Psychological Tactics That Increase Mail Response

The two go-to components of a direct mail campaign—the list and the offer—may not (and often cannot) change much, as lists are better targeted and cleaner than ever before and many companies, especially in this economy, are giving potential customers "best offers" already.

Yet for many mailers, response is down because of tough economic times that many prospects are facing. What are mailers to do? Turn to psychological tactics that have worked for decades in direct mail, and which may be the cure-all for your current campaign.

If we accept famed direct marketer Ed Mayer's 40-40-20 rule (40 percent lists, 40 percent offer, 20 percent everything else), then psychology only makes up a portion of that 20 percent. But the emotions that the mail piece is able to stir in the prospect (and cooked up in advance by the copywriter) may determine whether he responds or not, or if that package lives or dies in today's harsh climate.

1. Get the Offer Across
"I think in this economy marketers have to work harder at getting it right," says Bob Martel, principal consultant at JMB Marketing Group, located in Marlborough, Mass. "They have to understand the perceived value and give people a compelling reason to part with their hard-earned money—whether it's B-to-B or consumer—because you are competing for their shrinking, expendable revenue right now. So a smart marketer knows how to do that with good copy and an offer that doesn't give away the store, but uses the psychology of marketing to get the points across."

One of the big (40 percent) parts of the package—the offer—relies on such psychology to convince prospects, often quickly and forcefully, to take it. That doesn't necessitate an overhaul of the package, which is good news to budget-conscious mailers. Indeed, it can mean a shift in copy rather than design. "To find the offers that work best in a down economy, instead of new creative, look at offer tests and copy platform tests. If you do test creative, I would test copy as opposed to design," recommends Grant Johnson, president/CEO of Johnson Direct in Brookfield, Wis. and author of "Fairytale Marketing."

2. Drive Your Copy Home
Copy must go somewhere in the prospect's brain, and to get all the way "home"—straight to the head, heart or even the gut—the primary copy drivers must be utilized. Direct marketing guru Bob Hacker famously mentioned six: fear, guilt, anger, greed, exclusivity and salvation.

One of the leading experts on copy drivers, Herschell Gordon Lewis, author of "Creative Rules for the 21st Century—the Richest Resource of Copywriting Secrets for Today's Market" and president of Lewis Enterprises in Pompano Beach, Fla.,says another key motivator is the need for approval, in addition to two "soft" motivators: convenience and pleasure. "But then and now, greed is the safest weapon and the one that in head-to-head tests tends to win," he relates.

Changing up these copy drivers makes for smart, inexpensive tests, says Johnson. "If you normally lead with greed, maybe you would test fear or exclusivity as a copy platform," he suggests. Martel mentions two other effective copy tests: "You could use scarcity, or a gift to try and stimulate reciprocity."

Josh Manheimer, copywriter and president of J.C. Manheimer & Company in Norwich, Vt., says copywriters still must be keenly aware of their audiences before wielding these motivators. "It depends on what you're selling, the lists you're mailing to, and the approach you've chosen—or has been chosen for you. I mean, revenge is a pretty powerful emotion, but it's not the first place I'd go to if I were selling a Christmas cookbook," he states.

3. Put These Drivers in the Right Seats
The "driver's seat" is clearly the letter, say experts. Hacker's famous quote is, "If your letter isn't dripping with one or more of the above, tear it up and try again." But should copy drivers be confined to the letter, or do they belong on other elements as well? And should they begin on the outer?

Manheimer offers a useful paradigm, "Usually, you want to start on the outer, repeat in the letter, touch on it in the brochure, and hammer away again at it on the order card. This is not a subtle business, for the most part. You want to bang them over the head."

Lewis offers some caution, based on the results of some recent tests: "They show the overline to be the most powerful driver, with the postscript next. Careful with envelope copy. If the recipient concludes, ‘I've seen this before,' your brilliant message winds up in the circular file."

4. Satisfy Their Deep Psychological Needs
To charm without verging into clown territory, you must tell the truth. That is what prospects are looking for, and they can smell it when you don't.

"Just as a method actor has to discover the ‘psychological truth' of the scene and make it come alive for the audience, the copywriter has to discover the core ‘truth' of the selling proposition and make it shine in the letter, e-mail, Web copy, whatever," declares Ivan Levison, a direct response copywriter based in Greenbrae, Calif.

The magazine you read, where you travel, what charity you give to, even what insurance company you went with, may have, at its essence, been an emotional decision. To that end, Levison concludes that "enumerating benefits is a big part of the copywriter's job. But we must always remember that the satisfaction of deeper psychological needs, is what often really makes the sale!"

A version of this article originally appeared in the February 2009 issue of Inside Direct Mail, a sister publication to Target Marketing. To learn more about Inside Direct Mail, visit www.insidedirectmail.com.

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