Direct Mail is Still Working

Some have given up on direct mail.  The problem is that a carefully crafted direct mail piece is much more powerful than an email.  We all still look forward to reading our mail every day, according to research.

There has been a drop in response rates over the last 10 years, but even so, the Direct Marketing Association research shows that the response is better than most digital channels.

Stanley Marcus of Neiman Marcus is quoted saying, “Direct mail works.  A UPS delivery in a box will get through to any top executive.”  Let’s say we wanted to reach you with a message, and we wanted to guarantee that you would open and read it.  Would you trust email?  How about a box wrapped as a gift?

Years ago, my wife and I were moving to a new city and I struggled to get an interview with any of the advertising agencies in town .  I couldn’t get past the receptionist.  So I printed my resume on the back of a t-shirt and wrapped it up in a gift.  I got the call back—and an interview.  I didn’t get the job, but the mailing had a 100-percent open rate.

To me, it is just one more example of people worried about which media works or not.  They all work.  It is not the medium, it is the message, every time.

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Piles of Postcards

I saved all the postcards I received over the course of three months.  I was mailed 45 postcards.  They came in all shapes and quality.  I noticed that very few were written directly to me.  It seemed like the cards were talking to some dissociated third party.  Most had too much copy.  And, when you spread them all out on a table, none of them really stood out. 

Postcards are a great medium. They are especially effective for testing marketing messages and offers.  The best reason to use a postcard for your marketing is that postcards have a  100% open rate. 

Here are a few thoughts about postcards and postcard marketing:

• You should be able to consume a postcard in one minute or less.  That means less than 300 words total.
• Headlines are critical, on both sides of the card.
• People don’t read the front of the card first.  You don’t know which side people will read first, so design each side as if the other side does not exist.
• Crop in tight on faces.  Let the imagination fill in the rest.  You want to make eye contact with your audience.
• Bigger is better.  Small, 4X6 postcards can be easily lost in a stack of mail.  6X9 or larger is preferred.  But, don’t add more copy because of the larger size.
• When you mail, split your list into two and just change one variable on the card such as the offer or headline.  See which card pulls better.
• Postcards are also good if you have a shortened deadline for mailing.  Postcards are easy for the post office to handle if addressed and sorted properly.  You can cut days off your mailing.

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The Best Resume

After more than 30 years of hiring people, I’ve seen my share of resumes.  To me, a resume is pure advertising.  In most cases, it is simply direct mail. 

Over the years, I’ve saved a few resumes to use in speeches to college students.  I’ve saved plenty of bad resumes to show,  but there are only two good ones that I hold up to students.  One that I show is from one of our writers.  There is a cover letter and a typical resume, but there is also a ‘benefit page’ that I love.  The second resume in my file was added this year.

The resume is for a graphic designer position.  What sets this resume above the rest are two things: 1) there is a Quick Response code that takes you to the designer’s website; and 2) there is a chart that graphically shows the designer’s skill level in key areas.  I’ve never seen a chart on a resume, so this one caught my attention immediately.

The real benefit of the chart is that it told a great story about this designer.  It told me she thinks graphically (which is a real benefit for a designer) and that she thinks out of the old box.

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How Many Times Should We Email You?

A frequent question I’m asked is, “How often should you contact someone you’re trying to sell?”

It’s a touchy question for any situation.  And we all have our strategies.  We know that frequency is a powerful tool and that most unsuccessful salespeople stop contacting people after the first no.   But what about when you can send unlimited contacts at no cost?  How much is too much?  

New research in a study titled, “S-Net: A Study in Social Media Usage and Behavior” from ROI Research and Perfomics, found that 28% of people would prefer contact once a month and 26% would prefer it once a week or less.  So I would say twice a month is going to work for most people.

About half of all people say they are likely to post content about products and services.  60% of people said they are likely to act on product or service information friends post on social networks.

So the key is to send a limited amount of content, but encourage people to forward the content to friends.  Word of mouth, no matter the medium, is the most powerful marketing.

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The Most Powerful Medium of All

I was conducting some on-the-ground research by visiting physician offices recently.  As I walked through one I discovered the most powerful marketing media of all time.  Drum roll…It is a personal, hand-written note.  On every bulletin board were posted the hand-written notes and cards from patients and managers.  No emails were posted, only the hand-written cards. 

I believe there are many times that hand-written notes to a target audience would achieve higher results than email messages.  The problem is the response is usually, “but it is so easy and cheap to send email.”  I don’t remember the words “easy and cheap” being key determining factors in media mix or effective strategies.  Imagine you are trying to invite 1,000 people to a special event and you sell something of high value, would “easy and cheap” fit?  Or would it make sense to hire 25 high school girls (generally girls have better penmanship than boys) to hand-write the invitations or offers?

Imagine one of the A/B effective tests you do with your next postcard is this: A) Use the printer sprayed-on name (with that personal code above the name) and B) Use hand-written names with a little note off one of the bullet points and an arrow drawn on it.  Which one do you think would pull better?

You may have a file like me of notes and correspondence you’ve received.  I’ve heard some call it the feel-good file.  It’s a place where you can retreat and remember that you really do a great job.  But I’ve noticed most of what I’ve saved are hand-written notes and cards—and not one email.  The less people hand-write and send email, the more powerful the handwritten word will become as a marketing tool to convey the personal sentiment.

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GEICO in My Clothing Catalog

In my JoS. A. Bank holiday clothing catalog, I got a surprise.  While I was leafing through the catalog, out fell a postcard-sized ad for Geico insurance.

What a great way for two marketers to combine efforts and save money. 

What if you wanted to reach families with kids?  The recreation department sends out a publication twice per year to all households in the city.  The city would get some much-needed revenue to offset costs and you would get a key audience and a message delivered in a favorable environment.

The YMCA mails to families as well as many other organizations.  It might take a little work identifying groups and negotiating value, but the delivery vehicle will be worth it.

Collaborate, combine and conquer.  It could be the big trend of the future.

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