Use these four simple rules and you could see a dramatic increase in sales!
How to increase your direct mail sales by using four great simple rules. Keeping them in mind while planning out your direct mail campaign could significantly increase your return.
If not properly thought out, it can be like throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. This is definitely not the best way to measure your ROI (return on investment). If direct mail is going to be a part of your direct marketing campaign, there are certain components that must be in place.
A lot of people think, “I’ll do a postcard mailing and the customers will come running through the doors.”. Not so. There are 4 major characteristics of direct mail one needs to incorporate into the direct mail process from the get-go. Below, I list 4 key factors.
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.”
– Peter Drucker
#1 The Design.
The overall design of the direct mail piece will catch the eye of the customer first. The design must be attractive. Use colors that identify with your brand so that the customer receiving it immediately thinks of your product or service.
#2 The Format.
Will it be a postcard, a flyer or a brochure? Bigger is not necessarily better. Use a format that fits with your offer. If you have more than one offer or a sale on a few items, for example, a back-to-school sale, a four-fold type of flyer might be better than a postcard. The format is also crucial to getting the best price from USPS. Take a look at Charts on my website. Here I give you the right and wrong way to fold a piece so that the USPS doesn’t reject all your hard work. Yes, that does happen.
#3 The List.
Are you using a list of customer addresses that you have acquired over the years? Or did you buy a list from a list company? The type of list you use is very important in targeting your best customer. The average person moves every few years and your customer may not live at that address anymore. Either way, make sure your list is processed through NCOA (the National Change of Address). Not only does it correct the address, but it can drop certain addresses if they’re not complete; this saves you money because you’d be charged for mailing the piece whether it got delivered or not.
You can visit http://pe.usps.com/MailpieceDesign/Index for more information on mailing.
#4 The Offer.
What is your offer? Is it a percentage off a product or service? Is it a BOGO offer? Whatever the offer, make sure it’s a good one and an honest one. These days we are all too aware of companies who increase the price of a product before they have a sale. Don’t assume your customers can’t think. Be honest with your customers and you’ll have loyal customers in return. I’ve seen a lot of “offers” from companies that when you do the math, you actually end up paying more than the original off-sale price. With the economy today, people are taking the time to figure out if a “sale” or an “offer” is a valuable one and worth their time and energy to take you up on it and to stay loyal to your brand. Also important is to make sure your offer is consistent with your other advertising efforts. For example, if you’re a tire store doing a direct mail piece on tires, don’t have print ads that advertise an oil change. Be consistent.
By incorporating these items into your direct mail campaign, you can ensure a more successful rate of return for your product or service. There are more things one can use when doing a direct mail campaign and I’ll talk about those in another blog post. Just remember, a well-thought-out direct mail campaign can yield excellent results giving you the edge over your competition and keeping your business top of mind.
The Virtual Assistant Industry and Large Businesses – A Great Mix.
Is the virtual assistant industry just for small business? Nope! The virtual assistant industry is not just for small businesses. The virtual assistant industry has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade. In fact, according to an article in Entrepreneur magazine, it’s grown in 2001 to over 50,000 in 2015.
Large companies are recognizing the value of the virtual assistant industry.
What do these numbers show us? It shows us that people are not “freelancing” anymore. They are making a verifiable full-time business out of it.
With the internet that has shrunk the world with a tap of the keyboard and the enter button, the world and all businesses are at our fingertips, literally. Are the days of the daily commute grind, tall office buildings, smog-filled high rises, buses, trains and pedestrians coming to an end? If statistics are any indication of what’s to come, then maybe so.
Companies of all Sizes are Looking to the Virtual Assistant Industry.
A lot of business owners from small, one-owner type companies to the large 1,000+ employees are looking to expand their staff to the virtual assistant industry. Just a few weeks ago, I spoke to a business owner of a large company outside of New York. Their reasoning behind wanting to hire a virtual assistant is that their own office manager and administrative assistant were overloaded with work and instead of bringing another employee on board they wanted to go virtual. So, in this case, for them, it was more financially beneficial to hire someone in the virtual assistant industry.
