1.) What is meant by ‘response rate’?
This is a common question from anyone seeking a direct marketing service, what it is, is the amount of respondents you get to a get campaign, whether it be from telemarketing, direct mail, email marketing etc.
In truth, it is very hard to quantify, and it depends on numerous variables:
- One of the variables is the quality of the data, 20% goes out of date within a year. Not only this, but it has to be the correct data for the correct market.
- Another variable is the method used to reach the desired audience, for example the company sending your piece out need to be creative in finding a way for the piece to reach the CEO.
- The data will carry a message and this should be the factor that decides whether the recipient will act upon the piece, or not. For them to do this, the piece needs to give you a competitive advantage, and it needs to carry your unique selling point (USP) ensuring you get the best response rate.
- The piece should carry professional design, there is no point sending out something that could have been made on Microsoft Word or MS Paint, this could do more damage to your brand than good. The design of the piece has the potential to give customers a perception of your company. That could be that you are a ‘big’ company, or it could be a design that gives you a professional image.
2.) What are the best methods of Direct Mail?
There are numerous ideas that companies use to grab the attention in a direct mail piece. You have to think creatively throughout this process, a piece that looks like the direct mail you receive on a regular basis is just going to go straight in the bin. Think outside the box, what will make them read it? Here at Grapevine Marketing, we recently used this idea:
We wrote a newspaper article about ourselves, and had it professionally printed onto newspaper paper, this was then cut out to look especially informal. We then attached a hand written sticky note to the piece that read. “Saw this and thought of you!” The thinking behind this was if the gatekeeper (receptionist) opened this then they would think it was meant for the CEO, and make sure it got to them. The envelope was also handwritten, and a stamp was used, adding to this informal, personal approach.
Grapevine are a leading UK marketing company, who specialise in providing marketing solutions for companies across a variety of industry sectors. Take a look at our marketing company work.