Direct mail strategy & execution

Direct Mail Strategy & Execution

Topics
Strategic Applications for Direct Mail
Strategic Planning
Strategy Considerations
Creative Execution

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS

When to use Direct Mail as a strategy

To produce an immediate and identifiable order or inquiry
To generate leads for field sales follow-up
To sell directly to prospects without using dealers or retailers
To reach a target audience other media cannot cost-effectively reach
When a personal communication is desired
When precise timing or frequency of contact is essential
When a highly controlled distribution is required
To communicate detailed product information
To build and refine mailing lists


When to use Direct Mail as a strategy

To follow-up on inquiries from other channels (Trade Shows, Web,
promotions)
To build long-term customer relationships from short-term sales
To test product potential, price, packaging
To determine prospect profiles
When you need to show measurable ROI on your marketing spend


Direct Mail Planning

“Plan your work,
and work your plan”


Why write a Direct Mail Plan?

Document your strategic framework
Involves key functional groups in the total strategy
Identify measures for success
Brings focus to messaging and creative execution


Components of the Direct Mail Plan

Introduction
Product/Service Assessment
Market Potential
Marketing Environment
Strategy
Implementation Plan


Introduction

Who requested the plan?
Who were the authors?
What is the purpose for the plan?
Summary of data for the plan
What desired data was not available?



Physical characteristics
Scientific or technical aspects
Emotional aspects
Features-Advantages-Benefits
Positioning: current mindset/perceptions to
overcome


Product Assessment: example

Describe a pencil …



Physical description

 It’s yellow
 There’s black lead inside a wooden tube
 There’s a point on one end
 There’s an eraser on the other end



Technical description

 What kind of wood is used
 How is the lead made?
 Country of origin of the rubber eraser
 Manufacturing process
 Types of pencils offered by the manufacturer



Scientific description

 How many times can it be sharpened?
 How many words per single pencil?
 How much longer will it perform vs.
competition?



Emotional description

 Security of being able to erase mistakes
 Peace of mind knowing it won’t leak or smear
 Impress friends with your practicality, frugality



Ultimate benefits

 Fame for writing a screen play
 Riches for writing a brilliant business plan
 Romance for writing a touching love sonnet


Positioning – an overview

Defined: “Positioning is not what you do to a
product. It’s what you do to the mind of the
prospect. You position the product in the
mind of the prospect.”

 Seven-Up: the uncola
 Avis is #2 in car rentals: We try harder



Today’s overcrowded marketplace …

40,000 products in a supermarket
52 versions of Crest toothpaste
Consumers get an average 3,000 messages a day
Over 20 million telemarketing calls daily
Average 150 pieces of mail per month



How do you take a position
owned by your competitor?

YOU DON’T!



Positioning in a nutshell:

 Reposition competitor by focusing on a
category benefit not owned by them
 Create a new category in the marketplace
 Be first to get into the prospect’s mind with a
category position


Market Potential

 Sizing the universe
 Customer/Prospect profile
 Demographic/Psychographic data
 Results of previous research or marketing
efforts
 Changes in product, price or positioning
needed to appeal to other markets



 Competitive situation analysis
 Competitive media use and messaging
 Media Options – integration opportunities
 Media cost, timing and testing factors
 SWOT


SWOT Analysis Model

 Review your core competencies and
differentiators
 Strengths, Weaknesses: internal environment
(operations, technology, product innovation,
customer service, etc.)
 Opportunities, Threats: external environment
(economy, government regulations, industry
trends, technology, etc.)


SWOT Analysis Model
External Assessment:
 Who are our key customers, competitors,
suppliers and other external stakeholders?
 What are their driving concerns?
 What opportunities/threats do these driving
concerns pose?

Internal Assessment – in light of external
findings:
 What are the critical cross-functional
processes in the organization?
 For each process, what are the strengths/
weaknesses?

Strategy

 Objectives: Strategic, Financial, Marketing
 Strategic options/alternatives & criteria for
selecting them
 Recommended priorities for strategy and
tactics


Strategy
Objective Setting Guidelines

Purpose: Characteristics:
To define the intent, the  Specific
means and the expected  Quantifiable
results of a strategy or
initiative  Time bound
 Consistent with Company
strategy
 Business performance-
oriented
 Drives strategic decisions


Strategy
Objective Setting Guidelines

Establishing Specifics: Quantitative Measures:
 What sales  Share of market/wallet
performance have we  New sales revenue
achieved historically?
 Upsell/Cross-sell revenue
 What is possible to  Retention rates/revenue
achieve?
 Profitability (ROI; marketing cost
 What are the corporate of sale)
expectations?


