Direct Mail Marking Is Dead

[Raymond B]

I have been printing and sending mail for various industries for over 5 yrs. With over 37,000 sq ft of presses we do roughly 15 million pieces per month for anywhere form10-15 industries.....bottom line is that direct mail responses have slowly diminished over the last couple years, however recently with companies cutting marketing budgets the saturation of the mail has lessoned. I know this has dropped off because we used to do 25+ million pieces per month including all post card and letter orders. This shows a pretty big drop off in just over a year and a half form a mail vendor standpoint. I know i even get far less ads at my own house (im a dork, i track that kind of thing in my profession...hehe). Less saturation does mean more response in theory.Of course in the end its mail and it could be hit or miss every time you roll the dice. Stu is correct though with a good piece and the right targeted list you can give your self a better chance of getting a good response which should also be relevant traffic considering it's your targeted list your mailing to.

From what I have seen if you can do your mail piece and then maybe follow up with a round or two of calling that list on a follow up, you will always have a better over all return. If you don't like to cold call hire a TM to do that part for you. If you do want to try that or if you already do that make sure your being as efficient as you can be....
disconnects, answering machines, manually dialing, all takes time away from you pitching to contacts. The best new thing I have seen is the hosted dialers that eliminate all that for you so your only talking to live bodies on a list that you target to fit your needs...listings or buyers (from a high income renters list).

I liked the hosted service so much i switched each of my 24 reps over to that system as well as I bought my own existing fully web based platform Magnalogix .

These things really move and can help you make any direct mail piece a guaranteed return.

[cordaco]

Why do some of you defend the internet sooooo much? Reality is that print material, including direct mail pieces, still work. That is why it could be pricy and that is why we still get so much of it.

I agree that the internet is becoming a marketing powerhouse, but to convince ourselves that it is the only way to advertise is just foolish. If the internet was so self sufficient then why does Google, Yahoo, and all the others have large print, TV and radio budgets.

I like the net as much as the next guy, but to say that direct mail, or any other print media, is dead is just not reasonable. I have customers who check their computer once a month. I got them through other Medias.

[Borino]

That's an interesting insight about the drops, Raymond.

If done right, direct mail can make you a fortune. I've done it, and I've helped others do it. And we are not talking 2-3 closed deals per month.

If done right, web can make you a fortune.
If done right, door knocking can make you a fortune. FSBOs can make you a fortune. Expireds can make you a fortune.

Any type of active marketing can be (and many times is) profitable. It is not as much about WHAT you do, as it is about HOW you do it.

The secret is the right balance of the seven:

1. Your market
2. Your budget
3. Your style and personality
4. Your preference
5. Your goals
6. Your time
7. Your knowledge

[cordaco]

I agree with Borino...

Taking some time to prepare your marketing will take you far. Every media has a nitch.

[DMG]

I am actually a huge fan of direct marketing and branding through ads & snail mail. when I started in 2000 I used a book called "Commando Selling" and I don't remember where I got it unfortunately but the back says Masterpiece Marketing Inc. The plan was "Dominate in Eight" own your marketplace in 8 weeks by direct mailers to show you as the expert and brand your company logo etc. Mail 1 = Send market activity report on sold, Mail 2 = send market update for entire area, Mail 3 = pick a topic people are buzzing about, Mail 4=Jumbo post card of what sold last month and what for sale no, Mail 5=send card offering garage sale signs to use from you, Mail 6=start a area newsletter and send, mail 7=feature sheet of a local listing you have, Mail 8= send a offer, free market-loan app-whatever fits your client base.

I know that was 8 years ago but I have some of my newer agents do it now and it still works, it brands you to the area and for me it has put us at about 45% of our focus farm area in total sales each year with the nearest competitor at 3% of the sales. The direct market plan above was all based on same logo, same colors, to the point and always always always full color and on good paper or glossy post cards.

Since that we have continued every 8 weeks with a 4 page color area newsletter to the town we farm, participate in the local parade every year, run the same ad in the same spot monthly in the local paper. All of these items in print keep us on top of peoples minds and have worked well. Most callers say they called because of our area presence and newsletters. We do the main holiday times in post card to the area we farm as well. I could e-mail a couple copies if anyone wanted, people seem to like them and we do get calls.

I now use allot of online newsletters and have a REW site that was just launched but I feel in at least a smaller populated area print is by far not dead.

[jamesww]

For direct mail to work there are 10 things you must do in your mail campaigns.

1. Always have an offer or offers provided by your message
2. Always have a reason to respond right now
3. Give clear instructions on how to respond to the offer
4. Make sure you have a method of measuring results down to the finest detail
5. Don't attempt to brand your self. Brand your unique service or product
6. Always follow up on your mailings
7. Produce strong copy as being subtle never works
8. The ads in your mailings should mimic mail-order ads
9. Results rule period who cares how flashy or wheather everyone thinks it is professional
10. You must be a tough minded, disciplined and stick to your direct marketing for at least 6 months.

[DMG]

James made some great point's, especially number 4. Tracking is key, we do this religiously, a method if I may suggest is an 800# call capture or marketing digit of some sort. What we have always done and still use is a 800# call capture on all ads. The last digit in the number is different on all ad copy so when a call comes in we can see from where, if they call on our main line or simply stop by the office we ask how they came by or heard of us but with the incoming calls we see from where. I take this information every 3 months and track the leads, what worked and what did not. It is key to understand where to place your money. You can also use this on listing appointments and show your not just like every other agent out there tossing ads randomly here and there to please the seller, you are doing it where it counts and you can prove that, I use that all the time and people really like to hear it.

Also on #10 James pointed out is more than correct, many agents run 2 or 3 ads, see no results and put their wallet away, mistake, branding takes time, 6 months minimum to say the least. It's consistency and top quality paper ads, home ads, offers or whatever your doing.

IMO, I do however very much agree in branding yourself, your logo, your image. While I do agree to brand your "unique" or service I still say branding yourself is essential to dominate a market and I am speaking of your colors, logo, look etc. Look at all the ads on huge corporations they do it all the time with logo branding. I spend most of my time on ads in local papers, parades, local events and direct marketing splitting the 2 at once, logo branding and service, IMO you need both.

[export101]

i feel so. people are indeed getting bored of junk mails. must find some other new strategy to get clients

[BeFreeMan]

Hello Everybody,

Once you select an area to focus your direct mail campaign on, how do you get the names of the homeowners? Tax rolls may have investors/ownes and even divorced names.

I kinda don't trust some of the lead/list people ( if you know good ones, PM me)

Thanks
Barry

[jamesww]

Look into SalesGenie they are a bit spendy but have the most accurate data of any list supplier out there. This being the case they are still off the mark 25% of the time.