The 40/40/20 rule of direct marketing has been around for a long time. Ever since Ed Mayer came up with it in the 1960s, it’s been the gold standard for direct mail marketing around the world. It’s been a long time since the sixties though, and while the rule still stands, there are ways we should be using new technology to make the whole concept better.
Here’s how you can use that technology to give this classic marketing tactic a new spin:
40% Audience Knowledge
Knowing your audience was always a big thing, even when the 40/40/20 rule was created. There are modern methods of gathering information on your markets, however, that Mayer would never have dreamed of back in the day:
- When you purchase a list today, you can specify age groups, interests, earning ranges and more. That’s more information than marketers ever had about customers in the past.
- The internet is an endless source of information, from crime stats by neighborhood, to customer demographics. If you want to know something about your city, or an area of interest, there is guaranteed to be a resource online that offers the statistics you need. Start your search for buying information online!
- Marry old fashioned with high tech and ask subscribers to your website, on your social media pages and elsewhere online for their mailing address in return for a special discount or exclusive offers. You have a captive audience. Use it.
Technology can help direct mail by giving us insights into who our audience really is. That’s something that was not an option in the past.
40% Offer Value
The next 40 in the 40/40/20 rule is the offer. In the new millennium, there are more ways than ever to make your offer accessible and attractive to your audience. Here are some ideas of how you can use modern technology to create offers that your customers want, and that will convert:
- Revisit tracking metrics. Google Analytics and Facebook Insights, among others, can tell you a lot about what your target market are most interested in. If you know what they like, you can craft offers that will appeal to your readers, and that means more responses.
- Add a poll to your website, and ask visitors which kind of offers they would be most interested in receiving. You can add a poll to many social media platforms too.
Never before has it been this easy to find out what our customers really want. Find out, and then give them that offer as part of your direct mail!
20% Everything Else
Technology helps with everything else too. This includes things like design, copywriting, statistics, tactics and more. In fact, there are online studies about just about every aspect of direct mail marketing that you can use to develop and perfect your strategy.
The truth is, when the 40/40/20 rule first gained traction in the sixties, a lot of the process relied on existing data or guesswork. These days, there are endless tools available to direct mail marketers. Use them to improve performance, and combine an old, proven strategy with modern tools.
