US Postal Service’s “Every Door Direct Mail”service
Last month, I published an article on using the US Postal Service’s “Every Door Direct Mail” service. It’s a great way to reach a broad segment of potential buyers in your area. But in order to be successful, what you send is as important as who you send it to. Will it be read or will it be tossed? To help you get started creating a piece that will generate customers, I’m sharing a short “to-do” list.
Target Your Prospects
Decide who you want to reach. Most stores draw a variety of shoppers – often with different wants or needs. Are you an appliance store? You probably wouldn’t want to target college kids unless you could make a living selling mini-fridges and toaster ovens. On the other hand, if you’re selling dorm sized furniture, bedding, or cool lamps, that might be the exact market you want a particular mailer to address. Knowing the audience you want to appeal to is the first step for in a successful Direct Mail campaign.
Understand the Objective of Your Mailing
What exactly are you trying to accomplish? What do you want your prospects to do? Do you want them to…
- buy a particular item?
- come into the store?
- call for an appointment?
- register for a class?
- visit your WEB site?
- or?
Be clear about the one single purpose the mailing has – the one action you want the prospect to take – before you start preparing your mailer.
Create a Great Offer
Now isn’t the time to send an “image” or “branding” piece to tell your prospect who you are. Your mailer should offer a compelling reason for them to take the action you want them to take.
If you’ve done the first two steps – decided on your target prospects and what you want them to do – this step almost writes itself.
Want them to visit your WEB site? “All on-line orders receive a 15% discount!”
Want them to visit your store? “First 100 customers receive a free [fill in the blank]”
Want them to visit your store AND buy that over-stocked item? “60% discount on [fill in the blank] all day Tuesday”.
Once you’ve done your homework and made your decision on who, what, and why, you’re well on your way to writing and designing a powerful Direct Mail piece.
CounterPoint CustomerConnect(CC) is an excellent tool to complement "Door to Door". CC is Email Marketing designed for the Retailer. It facilitates the creation of high-impact messages to your CounterPoint Customers. Changes to the Customer Database are automatically synchronized with CC. A comprehensive administration dashboard and campaign manager are included to make CC easy to use. To look into CC further visit our website for more complete product descriptions and our CC mailing archive.
Talk to you soon. ~Norma