Why Direct Mail?

What is it about direct mail that makes it different from placing an ad in the paper, or buying airtime? There are many answers to that question...here are a few.

1. It helps you reach your target market. You can find your target market by working with a database distributor. Choose your market by narrowing down lists based on income, occupation, number of children, etc. - the options are endless.

2. It's a reminder of your presence in the community. A mailpiece is a visual, tangible reminder that you're open for business. Because the needs of your audience continually change, don't hesitate to resend the same piece to the same people...they might need you in the near future.

3. Qualified leads. When a potential customer responds to your direct mail piece, chances are they have a need you can meet, and are willing to make a purchase soon. This way you won't waste time cold-calling individuals who have no interest your services.

4. Call-to-action. Whether you have a coupon included with your mailpiece, or a limited-time offer with a reply card attached, these are calls-to-action that radio or TV can't provide.

Direct mail programs are most effective when they are implemented with your overall marketing strategy. Public relations builds credibility in your market, and advertising creates awareness to a broad audience, but once you integrate direct mail into your mix, be assured that you are reaching a more targeted audience.

Remember: your message should be consistent no matter what communication vehicle you choose.

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start mailing!

You've done some sound business planning, put away some cash to develop your company's marketing, and now you're ready to begin working with a firm to develop a new promotional campaign that includes a new logo, some marketing materials, and maybe even a web site. You have no idea what all of this is going to cost, you just know you need it. So how can you avoid painful marketing sticker shock?

First of all, talk openly with your marketing firm about what you need, what you want, and most importantly what you plan to spend. Before any work even begins, meet with the firm and help them understand your company, and what you are trying to achieve with your marketing. In addition, have any materials the firm might need handy. . . current marketing materials, target market information, copies of your current logo. After the firm has a good grasp on who your company is, describe in detail exactly what you are looking for, and what you expect it to cost.

Second, be aware that exploring many different alternatives and changing the specifications of a project after the firm has begun their work on it will change the estimated cost significantly. Going through multiple rounds of copy and design changes on any project can drive the bill up very quickly.

Both you and the firm know that you want a quality product when it's all said and done, and quality can be achieved at many levels. By being up front about your budget, and doing some planning and brainstorming on your own about what it is you need, you and the firm can easily work within the constraints of a realistic and mutually agreeable budget. Communicate with your firm early, and keep in constant contact with them throughout the duration of the project. If you have a cap on your marketing budget put that figure on the table up front.

Firms don't like surprising their clients any more than clients like being surprised by that hefty bill that sometimes results from a drawn-out project. By being open and honest, you can develop a solid working relationship with a firm that will go to great lengths to meet your needs, and do it for a very reasonable price!

How good is your marketing plan? Is it deeply thought out with detailed information or does it look more like a flow chart, hand-drawn on a restaurant napkin? It doesn't really matter! The words you use are much less important than how seriously you approach the task.

Key elements you need to include in your marketing plan:

1. Your company's latest financial reports.
2. A listing of each product or service in your current line and target markets. Compare your products or services to your competitors'. How well do they stack up? What marketing opportunities are you missing out on?
3. An organization chart.
4. Your understanding of your marketplace: competitors, geographical boundaries, kinds of customers, distribution channels, demographic data, information on trends.
5. Critical sales points - have your salespeople list crucial sales points to include in your marketing plan.
6. Marketing objectives/goals. What marketing objectives do you want to achieve over the course of the plan? Each of your marketing objectives should include both a narrative description of what you intend to accomplish along with figures to measure your progress.
7. Budget - whether done well or poorly, business activity always costs money. Your marketing plan needs to have a section in which you allocate budgets for each activity planned. Keep your budget figure flexible, sometimes spending 10% more makes a huge difference in the outcome.

Keep your objectives challenging but achievable. Each marketing objective should have several goals (subsets of objectives) and tactics for achieving those goals. The key task is to take each objective and lay out the steps you intend to take to reach it.