Implementation Plan

 Campaign outline (tactics that support
objectives)
 List: segmentation and target audience
 Creative concept and offer
 Budget
 Timeline
 Metrics


Review: Components of the DM Plan

Introduction
Product Assessment
Market Potential
Strategy
Implementation Plan


Strategy Considerations

Integrated Direct Marketing
Analysis Tools
 Database Marketing (RFM & predictive
modeling)
 Testing
Wunderman’s Commandments


Wunderman’s Commandments

 The consumer, not the product must be the hero
 Communicate with each customer/prospect as an
audience of one
 Answer the question “Why should I?”
 Create relationships
 Suspects are not prospects
 Know and invest in each customer’s lifetime value
 Encourage interactive dialogues
 Share of loyal customer, not market share, creates
profits


Three pillars of Direct Mail strategy

 The offer
 The list
 The creative execution


Last word on strategy: Execution

A mediocre strategy with
great execution always
beats a great strategy
with mediocre execution!


What you need to know about creative
Direct Mail Formats

Post Cards
Advantages:
 Cost effective
 Gets attention without opening an envelope
 Effective traffic builder
Disadvantages:
 Limited space
 Not a sales driving device
 “Junk Mail” association


Direct Mail Formats

Self Mailers
Advantages:
 Relatively inexpensive
 More profitable than envelope packages
 Effective for promoting seminars/publishing
offers
Disadvantages:
 Lower response than envelope packages
 “Junk Mail” association


Direct Mail Formats

Classic Package (letter, brochure, reply card,
envelope, lift note)
Advantages:
 More personal
 More “selling” space
 Higher involvement & response
Disadvantages:
 More expensive
 More complex – more ways to go wrong


Envelopes

The job of the envelope is
to get opened – not to sell


Envelopes
How consumers look at an envelope

 First, they look at their name
 Second, they read teaser copy
 Third, they look at the return address
 Forth, they look at the postage
 Last, they look at the back


Envelopes
Tips for getting your envelope opened
 Get the name right
 Use the name in more than one place
 Use high-impact, provocative teaser copy
 Highlight the offer
 Make your logo/corporate identity visible
 Use a stamp vs. metered or indicia
 Consider hand addressing
 Add color
 Use Fed Ex or Western Union
 Faux Fed Ex
 Consider dimensional package

The letter

The job of the letter
is to SELL


The letter
Hot spots on the letter
 The Johnson Box/headline
 The signature
 The P.S.
 The first sentence
 Sub headlines
 Hand written points
 Bullet points
 A second color


The letter
Tips for increasing involvement and response
 Start with the prospect, not the product
 Make the opening line short and compelling
 Tell a story
 Fire your biggest shot first – benefits
 Make it look like a letter, use typewriter font
 Focus on readability
 Use a Johnson Box or headline teaser
 Write to one person
 Personalize the letter and message
 Sell with emotional appeals
 Tell the reader what to do; ask for the offer
 Use a P.S.

The brochure

The job of the brochure is to
inform. It provides the answer
to the question, “Why should I?”


The brochure
Techniques for higher impact
 Use numbers in headlines to add credibility
 Put captions under photos
 Use pictures of people to add a human touch
 Use charts to convey detailed information
 Include a Q & A section
 Include competitive comparisons
 Use testimonials or product reviews
 Use a quiz or test to involve the reader
 Always link product features to customer
benefits
 Make it easy to understand at a glance
 Include a call to action and 800 number


The order form

The order form must be able to stand
alone, must be easy to use, and must
contain all of these elements:

 The offer
 The terms/payment options
 The response options
 The benefits of what you’re selling
 The guarantee


The order form
Techniques to increase response
 Use the customer’s voice
 Evoke good feelings about using the product
 Provide several ordering options
 Overcome skepticism with solid guarantee
 Put in a photo of the offer
 Personalize the order form/card
 Use the word “free”
 Drive greater involvement with:
 Yes/No/Maybe check off box
 Stickers
 Brief questionnaire


The offer

The offer represents the
total selling proposition that
attracts attention, builds
interest and motivates
action


The offer
Tips for success
 Make it relevant to your audience and product
benefit
 Offer something they can’t get anywhere else
 Don’t sell the premium, sell the offer
 Give your customers the best deal
 Assign a dollar amount to the offer
 Put a deadline on the offer
 Offer a gift with inquiry, trial, order
 Offer price discounts on product bundles
 Offer information: research, idea kits, etc.
 Offer trade-in discount or rebate
 Offer a personalized gift/mystery gift


Presenter

John G. Olson
Principal, clarion|creative

Past President,
Midwest Direct Marketing Association

B2B Marketing Consultant
Copywriter & Content Marketer

Blog: marketingawesomeness.wordpress.com
Twitter: @John_G_Olson
Email: john.olson7@comcast.net


Direct mail strategy & execution

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Tendances

Tendances (20)

Similaire à Direct mail strategy & execution

Similaire à Direct mail strategy & execution (20)

Plus de John Gregory Olson

Plus de John Gregory Olson (11)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

Direct mail strategy & execution

Notes de l'éditeur