Monday, August 25th, 2008
So the client calls back to finalize the count and unfortunately the cost on this ‘cross’ list is pretty expensive. That seems to be the biggest problem with direct mail is the cost on a test. Reason being is that direct mail gets a lot cheaper as you do more whereas for other mediums that compete for eyeballs (broadcast model) typically get more expensive or have a ‘holding point’ where additional media costs too much. Direct mail seems to be the opposite. This is why I believe direct mail will not go away any time soon. There is no competitive media for direct mail - whereas there are only so many tv and radio spots to put your offer in front of that compete with other media. This competition is what drives big search engines like google and other media stocks through the roof.
For example - I can mail to anyone anywhere no matter how targeted for under 30 cents a letter in bulk. TV, internet, and radio can’t do this - not even with targeted traffic. The problem with direct mail though is finding the right targeted traffic. Which brings us back to the project in the previous email… Is it too expensive to cross both lists together and retail the file for 18 cents per record or 180/M? I think so - why? Because the end user is going to pay double what they should for a list and it may spoil the quality and return on the first results which means the whole project is cancelled even if there is a 3 part mailer to be sent. Most advertisers will fold if the first mailer doesn’t explode with ROI out of the starting gate (all the more reason high ticket items do well with direct mail).
Monday, August 25th, 2008
I recently did some research on mailing lists for a direct mail marketing campaign for a client looking to do target marketing to a combination of people with ailments and a poor credit history… Through modeling response data, we correlated ailment responders and credit/debt responders to come up with over 81,000 records that matched. Interestingly enough, there was over half a million in each of these files so the correlation ratio of less than 20% induced the client to test the file. Stay tuned to find out how the response data performed.
Monday, August 25th, 2008
What an excellent experience to go to the DMA in Chicago. I had a great time and what really made the experience memorable was how many list and data companies were there to show off their mailing lists and marketing methods.
There seemed to be a focus on Fortune 500 type clients of course and the big missing gap again was for SMB’s as in most trade shows. Luckily I did what I normally do and network to meet new and interesting people.
One thing that reafirmed my love for traveling to conferences was that I can meet people that will introduce me to other people that know different industries and of course in marketing you have to rely on experts when you are putting a big campaign together.
Anyone else have some great experiences at the DMA?
Monday, August 25th, 2008
There are so many ways to develop direct marketing success. One thing I’ve noticed is that many clients that I work with will re-mail to the same database many times. The trick to finding out how much new data you need is pretty simple.
The first step is of course tracking. Make sure you can follow the success of a ‘new list’ verses and ‘old list’. Depending on how big of an expense your database is, re-mail until the cost of a new list is less than the expense of your cost per call.
In otherwords, if it costs you $75 to create a phone call on a new list and $95 the second time around and $105 the third time, purchase a new database on the 4th mailer if the cost of the new data backs out to less than $30 per call. This is common sense but you can also let a database ‘rest’ and remail to it. Often you will see patterns surrounding a year long cycle.
Many direct marketers work on a yearly schedule and they will know when the best time to mail is. Make sure if you are doing a mailing for the first time that you consult with several sources and manage your budget closely.
One way to manage your budget is to set up an R&D direct marketing budget and work on small projects that will test a larger universe. By testing in a small controlled environment you can see the results and their magnitude without staffing up or wasting money on an excellent idea or a half baked concepts. I learned early on in this industry that it’s better to get the bad ideas out early and really shape the good ones by testing.
