Want to Increase Your Direct Marketing Response Rate?

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Response rates driven from relevant marketing campaigns are, on average, over 4 times that of responses to static, same-to-all messages. This is not my opinion; this statistic actually comes from the PODi’s digital print case study collection and the DMA’s 2012 Response Rate Report.

Depending on the segment, the increase in response rates due to personalized, relevant marketing ranged from a factor of 1.3 to 6.2.

These response rates do not magically occur when personalization is used. The critical factor is the offer, and how relevant it is to the recipient. If the recipient gets a marketing piece that offers them something they really want, just at the time when they want it, they will respond. Otherwise, they will not. It makes absolutely no difference how the piece was produced or what the price point is.

In our industry, the terms “personalization” and “relevance” are often used interchangeably.

While they have similar meanings, there are subtle but important differences that are necessary to understand. It might be easiest to think of personalization as a science and relevance as an art. Personalization often refers to variable data that includes the recipient’s name, appropriate images and a personalized response mechanism such as a pURL. While personalization results in what information goes where in a marketing campaign piece, relevance is the art of developing content that speaks to the recipient’s needs, at the right time, and delivers a compelling solution to their problem.

Here are three tips to make your direct marketing copy more relevant:

1. Put Critical Ideas at the Beginning. Most consumers skim their mail and only read the first few messages. Take advantage of established reading patterns when organizing content and put your most important information at the top. 
2. Have a Conversation with Your Prospect. The goal with any relevant direct marketing piece is to “speak” to your audience. Show that you understand their specific problem and provide the solution with a timely call to action.
3. Make the Call to Action Clear and Easy. Not only should the call to action be relevant, it should also be convenient to respond to. Don’t make your prospects jump through hoops or click too many times to follow through with an offer.

The most successful marketing campaigns are a product of personalization and relevance. Despite their subtle differences, both strategies used in tandem can turn a direct marketing campaign’s offer from interesting to irresistible.

Please let me know if I can help you develop a great marketing campaign using both personalization and relevancy.

 

Ed Glaser
Chief Marketing Officer
252.321.5805
ed.glaser@acculink.com 

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How Much Money Are You Leaving On The Table?

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Ever hear the term “one and done”. If you are a marketer and make a practice of conducting your campaigns this way, then it’s not a question of if you are leaving money on the table, it’s actually how much? Research shows that stopping at a single touch leaves anywhere from half of the potential opportunity to substantially more on the table.

Direct marketing, no matter how targeted, is a numbers game. If you only give yourself one shot at an audience, you’re more than likely headed for failure. Prospects rarely respond after the first “touch” – it normally takes time to build their interest and trust. What if that one particular day that you send out a direct marketing message they’re too busy to read it? What if that particular message didn’t resonate with them? What if they only respond to direct mail and you sent an email? What if their circumstances change in six months and suddenly they become a prime opportunity, but you gave up after your first touch, five months ago?

Experts point out that campaign results can increase by up to 8 times when following up a direct marketing campaign with additional touches. These additional touches can be a combination of phone calls, mail pieces, emails, and of course social media. You may be surprised to know that unless you are touching contacts within your target market at least 7 to 9 individual times you are probably not generating the kind of results that you could be. Don’t stop there. Data also shows that the initial contact cycle; the first time you touch the market with those 7 to 9 individual touches, will yield only 40%-50% of the total available opportunities. The remaining opportunities existing within the market can only be identified by continuing to touch those same contacts, with the same multi-media, multi-touch cycle strategy on a regular basis.

You should expect results from the second and subsequent touch cycles to generate anywhere from 120% to 210% of the initial response rate.

Please note, however, data also shows that response rates begin to decline after the fifth contact cycle.

In summary, using the “one and done” approach, common in so many marketing campaigns, historically generates just one percent of the potential opportunities that are possible with multi-media, multi-touch, multiple cycle campaigns against the same market. How much is too much? As long as the message is fresh but consistent and compelling, there may not be a too much.

Don’t be disheartened when some people don’t respond instantly, and don’t keep chopping and changing your messaging because you get bored. Remember, your audience may not even recall you until after the ninth touch!

If you would like some assistance in creating relevant and timely personalized campaigns that really work or if you are ready to start profiling customer data to identify the best prospects, give me a call. I can help.

Ed Glaser
Chief Marketing Officer
252.321.5805
ed.glaser@acculink.com

“As seen in October DMAW Advents”

 

 

Learn: www.intelimailer.com
Watch: http://youtu.be/He429Ylw3l8
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