If you’re running your first direct mail campaign, you probably already have a million things on your mind. Design and layout. Choosing the right message, and crafting an offer no one can refuse. Tweaking your copywriting until it’s perfect, and choosing the target market that you will send your message to.
You probably also need to find a company to put it all together for you and send it out, and you need to figure out how you’re going to track responses. That’s a lot to think about, but you need to make sure that you don’t forget something equally as important: ensuring that your team is ready for the responses you’re going to be getting. Here are a few department by department ideas to make sure your team doesn’t get caught by surprise.
General Preparation
Even if you don’t get everyone in your company involved in the design and implementation of a direct mail campaign, you need to make everyone aware that it is happening, and when you will start rolling it out. Send out a memo or have a companywide meeting where you let everyone know what will be happening, when, and what the mailer will look like. This will help to ensure that there are no surprises for anyone later on.
Front of House
Your front of house team need to be given the right tools to cope with the influx of enquiries from your direct mail campaigns. Let them know what kind of calls to expect in response to the mailer, and who to direct them to. Also give them options, such as which email addresses or cell phone numbers they’re required to give to callers, and what to do when someone visits your building rather than calling. Remember, even if your front of house staff isn’t going to be dealing with enquiries, they are still the first impression most people get, so make sure they make a good one.
Sales
Your sales team is going to be fielding calls related to your direct mail campaign, so make sure that they have detailed information about the offer, products that are included or excluded from the offer, range of discounts available, and what customers need to do to qualify for the offer. Also let them know if they have any wiggle room to make additional concessions, and if so, by how much. Finally, if you are going to be directly calls or emails directly to them, make sure they know that, and when they can start expecting to receive that kind of communication.
Accounting
If your direct mail piece is going to include a special offer, discount or coupon, your accounting team is likely to need to know that upfront. Chances are, they will need to create a discount code in their billing system, and if they create a custom code for your marketing campaign, you will have an easier way to track sales based on your direct mail pieces.
Typically, when you run a special offer, everyone from the ground up will have some role to play in delivering what you have promised, so make sure everyone knows what you’re promoting, what to expect, and what’s expected of them.
