Direct Mail Frequency
First of all, what is direct mail frequency? On top of that, why does it matter for a successful marketing campaign?
Consider this: let’s say you receive a postcard in the mail from a local burger joint telling you about the new specials they are offering for the season. “Oh, that sounds kind of good,” you muse. The postcard sits on your counter for a day or two, and then you toss it when you realize you don’t feel like having burgers in the next few days.
Two weeks later, you receive another postcard mailer from the restaurant telling you again about their specials. This time, they’ve added a coupon for 20% off a meal. “Oh yeah, I remember when this place sent that postcard a few weeks ago. It did sound good,” you think again. Perhaps this time, now that this restaurant has achieved recognition by you, you may reward their efforts by deciding to try the place out. The coupon is just a nice bonus.
What does this story signify?
Brand recognition is important to your marketing campaign. Having the right direct mail frequency can improve your efforts by connecting with a wide audience. The more one is exposed to your content, the greater one becomes familiar with it. In turn, they may be more willing to try your product out. If two brands deliver the exact same product, but one markets more and is better known, which are you more likely to go for? It may perhaps be unconscious, but we all know the answer.
On the other hand, exposing yourself too much can also lead to brand fatigue. You don’t want people to look at your marketing and say, “Ugh, I’m so tired of seeing them everywhere.” That’s the exact opposite of what you want!
So, how do you find that balance with direct mail frequency? Here’s a couple of tips from us.
What is your goal of advertising?
Are you promoting your overall business and wanting to retain a customer base? Or, are you focusing only on sales for a limited time? If your goal of advertising is mainly to get your name out there, direct mail is a good and tactile way of getting into people’s hands and being remembered. Think about what is going to give you the most sales and to form better customer relationships, and reflect that in the frequency of your advertising.
Sending something out every couple of weeks will keep your name in people’s minds while not being overbearing. It also keeps your budget in mind too, which leads into our next point.
Consider your budget and timetable
When putting any kind of mailer together, you have to consider your budget. An Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) mailer will likely be cheaper than having a mail list created for you. However, if you plan on sending these out semi-frequently, the costs can add up and may end up being about the same as a targeted mailing. In the end, targeted mailing is what is going to be best for your campaign, which we’ll discuss later.
Consider your costs between design, print, variable data, and mailing. You can likely figure out that this isn’t the cheapest form of marketing in the world. On the other hand, it has the potential for the highest return on investment since more people seeing your business = more chances of frequent sales.
With your budget, you also need to consider your schedule/timetable. How often do you want to send items out, and how long do you plan on this campaign lasting? The first question will depend on your goal of advertising and your budget, of course.
Getting on a schedule is also important since it will be easier to track your return on investment. If you release every month or every quarter, for instance, you can compare how your sales correlate to the time your marketing is released. Adjust your frequency of mailing items or what is within your content based on results. If you see more sales in the summer months and less in winter, think about what could bring people in during your slower times and base your marketing on that. Or, you could capitalize on what is bringing people in during your busy times and offer more promotions and mailings then. It all depends on how you interpret your audience’s wants and needs.
Segment your audience
While we briefly mentioned EDDMs before, direct mail campaigns that have a specific purpose in mind often perform better. Why? You are handpicking your audience based on who you think would benefit most from hearing about your business. If you mail out a campaign to 20,000 people but only 500 are within your target audience, you’ve wasted a lot of time and money. Think about who you want to advertise to and grab attention from when considering your direct mail efforts.
Remember that you may also need to experiment with customer segments to determine who is most likely to respond to your marketing. What works for one type of client may not work for another and vice versa. After all, there is no way to appeal to everyone, but with trial and error, you can determine how to best win over your ideal clientele.
Moving forward, have your campaign target what it is that a particular audience needs. If you own the burger joint from earlier and want to appeal to a younger crowd, for instance, adding the coupon into the mailer is will help these young people save some money, which they always appreciate. You may also choose to only mail your piece to people who live within a 20-mile radius of your restaurant. In addition, if you have people sign up for a mailing list, that’s a good way of knowing who is most interested in hearing about the business directly from you. There’s all kinds of ways of segmenting your audience.
Keeping all of these factors in mind, direct mail marketing should have multiple variables to it to bring you the most success. By targeting specific segments and finding the right direct mail frequency, you are much more likely to improve your campaign return on investment.
Read our mailing page to see how Colortech makes direct mail easy for any business. To learn more about direct mail campaigns and how you can utilize these strategies for your business, reach out to Wendy Kelly at mailmaster@colortechinc.com.