It is important to track and review progress from your marketing plan. All your marketing efforts will benefit from the classic feedback loop: Act, observe, adjust, act again.

Marketing isn't a science, but it is a skill in which you can make steady incremental improvement. So, get moving!

Okay, so maybe you're no Picasso...you've never been able to sketch anything but a Hangman stick figure...you probably think you don't have a creative bone in your body. Truth be told, even the most creative person doesn't get that way naturally...it takes time and effort to enhance their gift. Want to learn how to be a better writer, a better graphic designer, a more inventive marketer? Then begin at the beginning...remember how creative you were as a child? Clear your mind, think freely and you'll find your creative side flourishing again...

Here are some things you can do to help your marketing creativity bloom:

1. Learn how to play again - Remember how a blanket spread out over a couple chairs in the kitchen was all you needed to transport yourself to a mystical cave or a tent in the wilderness? Remember how a few empty boxes, some tape and some markers could become an underground tunnel or a house of your own? Get out from behind your desk. Set aside the pens and bring back the crayons. Think differently, and your ideas will not only be creative, they'll be unique.
2. Read anything you can get your hands on - Educational books, fictional books, magazines...whether you're waiting for the dentist, on a flight, or at home...there's usually some sort of reading material lying around. The power of words is immeasurable...not only are you always learning by reading, you are increasing your vocabulary and improving your ability to reason and think logically. Think you don't have time to read? Turn off the TV for one hour each night and pick up a book. You'll be surprised how much you can learn in that short period of time.
3. Pack your bags - If you've lived in the same town your whole life and never ventured away from home, then your exposure to diversity and culture might be limited. Travel - even if only to a place nearby - allows you to experience the unfamiliar: new sights, new colors, new sounds, new smells, new people. You need to experience these things to keep your creative spirit alive.
4. A night at the theatre - If you aren't able to travel to distant exotic locations, you can still reap the benefits of different cultures via the theatre, the opera, the ballet, or the art museum.
5. Use technology - It can be as simple as organizing yourself with a desktop calendar, investing in a PalmPilot, or brushing up on spreadsheets and databases, but freeing up time you would normally spend on information management will give you more time to let your mind go.
6. Take risks - Do you go through the same routine every morning? Up at 6, coffee, shower, paper, car pool, work by 8. Break out! Go for a 6 a.m. walk and experience the world at dawn...eat lunch in the park instead of at your desk. And then, take risks in your professional life...break out an original idea at a mundane Monday morning meeting. Get your co-workers' blood pumping. Help others break out of the office rut they're in.

One challenge in creating great marketing materials is that today's market is oversaturated with messages. There are hundreds of TV channels, magazines, web sites, and point-of-purchase displays competing for customer recognition and loyalty. Consumers have become aware, appreciative, expectant of, and responsive to well-crafted design. Appealing to fickle consumers requires extra effort. The most successful design comes from industries that understand communication programs must stand out to get noticed - sports teams, vehicle manufacturers, the beverage industry, media outlets, and the entertainment industry.

Generation X and younger respond only to the high-impact design they expect to see on TV, apparel, food and toys. At first glance, advertising aimed at teens may seem like unsophisticated, obnoxious design, when, in reality, it is hitting the target market. Many periodicals such as USA Today and Rolling Stone use design to appeal to multiple demographics.

Look at the design styles of Nike, Starbucks, Target, or anything popular in the national retail market. The company personality is represented. When the logo and look of MTV was developed in 1981, a team of designers turned intangibles (spirit, attitude, spontaneity, defiance) into objects people could immediately understand.

Every business develops a public identity, whether it intends to or not. Don't let the perception of your company be shaped by outside forces. The Gap, Herman Miller, Lexus and Apple all use design as a strategic business tool because they know what people see affects them.

People cannot say they were unaffected by the images they've been seeing on TV and in the paper. Use this simple fact to affect your customers' view of your company!

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