When a company that sells products and services is stuck in a sales rut, they can turn to direct mail marketing to give sales an immediate boost. Even if direct mail marketing has been used in the past, it can garner quick results in the target marketplace when a strategy is formed to attract consumer attention. With the right message, direct mail can be a great tool for driving revenue.
Offer a Deal
One of the best ways to use direct mail marketing is to offer a deal. People always pay attention when they see a chance to save money, even if the product on sale is one they have never considered buying before. People will buy things they never use simply because they saw a sign offering the products for a great price.
By offering a special price for one of your products, you can regain your customers’ attention and remind them why they bought your products in the first place. Offering additional services for no cost or for a low price is another way to encourage customers to increase their involvement with your company.
Offer Extra Products
When a customer buys a product from your company, there is always an opportunity to sell a similar or related product to him or her. For example, a customer who buys a meal at a restaurant is always asked if they would be interested in a dessert. When your customers buy your main product, send them mailings asking if they would be interested in buying your other products that complement and improve what they have already purchased. When they buy a piece of technology, ask if they are interested in the insurance policy or additional software.
Be Unexpected
This is perhaps a practice best employed by marketing teams at universities and colleges. In a field where so many mailings, bulletins, and inserts follow the same formulaic layout, a letter that looks different is sure to catch the recipient’s eye.
For example, a personalized college letter with the recipient’s name posted in the text has become commonplace, where a college letter including a picture of the recipient’s name written in the sand is something unexpected. No matter how much interest the recipient originally had in the college that sent the letter, the uniqueness of the design will ensure the letter receives a second look.
Your letters to potential customers and clients should not simply be personalized in a formal way; they should be completely different from the norm. If you can convince your customers to take a closer look at your company simply by offering them something they haven’t seen before, you will have won half the battle for their loyalty.
Take Risks
Once you have reached out to your target audience, consider widening the scope. Run a cost-benefit analysis and determine whether the calculated risk of printing more letters and sending them to a different audience is worth the cost. At worst, you will have spent money on ineffective advertising, but at best you will gain a new audience that you hadn’t considered as a viable customer base.
When trying to widen your customer base and get over a sales slump, using direct mail is an incredibly effective tool. By employing the tricks of the trade and making your direct mail marketing campaign as effective as possible, you can have your company back to normal profit levels in no time.
