting us with your detailed painting proposal. Then your second letter would be to follow up if you had any outstanding questions on your proposal, we would gladly be of assistance to you. Then your third letter could be, here's what other Customer's like yourself have to say about our business. Then a fourth letter would be, we are currently painting in your development at ** location. The main point to keep in mind is relevance of your letter and keeping your company in the fore front of their minds. You want to move your customer from general interest, through question and answer, to placing an actual contract or start of a job. You want to keep them motivated throughout the process and take them to the closing of your deal.
So remember in your next mailing, you need a purpose and follow up is critical to make any direct mail campaign successful.
Another consideration in making your direct mail a success is reminding Customers of services that you provide and what corresponding benefits these services offer your customer, the end user. For an example, the oldest most cliché comment that is used is, "We are family owned and operated". What does this mean to a Customer? You need to spell it out and provide the corresponding benefit or relevance of your customer / client. Family owned, does it mean that you are insured? Does it mean that you take pride in your work? Be specific on why a customer should choose you over 4 other companies down the street from you.
It is imperative that you find a way to differentiate yourself from your competitors. In these tough economic times, every edge really can ensure your success or failure.
To Read more: Biggest Mistake of Direct Mail Campaigns http://www.sooperarticles.com/business-articles/marketing-articles/biggest-mistake-direct-mail-campaigns-771447.html#ixzz1ibLS9osb
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