| Despite postal increases, paper price increases, | | | | ones work, and what's extraneous. The adage |
| regulations tightening for security and | | | | linked to this type of winnowing is that you want |
| machineability reasons, direct mail is still the most | | | | to "test the Cadillac, and work back until you're |
| effective way to reach a defined large scale | | | | mailing the Volkswagon Beetle." |
| audience, build sales and brand awareness, and | | | | 5) Believe the Numbers - All this testing is going |
| move units. It is direct, it's accountable, it's | | | | to give you a great deal of data to read and |
| relatively predictable and efficient, and it can be | | | | interpret. If you've conducted the tests fairly, |
| tested and refined to maximize results. | | | | accurately and precisely, then you have good solid |
| For those just entering the arena of marketing, | | | | data that you can reliably use to make decisions. |
| and for some seasoned professionals who are | | | | One of the biggest errors you can make is to not |
| stuck in a rut or have been cornered by their | | | | believe or trust your data - numbers really don't |
| corporate circumstances, sometimes it's best to | | | | lie, unless you've made them, by shading the |
| return to basics to boost response, for the keys | | | | tests in some way - changing quantities, adjusting |
| to success are often there in plain sight. | | | | lists by throwing in odd segments you've seen |
| The tenets set forth here are merely guidelines - | | | | work well before on similar packages, only |
| there are no "rules" in direct mail, except those | | | | applying those to one test and not the control, |
| imposed by the postal system. Some of the | | | | etc. |
| greatest successes occurred because someone | | | | There is an art to properly interpreting test data, |
| broke the "rules," and approached something from | | | | and only experience will teach you those nuances |
| a different angle. Direct mail is a game of dollars | | | | and shades of meaning that make the difference |
| and details - execution details can spell the | | | | between a moderate responder and a star. |
| difference between success and failure. | | | | 6) Cleanliness is Next to . . . Success! - Good, clean |
| An increase of $200 in expense can also yield | | | | lists are critical to efficient, profitable mailing. In |
| many thousands of yield dollars, if spent in the | | | | today's climate of rampant postal increases, and |
| right place. But you don't need years of | | | | shared effort for fewer discounts, you need to |
| experience or thousands of campaigns under your | | | | make every name count. There are any number |
| belt to put together an effective basic campaign | | | | of mechanical, computerized process to which |
| that gets results. If you stick to the basics and | | | | you can subject your lists to boost it's "mailability." |
| grow from there, you'll rarely go wrong. | | | | Genderization, address and zip+4 standardization, |
| 3) Get It Opened - You can have the greatest | | | | accuratized salutation, suppression and appending |
| package on the inside, but if it never gets opened | | | | with the National Change of Address File (NCOA), |
| - no sale. Pick a format that creates intrigue, | | | | Deceased file, Do Not Mail file, and other |
| mystery, or curiosity, and your package will at | | | | suppression cleaning will reduce your overall mailing |
| least get opened. Teaser copy on the envelope is | | | | volume a bit, but it will sharpen your focus on the |
| just one way to do this. Others include colored | | | | target audience and reduce waste. Remember, |
| outer carriers, formats that look like invitations, | | | | you only pay for those that you actually mail! |
| formats that look like express envelopes from | | | | The other key component of your list work |
| various well-known third-party carriers, formats | | | | involves working with the merge/purge report to |
| that look like telegrams, repositionable notes | | | | focus your list properly. If you've rented a basket |
| posted on the outside, the now famous "You May | | | | of lists, all with similar selects revolving around a |
| Already Have Won!" stamp, and the words FREE | | | | tight target audience, chances are you have some |
| and URGENT still have great appeal and are quite | | | | overlap and some repeat names. Getting rid of |
| powerful if used correctly. Whatever direction you | | | | those duplicates, and keeping just the names you |
| choose, it should be harmonious with the offer, | | | | paid the least for (and the inverse, jettisoning the |
| the contents, and the brand of the sender | | | | one's you paid dearly for), can save you money |
