We here at ProspectsPLUS! contend that any kind of direct mail marketing is better than none. Anything you can do to keep your company and your offers in front of people is bound to result in some degree of response, sales, and all that good stuff.

Some people call this method “spraying and praying” because it consists of mailing to a broad segment of the public—like a crop-duster airplane spraying an entire field—and then hoping that your marketing piece appeals results in some leads.

While that may be better than nothing, it is also true that the more that you can target your offers to the people most likely to respond to them, the better your ROI. Rather than using a shotgun to spray your offer across a wide area, you can apply one or all of these three tools to laser-focus your offer, reach more of the people who will welcome your direct mail offers, and raise your ROI.

So let’s take a look at them:

1.) Data Segmentation

We’re going to take for granted that you more or less know who the target audience for your product/service is.

Think of segmentation as a process of further qualifying your target audience—to reach the best of your best customers or prospects or to identify the best ones relative to your various offers.

The more you know about your target audience, the better you can target your offers, resulting in greater response and higher ROI.

Some businesses have put in quite a lot of work to get to know who their target audience is. If you haven’t, don’t worry: services such as Nielzen PRIZM have already done the sweat work of customer data collection. More data = more accurately targeted direct mail = greater direct mail success.

And once you’ve identified the most highly qualified segments, you can use PRIZM to expand the segment, to reach even more qualified prospects.

2.) Personalization

Personalization is anything that moves your direct mail piece away from a general, “Dear Resident” type mailing and towards a communication that is (or appears to be) more tailored to the recipient.

Segmentation narrows the target audience and personalization narrows the message to fit segments within that audience.

The more personalized, the more likely it is to “strike a chord” that results in response. Personalization can include the following:

• Using recipient’s name in the address and the salutation of any mail piece
• Including the address and operating hours of the location closest to them
• Presenting product/service offers that are most relevant to them

You can use “predictive modeling” to further segment your list. And while that might sound a bit high tech, the good news is that Nielsen has also taken care of all the sweat work. All you have to do is push a few buttons and you’re on your way to greater response.

3.) Calls to Action

The #1 rule on your call to action is: Make sure you have one. Some of the best direct marketing has been sabotage by the sender who forgets to include a call to action.

Make your call to action prominent. This can mean large-enough type font but can also mean placing your call to action in several places in your marketing piece—you don’t have to wait for the very end.

Lastly, give your recipient as many ways as possible to respond: include a phone number but also a web URL or QR code, or even a coupon, for those who prefer to respond in person.

Right now, you can do all three of the above actions when you log on to www.prospectsplus.com/pei and create your first postcard campaign. Not only that, but you can also handle the mailing with a few mouse clicks.

Or, give Opportunity Knocks a call at 1 (866) 319-7109 and talk to one of our segmentation experts about your campaign. They’ll help you target the ideal customer and reach more of them.