As a company with a long history in direct mail, we often get asked for direct mail ideas. Companies and organizations are always looking for new or different ways to engage with customers and prospects. Here’s one you can try using information you already have on hand. We’ll call it “The FAQ Campaign.”
Here’s how it works. Pull together the top five questions your business or organization is most frequently asked. I’m talking about the questions people really ask—the ones that will actually make a difference in the way the live or do business.
Now create five cards for mailing. Put one question on each card (one the same side as the address). One the other side, print a simple, short, accurate answer. Here’s where it gets interesting. Even though your answer is accurate—there’s more to the story. Below your answer, include a line that says something along the lines of: For a more detailed explanation, visit yourcompany.com/answers (a landing page you create on your website). Your card could be something simple like this.
The landing page should offer a free downloadable PDF (maybe 1 or 2 pages) that delves into the answer in more detail. Again, it should be accurate and helpful.
How does a campaign like this help you? For one thing, it allows you to address questions you know your constituents have. That gives you credibility and reinforces your position as an industry expert. Beyond that, it helps you to qualify your prospects. Those who respond and provide you with an email address in order to access the more detailed information are identifying themselves as individuals who are serious about this information. They go from being merely contacts to leads. If someone requests more than one answer, you know you have a qualified lead—one you may want to follow up with via an email or even a phone call.
Here’s a caveat: If you want this to work you need to make sure you ask the questions that are really important to them. Don’t make it something they already know. And don’t make it a sales pitch. Give them good answers on the card—and make sure the additional information on your website (the PDF) is helpful information that is worth their time to download.
The beauty of this approach is that it’s simple, helpful, and it integrates a number of different marketing approaches. And if you come up with questions that are real hot buttons for potential clients—you’ll engage them.
If you try something like this, let us know how it worked for you! We’d love to hear!
