Go to your mailbox and look at the day’s direct mail offerings. You’re going to find all sorts of different marketing strategies on display. Some of the mailings will be from companies you already do business with, urging you to buy more. Others will be with companies you’ve never heard of. You’ll see postcards and letters, catalogs and brochures. You’ll see lurid, screaming headlines typed in all caps and discrete, tasteful envelopes with important-looking windows in the front, like they might hold checks or important secrets. You’ll see letters stuffed full of copy and minimalist mailings.
Every one of them could be a success.
People try to find the magic bullet to direct mail marketing, as if there’s only one strategy that works. But the truth is, the only direct mail marketing strategy that matters is the one that works for you. Sure, there are some general best practices and principles that should always be followed. There are laws that need to be obeyed, too. But in general, you don’t need to pay too much attention to what the rest of the crowd is doing. All you need to do is test, adjust and keep your eye on your own endgame.
This is, as we always say, where testing comes in. Because every customer target is different, every marketing technique is going to come across differently to them. It’s not enough to simply look at what you like in your direct mail inbox, unless you happen to fall into the same demographic as your customer. But even then, don’t let your own pre-loaded biases guide your marketing ship. It should be guided by impartial logic and a commitment to always improving and finding more ways to sell.
Should you be looking at what your competitors are doing? Yes. Should you be borrowing inspiration where you can? Absolutely. But only worry about what you’re doing and how many people are responding to your calls to action. Everything else is just noise.
Need help figuring out what the right direct mail marketing strategy is for you? Contact Premier Advantage Marketing, a direct marketing company. We’ll help you tune out the noise and focus on success.