The reasons large companies may opt to hire someone in the virtual assistant industry are many. One reason could be due to an employee who is on a leave of absence. Another reason may be for a one-time project that needs to get done. One-off projects don’t warrant hiring a full-time employee. This is not to say that companies won’t hire a long-term virtual assistant, definitely, a lot of businesses contract other more long-term projects as well.
“Most people in the virtual assistant industry have specific niches and some have more than one skill they can offer.”
Let’s say a company needs to look off-site for someone who can do some research for images for their marketing materials, website or blogs, looking for an Online Business Manager that specializes or offers research would be an excellent choice. Same thing for wanting a website, the company should search within the virtual assistant industry for someone who offers WordPress websites. Project management is another area where a specific virtual assistant can be immensely helpful. The Project Manager Virtual Assistant can usually get the project started, get the team involved and give proper direction as to the scope and deliverables of a specific project while never having to step foot in the office which may be located in another state.
You may also want to read: https://itaskvirtually.com/10-smart-ways-a-business-owner-can-outsource-to-a-virtual-assistant
If you’re a large company and need some assistance in any area of work, looking to the virtual assistant industry is not a bad idea. Take a look here and see if I can help. We’re always available for a free 30-minute consultation on any upcoming business needs your company may have.
If not properly thought out, it can be like throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. This is definitely not the best way to measure your ROI (return on investment). If direct mail is going to be a part of your direct marketing campaign, there are certain components that must be in place.
A lot of people think, “I’ll do a postcard mailing and the customers will come running through the doors.”. Not so. There are 4 major characteristics of direct mail one needs to incorporate in to the direct mail process from the get go. Below, I list 4 key factors.
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” – Peter Drucker
#1 The Design.
The eye of the customer will catch the overall appeal of the direct mail piece first. The design must be attractive. Use colors that identify with your brand so that the customer receiving it immediately thinks of your product or service.
#2 The Format.
Will it be a postcard, a flyer or a brochure? Bigger is not necessarily better. Use a format that fits with your offer. If you have more than one offer or a sale on a few items for example, a back-to-school sale, a four-fold type of flyer might be better than a postcard. The format is also crucial to getting the best price from USPS. Take a look at Charts on my website. Here I give you the right and wrong way to fold a piece so that the USPS doesn’t reject all your hard work. Yes, that does happen.
#3 The List.
Are you using a list of customer addresses that you have acquired over the years? Or did you buy a list from a list company? The type of list you use is very important in targeting your best customer. The average person moves every few years and your customer may not live at that address anymore. Either way make sure your list is processed through NCOA (the National Change of Address). Not only does it correct the address, but it can drop certain addresses if they’re not complete; this saves you money because you’d be charged for mailing the piece whether it got delivered or not.
#4 The Offer.
What is your offer? Is it a percentage off a product or service? Is it a BOGO offer? Whatever the offer, make sure it’s a good one and an honest one. These days we are all too aware of companies who increase the price of a product before they have a sale. Don’t assume your customers can’t think. Be honest with your customers and you’ll have loyal customers in return. I’ve seen a lot of “offers” from companies that when you do the math, you actually end up paying more than the original off-sale price. With the economy today, people are taking the time to figure out if a “sale” or an “offer” is a valuable one and worth their time and energy to take you up on it and to stay loyal to your brand. Also important is to make sure your offer is consistent with your other advertising efforts. For example, if you’re a tire store doing a direct mail piece on tires, don’t have print ads that advertise an oil change. Be consistent.
By incorporating these items into your direct mail campaign, you can ensure a more successful rate of return for your product or service. There are more things one can use when doing a direct mail campaign and I’ll talk about those in another blog post. Just remember, a well thought-out direct mail campaign can yield excellent results giving you the edge over your competition and keeping your business top of mind.
Photo credit: Freedigitalphotos.net by Stuart Miles.
