Direct mail marketing is a powerful tool for generating leads, boosting sales, and securing funds and support for your organization. However, the results can fall flat if the execution strategy isn’t spot-on. In this post, we’ve rounded up six of the most common direct mail advertising mistakes and how to avoid them.
Mistake #1: Using an Outdated or Disorganized Mailing List
The first direct mail marketing mistake that many companies make doesn’t have anything to do with the mailer’s copy or graphics – it’s all about the mailing list. If you’re using an old or outdated list or investing too much time on manual cleanup and segmenting, consider a new approach. The solution is to deploy an intelligent database management strategy that makes it easy to build and maintain updated lists. This way, you won’t waste marketing dollars on mailers to inaccurate addresses or disinterested recipients.
To get started, consider outsourcing database management services to a professional partner. This way, you can gain access to high-end software and solutions that can help you optimize your deliveries, ensure the best possible mailing rate, and increase your response rates for a higher return on investment (ROI).
Mistake #2: Being Impersonal
If you’ve ever received direct mail advertising addressed to “Occupant,” “Resident,” or another generic term, then you might be familiar with the shared tendency to toss it in the trash before even reading the contents. Unfortunately, impersonal mailers like these are a costly mistake for marketers, drastically reducing response rates and plummeting the campaign’s ROI.
Instead, personalize your mailers to see up to a 125% boost in response rates! Thanks to advanced technologies, such as variable data printing (VDP), you can cost-effectively print the recipients’ names and even tailor the text and graphics for each piece without additional setup fees.
Mistake # 3: Using Static Messaging
Another direct mail marketing mistake is using static messaging, where everyone on your list receives the same content. This strategy doesn’t work because every audience has different needs, interests, and motivators. So, appeal to each one by adopting customization strategies that allow you to alter your message.
As with personalization, VDP has you covered here, too. It allows you to tailor the messaging to fit your audience, helping make your mailer even more powerful. So, whether you’re targeting people in different industries, geographic areas, age groups, or interests, get better results when your message speaks to what’s most important to them.
Mistake #4: Deploying Single-Channel Strategy
Sending a single mailer and expecting exceptional results is another common direct mail advertising mistake because it often takes more than one nudge to compel people to action. As such, consider using an omnichannel marketing strategy, a results-driven approach that delivers a consistent and personalized message to your recipients using multiple channels, devices, and platforms.
Direct mail omnichannel technologies like IQ Mail blend the offline advantages of direct mail with online channels, seamlessly integrating digital platforms, such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, and USPS Informed Delivery® into your campaign. This effective strategy adds 8-16 touchpoints to every recipient in a single mailer, helping to increase campaign results by up to 23-46%.
Mistake #5: Omitting a Strong Call-To-Action
When you look at your direct mail marketing mailer, does it compel you to act? Is what you’re asking clear? You might be surprised to learn that the answer to these questions is often no, with many companies neglecting to craft a call-to-action that sticks. Without one, recipients won’t know what to do next, whether it’s visiting your website, donating funds, signing up for a webinar, or something else.
So, make your appeal compelling and clear. Call your recipients to action using straightforward language to improve your direct mail advertising campaign performance.
Mistake #6: Not Tracking or Measuring the Results
Finally, not tracking or measuring the results of your direct mail marketing campaign is another common mistake. However, many companies find it challenging to track direct mail. So, what should you do? Look to digital direct mail services like IQ Mail to track attribution from your mailer using an easy-to-access dashboard that displays who has responded to your appeal – and through what channel.
This valuable data can make decision-making easier and quantify your campaign results, helping to calculate ROI and discern the mailers that are working – and those that aren’t. Are you making any of these common direct mail marketing mistakes? If so, look to our highly experienced team and advanced technologies to provide high-quality, accurate, and efficient print-driven communications. Our comprehensive direct mail services include everything you need for a successful and cost-effective campaign, from printing and database management to VDP and omnichannel solutions. Reach out to begin elevating your campaign results today!
