Direct Mail is dead…but it can be resuscitated. Guest post by Emma James
6 killer ways to put your business at the top of the pile
Can I be honest with you? Direct mail is dead. Well, in its traditional form at least…
But the good news?
Getting your business in front of your potential dream customer still isn’t rocket science.
But it is lumpy. Really lumpy.
Think about your day today…. How many brands have you crossed paths with? How many white envelope sales letters have landed on your doormat? How many emails have landed in your inbox? How many adverts have you seen and heard on your journey to work alone?
People are bombarded with millions of marketing messages every single day. If you want to make it on to the elusive A pile, you know, the one with the wedding invite, the long awaited amazon parcel and the proud drawing your child crafted at pre-school, then you’ve got to do something pretty special.
What does this mean for you and your business?
Stalemate: It means that no matter how hard you try with those snazzy introductory emails, those well worded sales letters and those telesales campaigns, you can’t seem to grab the attention of your dream customers.
Can you believe a simple lump could transform your business and land you those dream customers?
It can.
Here are 7 killer tips that will ensure your business lands on the top of that A pile.
1. Get under their skin.
Who are those dream customers you want to win over? You can’t plan an effective campaign unless you understand them. By understanding what they need and what makes them tick, you can plan everything about your campaign from the lumpy gift you send to the headline on that letter or envelope.
Stop thinking just about your business and what you want to tell them…. Instead think about what they need to hear and how you can ease their pains.
2. Lists are your key to success.
Start by creating a list of your potential recipients. But start small… this is about understanding each recipient as well as possible: Find out their full name, not just a job title. Find out more about them and what interests them – you have so many tools at hand to do this: Linked In, Facebook, company websites, team pages and blogs.
A database which tells you the core interests and pains of each person will give you an intriguing and captivating opening line for any introductory letter.
3. People do judge a book by its cover.
Getting the envelope right will make a huge difference. Picture the scene…. A purple envelope lands on your desk, handwritten with your name on the front. The back is sealed with an interesting sticker and it says “private and confidential”, plus there’s a stamp on the front instead of the usual franking marks. This already has your attention, right?
It’s so simple: How can you do this for your business?
4. Get the lump right.
A successful campaign will have a lump: A gift inside. This is the key thing you need to make this a success.
Not only does that lump mean you physically stay at the top of the pile so that everything else doesn’t simply fall off, but it grabs attention before your recipient has even torn it open.
But this is not about just sending a branded mug or pen: It’s about sending something which suits them and their needs.
So, what do they want or need? A biscuit to sit down and stop to read your letter for a moment’s peace from the busy office? A new tape measure for the busy architect who just doesn’t have the time to get one from B&Q?
It doesn’t have to be an expensive run of 10,000 branded notebooks, it can be as simple as sending them the chocolate they love, which costs £1 at the corner shop, or a paper airplane to make them laugh and stop in their tracks.
5. Keep them on the hook.
Once you have their attention, you need to keep it. This is where the introductory letter comes in.
Start with an opening question or headline which really keeps them intrigued – make sure it illustrates the solution you can give them to their challenges.
Then add some personal touches… perhaps a hand written note along the bottom which mentions that you saw on Linked In that you went to the same University or that you met once at that networking event.
Close the letter with a really simple and clear action for them to take – is it an invite to an event, is it a specific email to contact?
6. Keep the conversation flowing.
This isn’t just a one step to success approach. Success will come from maintaining this conversation long term.
But how much easier is a follow up email or phone call when you can simply ask “Did you receive my purple letter in the post with the Curly Wurly inside?”
So, how else can you keep this conversation moving? Perhaps an invite to your forthcoming event? Perhaps a simple email with an invite to join your newsletter list?
Whatever it is, keep it simple and approachable, no heavy sales pitches here if you want to land that long term, dream customer.
To summarise:
So, direct mail is dead – but getting lumpy is its defibrillator. Its resuscitation.
This blog gives you the first steps to achieving success by using lumps to get in front of those new customers. So start today… what could you do?
