Direct Mail.

Direct Mail Advertising has 2 basic types, Group & Direct. Group advertising programs are generally less expensive, but your message ride through the US Mail service with other advertisers, often times your competitors. Direct advertising is a piece of collateral that is delivered to customers on its own, allowing you a better opportunity to reach the customer.

Direct Mail advertising is a creative media, sometime referred to as intrusive advertising. Direct Mail advertising is sold in zip code targeted areas, often times in a packet with other advertisers.  Direct Mail is designed to be a stimulus, or create interest, but is generally considered NON-ACTIVE engagement in the sense that i doesn’t target the consumer when they are ready to buy.

Strong Points:

• Direct mail allows for you to target geographic areas.
• Direct mail allows your business to offer discounts & incentives to potential customers.
• Direct mail can be updated as frequently as you desire.
• Direct mail with an offer is very easy to track.
• You can personalize your message in every distribution.
• Extremely large geographical reach.
• Direct Mail can be used as a customer retention tool.

Weaknesses:

• Email marketing is a less expensive way of accomplishing the same result.
• The “Toss & Loss” factor is a very real issue, people often times through away the piece away without reading it.
• Cost of direct mail can be prohibitive from a return on investment standpoint.
• Discounts are the real hook for direct mail. Not only are you paying for production, postage, service charges, but you are also discounting your product.
• Customers who use direct mail are generally very price sensitive, and retailers with large price points have some heavy thinking to do before investing in direct mail.

Working with other forms of media:

Direct mail or Stand alone pieces are a great customer retention tool for your existing client base, while group mail is great for generating cost conscious shopper into your business.  Other forms of advertising in the “intrusive” category can work very much hand in had.  Delivering a Radio message about your new oil change business, and the fact that the customer could save 25% with the mailer going out this week, will allow you the ability to create a catalyst with your Radio message, and then tracking created by the redemption of your direct mail coupon.

From the customer retention standpoint, Direct Mail is a great way (offline) to stay in front of your current customer base.  If you have a way of collecting current customers addresses, you can highly target product & service offerings based on consumers needs, scheduled maintenance, etc.