Elizabeth Lomard* is right about one thing–you can save money by sending postcards instead of letter-sized mailers. (Read her blog post here.) Both fail to generate a response north of 5% on the best of days. Improved ROI through cost savings puts the bar pretty low for anyone trying to boost revenue through direct marketing. To be fair let’s look at here theory point-by-point.
It all amounts to cheaper junk mail, not better.
1. Her: Reduce the size of your mailing list to target only those likely to buy. Us: If you expect a low response to the mailer this might be the right approach. That’s the status quo. Spend time and money verifying the quality of a larger list. A big list comes in handy when you have a double-digit response rate. (We wrote about the dangers of segmentation.)
2. Her: Mail First Class postcards instead of letter-sized mailers.
3. Her: Change flats to letter-sized, which is basically the same point she made in point no. 2. Us: Another drop in response that struggles to justify the reduction in cost.
4. Her: Add a message to the outside of your mailer when sending enveloped mail. Us: Really? “Reply by May 1, 2009 to get this amazing offer.” The public is on to us. Once you start down this path you’ll wake up one morning a used car salesman. Not really, but this again suggests a cheap trick instead of true one-to-one marketing.
5. Her: Add a phone number, reply card, or coupon as calls-to-action. Us: Move you target audience to the web. That’s where the real fun begins. Track, learn, listen. All are more important than talking when running a direct marketing program. Be proactive in your response and you’ll boost revenue. That’s the best ROI you can get. Cost cutting is temporary; revenue growth provides higher LCV.
*Elizabeth works for Pitney Bowles who sells postage scales and other tools needed by direct marketers that use metered and First Class mail. She might be touting the party line. Not her fault.
