Vol 6 No. 3

20 tips for using DM to improve ROI

Learning how to use direct marketing to improve return on investment was the focus at a recent Symposium in Madison,Wisconsin. Three DM agency pros were in agreement that the marketing pendulum is swinging back to direct mail.

Keynote speaker, Laurie Beasley, President of Beasley Direct, presented "Direct Marketing by the Numbers."

The speakers were, Laurie Beasley, President of Beasley Direct Marketing in Morgan Hill, CA, Grant Johnson, President of Johnson Direct in Brookfield, WI, and Valerie Peck from the East Bay Group in Oakland,CA.

They pointed out that most successful marketing programs are now integrating their direct mail efforts with e-mail, telemarketing, and the internet. Here are 20 of their favorite methods for increasing response rates.

Laurie Baesley’s response builders

• The 6x9 selfmailer is a good format. The bigger panels provide space to sell.
• Envelope packages will almost always get better response than selfmailers.
• Always use an expiration date on the offer.
• Support the offer with a strong guarantee…30 days is OK, 60 days is good and 90 days is great. It gives buyers peace of mind even though few people ever use it.
• Tests should be to a minimum of 5,000 records and big enough to get 100 responses. Test, test, test.
• Every offer should provide hope or address a fear.
• A mailing package with a brochure will beat one without.
• The lift note is the secret weapon. It reinforces the guarantee and removes doubts.

Grant Johnson’s seven secrets of DM

• The more you tout your guarantee, the stronger it gets and the less you need it.
• Copy should incorporate emotional drivers like guilt, greed, fear, exclusivity and salvation.
• Marketing should educate, entertain and empower. People only read what interests them.
• The "follow up" is where most direct marketers fail.
• Cultivate your own e-mail marketing list. Spam has made prospecting useless.
• Drive business to your web site with direct mail. Dell Computer does it to the tune of $20 million a day.
• Test is a four-letter word that should be repeated often.

Valerie Peck’s Integrated DM (IDM)

• Deliver the right messages to the right customers.
• Provide the right products at the right time.
• Utilize the format and information channel the customer prefers.
• Create relevance and value during every customer contact.
• IDM will improve sales efficiency, sales volume and customer loyalty.