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Cut Mailing Costs, Bring in More Customers
August 4, 2007

When we hear about “direct mail,” we think about the usual “print ‘em in the millions” flyers or prospecting letters that most consumers throw away without even opening. With response rates averaging 1%,  you have to print huge volumes of this kind of direct mail to generate enough responses even bother. Not surprisingly, most small and mid-sized businesses don’t.

But what if you could mail fewer pieces (say, only a few hundred) and get a higher rate of return?

I recently spoke to a direct marketing firm that takes the databases of customers used to sending out 100,000 pieces and getting a dismal return (at a ½% response rate, this is only 50 inquiries!), selecting a mere 100 of those names and getting 60 inquiries. Needless to say, the cost of such a campaign is far lower, and yet the results are far greater. And this company does this for its clients over and over again.

What’s it’s secret? Personalization.

We are used to thinking about print either in terms of extremely high volumes of undifferentiated mailers or perhaps shorter runs of targeted mailings—say, breaking the mailing down into different demographic groups, mailing different offers to customers in different ZIP codes. But personalization takes this down to an even more granular level. It speaks to each person individually.

Marketers can “personalize” documents at varying degrees of sophistication. The lowest level of sophistication is the Publisher’s Clearinghouse letter you receive that has your name at the top. “Dear Sue…” Nobody even bats an eye at this type of personalization anymore.

But what if you got a four-color postcard with a gorgeous lake scene, with mountains all around, and your name spelled out in clouds? Or if you received a gift box filled with wildly colored origami fish with your child’s name emblazoned across their backs? Or what if the automotive dealership from which you purchased your car sent you a four-color postcard alerting you that your car was about to hit a certain number of miles and was due for a tune-up in order to maximize its gas mileage and offered you’re a 25% discount to bring it in? Or if a new restaurant was opening in town and sent you a personal invitation, letting you know that it was only one mile from your house and giving you a coupon for a free dessert?

Now you’re talking about direct mailers with more punch. Either they speak in terms of greater relevance (like the automotive example—it relates to that recipient, individually, because it’s talking about their car), or if all you know about the recipient is a name, company name, and address, it creates a “wow” factor that holds their attention for that critical extra half-second to allow your message to get through.

There are many different types of personalization, and each works for different audiences, different marketing goals, in different ways. But they all share one thing: Properly developed, they mail to far fewer individuals and can bring in vastly greater revenues. Potentially, this means lower overall printing and mailing costs, while generating greater revenue.

As postal rates continue to increase, this ought to be welcome news!

Posted by Heidi Tolliver Nigro on August 4, 2007 | Comments (3)