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MailWays
A free newsletter offering direct mail marketing tips from
Bi-County Mailing & American Mail Communications
November 2007
Copyright © 2007
888-MAIL-888
IN THIS ISSUE
- How to Save on Lists
- Reach Decision Makers
- DM Stats
- Boost Your Image
- Press Box
- Our Favorite Charities
- How Are We Doing?
- Hold That Thought
Get FREE publicity for your company/organization.
Send us news about your events, promotions, awards, important changes, achievements, etc. We will post the information on our website through a link in this space. Email your information
in a Word document
to Phyllis Abrams at filisa@optonline.net.
Be sure to put
“Bi-County Press Box”
in the subject field.
Deadline: the 15th of each month. This FREE service is only for clients. Space is limited. We will make every effort to accommodate all submissions. Posting will be at the sole discretion of the publisher.
Go to www.americanmail.com & www.bicountymailing.com
Click on “Our Favorite Charities”...
It's our way of supporting good people
who do good things.
Every little bit helps.
Please visit their sites.
They could use your support!
How are we doing?
Check out our clients' testimonials on www.americanmail.com
About Us - What Clients Are Saying About Us page. We've included their company logos, as well as links to their websites when possible.
If you're a client, and would like to be listed on our testimonial page with your logo and a link to your website, tell us how we've helped you improve your business, email
HOLD THAT THOUGHT...
When Insults Had Class...
"He had delusions of adequacy."
Walter Kerr
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.
Oscar Wilde
"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."
Mae West
Four Money-Saving
Mailing List Questions
The most important component of your direct mail marketing program is your mailing list. Forty percent of your success depends on the accuracy of the list. Here are some important questions you should ask when fine-tuning your list:
- Do you want your mail piece to go to “one per household” or “one per person”? If there are two people living at the same address with the same last name, think about whether or not one piece will be sufficient. The decision could affect your program’s bottom line.
- Is there a priority to the way duplicate names are eliminated from your final list? If you’re using more than one file, chances are you won’t want to delete names from your company’s “house” file. Each list can be assigned a priority number before de-duping is performed. This enables you to maintain the names in your most important files and eliminate those in the less important ones.
- Is your mailhouse performing Address Correction before de-duping your files? It’s very important to have your addresses standardized and brought up to date before any duplicate elimination is attempted. This lets you recognize duplicates more easily, especially when combining lists from different sources.
- Do you know how many times you can use a purchased list? Most lists are rented either for one-time or multi use. The latter usually means unlimited use for one year. List brokers protect their lists by seeding them with dummy names to monitor their usage. If you acquire a single-use list and use it a second time without paying for it, chances are you’ll be hearing from a lawyer pretty quickly.
Reaching B2B Decision Makers
The biggest challenge in B2B direct mail marketing is getting a decision maker’s attention. C-level executives are always looking for a way to get an edge over the competition; offering them information they can’t get elsewhere — such as the results of a survey or a white paper — is a great way to get their attention.
According to many marketing gurus:
-
Direct mail is very effective in getting to a C-level individual, especially if the piece provides useful information rather than a sales pitch.
- Personal-looking mail almost always gets by, which may be why CEO-to-CEO communications — personal letters on corporate stationery — are often preferred.
- Priority-looking envelopes are almost always opened.
Interesting Direct Mail Stats to Consider
International Communications Research recently published the following statistics assembled from a wide-ranging survey:
- 73 percent of consumers prefer direct mail for new product announcements, compared to 18 percent for email.
- 86 percent prefer mail for confidential communications such as bills, bank statements and financial reports, compared to 10 percent for email.
- 31 percent of consumers are less likely to discard unopened mail — including new product brochures, catalogs or other marketing materials — compared to more than 53 percent who delete unsolicited emails about new products.
- 45 percent found mail to be less intrusive — does not interrupt other activities.
- 20 percent found mail to be more convenient — can be saved and considered at leisure.
- 30 percent found mail to be less high-pressured — lets you consider your decision.
Collateral Materials
Can Boost Your Company’s Image
Once considered fillers, collateral marketing materials are now seen as opportunities to give prospects information they want and need to make informed decisions.
Additionally, such materials can be used to position your company as a credible and expert resource prospects/clients can trust. Here are examples of collateral materials you can create and add to your marketing efforts:
- Case Studies – Real-life success stories showing how your company solved problems, overcame obstacles and achieved results can be powerful sales tools.
- Advice Articles – How-to pieces that give readers insights into accomplishing things that matter to them not only demonstrate your expertise, but also your desire to be useful.
- Informational Booklet – You can discuss industry trends, introduce new ideas, destroy myths and send a clear message that your firm is at the forefront of your field.
Our mission is to make your use of direct mail correct, efficient, effective and as hassle-free as possible. In every way possible, we will operate as an extension of your company or organization
with your needs and goals as our paramount responsibility.