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Nothing in this world is pure, and direct mail is no exception. Direct mail isn’t purely a marketing medium. When done properly, it’s a combination of marketing and sales. Review the best direct mail programs you can think of; they will all reflect this fact.
Given the close relationship of marketing and sales, creating great direct mail requires that you:
• work to avoid some of the critical mistakes even seasoned professionals fall into;
• be able to adjust your lead flow and quality to the needs of your sales team; and
• get maximum value out of every lead.
Go Far Enough … but Don’t Go Too Far
First, let’s talk about the two critical mistakes that even seasoned direct marketers make. Remember these words: lead generation. Direct mail is not an awareness tool.
Print, television, radio and outdoor advertising all are more cost-effective ways to get your name in front of the right people. Direct mail can be up to 1,000 percent more expensive on a cost-per-touch basis. Besides, when was the last time you saw people gathered around the water cooler talking about the amazing piece of direct mail they just got? Unless you hang out with me, you just won’t see it.
A second mistake that too many direct marketers make is they try to take the lead too far down the sales process in the first communication. Push prospects too far too fast, and you’ll lose them. If you have salespeople, use them. It’s not direct mail’s job to close the deal.
At the first stage of the process, you’re just giving them enough to realize that this product, service or idea is something they need to learn more about, and that it might just save their lives, make them rich, etc. All you have to do is get them to the point where “it might just …”.
The Quantity/Quality Valve
At this point, there often is a credibility gap where sales and marketing don’t work together well. If the sales team believes the leads your programs generate are not qualified, they won’t work them as hard as they could. Who wants to waste time on a bunch of bad leads?
A lead used to be a simple thing. Anyone who raised his or her hand in response to an offer qualified as a lead. Someone who liked the look of your tchotchke and figured, “I’ll tolerate your salesperson for five minutes to get my hands on that great-looking decoder ring,” was a lead, as was a person with a pen in hand, ready to write the check.
Given the close relationship of marketing and sales, creating great direct mail requires that you:
• work to avoid some of the critical mistakes even seasoned professionals fall into;
• be able to adjust your lead flow and quality to the needs of your sales team; and
• get maximum value out of every lead.
Go Far Enough … but Don’t Go Too Far
First, let’s talk about the two critical mistakes that even seasoned direct marketers make. Remember these words: lead generation. Direct mail is not an awareness tool.
Print, television, radio and outdoor advertising all are more cost-effective ways to get your name in front of the right people. Direct mail can be up to 1,000 percent more expensive on a cost-per-touch basis. Besides, when was the last time you saw people gathered around the water cooler talking about the amazing piece of direct mail they just got? Unless you hang out with me, you just won’t see it.
A second mistake that too many direct marketers make is they try to take the lead too far down the sales process in the first communication. Push prospects too far too fast, and you’ll lose them. If you have salespeople, use them. It’s not direct mail’s job to close the deal.
At the first stage of the process, you’re just giving them enough to realize that this product, service or idea is something they need to learn more about, and that it might just save their lives, make them rich, etc. All you have to do is get them to the point where “it might just …”.
The Quantity/Quality Valve
At this point, there often is a credibility gap where sales and marketing don’t work together well. If the sales team believes the leads your programs generate are not qualified, they won’t work them as hard as they could. Who wants to waste time on a bunch of bad leads?
A lead used to be a simple thing. Anyone who raised his or her hand in response to an offer qualified as a lead. Someone who liked the look of your tchotchke and figured, “I’ll tolerate your salesperson for five minutes to get my hands on that great-looking decoder ring,” was a lead, as was a person with a pen in hand, ready to write the check.
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