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Direct Mail Response Rates (And How to Improve Them)

Despite direct mail’s long history as a traditional marketing strategy, it’s important that you’re still keeping up with the changes that have occurred in the industry. If you’re planning to use direct mail as part of your company’s marketing strategy, make sure that you’re utilizing the latest techniques.

Direct mail is a great way to reach out to new customers and boost sales, regardless of your budget. It can also be used to launch a new product or increase brand recognition. It can be a standalone campaign or used in combination with other advertising methods.

In this article, we’ll talk about the typical return rates of direct mail campaigns and how you can improve the response rate of your mail. To get the most out of your direct mail campaign, you need to create a strategy that includes at least five paragraphs and more than a hundred words.

Normal Rates of Return on Direct Mail Campaigns

Depending on the type of response that you’re looking for, your direct mail campaign’s return rate will be affected. According to JWM, a typical direct mail campaign’s return rate is around 2%. This means that you’ll typically get around one or two responses per 100 envelopes.

Contrary to popular belief, email doesn’t offer a better response rate than direct mail. According to the ANA, email only has a 1% response rate. On the other hand, direct mail reportedly has a response rate of around 9%, as consumers’ physical mailbox is less cluttered than their electronic ones.

Source: ANA | DMA Response Rate Report 2018

Measuring success rates can vary depending on your objectives. For instance, if you want to promote a new business, you might measure success by the number of people who sign up for a website.

For most people, the goal of a marketing campaign is to increase brand awareness. This strategy can help them build a stronger relationship with their customers.

One of the most important factors that you should consider when it comes to building a strong relationship with customers is having a high-quality direct mail campaign.

How to Improve Your Direct Mail Response Rates

Track Every Step of Your Campaign

You’ll most likely have come across a trackable link in an email campaign if you ever click on it. These are the links that identify the campaign that was sent to you. With this information, the marketing team can analyze the data collected.

You don’t have to use email marketing to take advantage of these tools. You can easily measure the effectiveness of your direct mail campaign by using trackable phone numbers, coupons, and trackable URLs. A trackable URL can also help you identify which pieces of mail were most successful. Personalized landing pages can be created to direct each client to a unique experience.

Don’t get overwhelmed by the data that you collect. In the long run, this information can help you identify which customers will be most receptive to your next marketing efforts and which ones should be removed from your list. To get the most out of this process, you should create a window that contains at least five paragraphs and more than one hundred words.

 Target Your Mailings Right out of the Gate

One of the most important factors that you should consider when it comes to launching a direct mail campaign is targeted mailings. This will allow you to identify the areas of your market that are most relevant to your business. Then, you can start planning on a budget-friendly campaign.

In addition to choosing the most relevant addresses, you should also remove irrelevant ones from your list. These include drop addresses, PO boxes, seasonal dwellings, and businesses.

It’s generally not necessary to reduce the number of non-responders until you have at least three mailings. Instead, focus on the entire carrier route.

You may not need to mail people who are already actively engaged in your sales team. This is because they may have already decided to subscribe to your newsletter or join your mailing list. Doing so will allow you to clean up your lists and find new potential customers.

 Know Your Audience

Contrary to popular belief, millennials do not reject direct mail advertisements. The US Postal Service calls this myth a misconception. Understanding the various ways that different age groups and demographics utilize their mail is very important to ensure that you get the message across.

For instance, a third of millennials subscribe to a subscription box service, which is more than any other group. Also, they are more likely to move, which means that your targeted ads might end up in the wrong mailbox.

You can address this issue by running your list through the NCOA dataset. This allows your targeted ads to reach their intended recipients.

When it comes to targeting your ads, take into account the various factors that affect your audience. For instance, if you are planning on reaching out to a specific demographic, such as millennials, you should include a QR code or URL that can be scanned using a smartphone.

 Choose The Right Design

In direct mail, there are various forms of advertisements, such as catalogs, enclosed mail, and postcards. Some companies even send USB flash drives as part of their campaigns, though some individuals may be hesitant to plug them in due to their security concerns.

Although the cost of your campaign will depend on the type of product and the number of people that you’re trying to reach, it can be worth it if it’s something that will make your customers hang on to your wall. For instance, a branded calendar can provide your customers with 365 days of free advertising.

You should also consider adding a customized envelope to your mailings. Even if the offer is confidential or personalized, a well-designed envelope can help boost your brand recognition and make your customers feel like they’re receiving something special. This is how Netflix became so popular.

Improving Response Quality

Even if your response rates are high, it doesn’t mean that much if the quality of the responses is poor. For instance, how many of those conversions are converting into sales and how many of those become regular customers?

One of the most important factors that you can consider when it comes to improving the response quality of your mailing list is to make sure that it is well-designed. Having a well-defined and accurate list is very important to ensure that you’re getting leads that are relevant to your niche.

One of the most common ways to reach a large number people is through saturation marketing. However, this method might not be able to provide the quality of response that you’re looking for. Instead, you can opt for targeted mailing, which allows you to target your campaigns precisely.

By focusing on the people who are most likely to respond positively to your offer, your response rates will improve significantly.

The design of your mailing list should also be vibrant and eye-catching to ensure that it is able to catch the attention of your potential customers. Aside from being able to identify who you are, your audience needs to know how you can help them.

One of the most effective ways to improve the response quality of your marketing campaign is by having multiple touch points. This will allow you to identify which areas of your marketing are most likely to resonate with your potential customers.

Get Help From PMM

The team at Premier Mail Marketing, llc can help you with any aspect of your campaign, whether it’s starting from scratch or extending to a whole new level. We can provide you with a variety of direct mail solutions for different industries, and we can help you target and track every aspect of your campaign.

With over 20 years of experience, Premier Mail Marketing, llc has the expertise to help you reach your goals and improve ROI. Give us a call today and let us know what you want to achieve with your campaign.