| company. | | | | and make your mailing more profitable. |
| If you got a sweepstakes envelope from | | | | The pricing model that drives this efficiency is the |
| Hershey's chocolate selling a record club, you'd be | | | | "Net Name Arrangement," meaning you only pay |
| a bit confused - those three components don't | | | | the list owner for the names you keep after the |
| meet with your brand awareness of those | | | | merge and purge of duplicates. Work closely with |
| companies - you've not heard of Hershey's having | | | | your list processor and they will set up the |
| a sweepstakes, and you've never associated | | | | computerized sorting process to purge the |
| Hershey's with music, and you've not heard of | | | | expensive duplicates and keep the cheap ones. |
| record companies holding a sweepstakes - they | | | | The merge purge report is a powerful tool in |
| don't add up, and you'd probably throw the | | | | many other respects as well, and learning to read |
| package away in confusion. Align the format, the | | | | one is an invaluable skill to develop. |
| teaser and the action you want and good things | | | | 7) Talk To The P.O. Early, Or Repent At Your |
| happen. | | | | Leisure Later - The key partnership you need to |
| 4) TEST, TEST, TEST - the most powerful | | | | develop prior to doing any mailing is one with the |
| component of direct mail is that you can see if | | | | Post Office. Before you rent a list, before you |
| your package works before you mail it in large | | | | print a thing, before you write a word, create a |
| quantities. Testing of offers, lists, packages, | | | | basic idea of what you want to mail, take it to |
| teasers, colors, prices, copy, and other | | | | your local Bulk Mail Acceptance Center, and ask to |
| components of the package is the scientific | | | | speak with the Postmaster. He or his Direct Mail |
| weeding out of ineffective portions and replacing | | | | Specialist will review your mock-up with an eye |
| them with effective ones until you maximize | | | | toward size, color and contrast, required permits, |
| results. Testing is performed much like a scientific | | | | proportion ratio, weight, and a host of other |
| experiment - a blind study involves a pool of | | | | parameters that will give you some options on |
| recipients with a common characteristic, splitting | | | | paper stock, size, and other issues to provide you |
| them evenly into sections, and applying all the | | | | the maximum discount allowable and save you |
| same attributes to each except the one you | | | | money. |
| want to test. | | | | The less effort the post office has to expend to |
| You level the playing field and test the variable or | | | | drop your mail, the lower your prices go. Many |
| combination of variables you wish to adjust. The | | | | large printers who specialize in printing direct mail |
| easiest and most productive is a single-variable | | | | components have a postal expert in-house, and |
| test - usually testing lists, or offer, even price. In | | | | some even have an acceptance station within |
| a list test, he same package goes to a number of | | | | their plant, complete with its own postmaster |
| different list segments or selects in small | | | | inspector. They can help you get your mail |
| quantities, and you see which one returns the | | | | prepared properly for maximum discount. By |
| most. | | | | getting them involved early and making sure your |
| Offer tests involve taking a larger list segment | | | | mail conforms, you'll avoid the possibility of having |
| that is highly homogenous, and splitting it | | | | produced and delivered your mail to the post |
| randomly, and sending a different version of the | | | | office only to be turned away as undeliverable. |
| offer in the same package to each segment. You | | | | Why roll the dice? |
| can test offers, carriers, price, formats, copy, | | | | All these guidelines (and there are many more not |
| benefit focus or other single attributes this way, | | | | represented here) are intended to help you |
| with great effectiveness. The single variable tests | | | | produce and mail to your intended audience |
| give you a quick read on the audience. | | | | successfully and profitably. The less you spend on |
| Price testing this way allows you to judge where | | | | postage, wasted list names, rejected mail, |
| the price curve is for that product to that | | | | producing unnecessary components that don't |
| audience. Testing 6-7 prices on the same product | | | | boost response, the more money you can spend |
| will give you a chartable curve in response vs | | | | on mailing package that pull, building revenue and |
| price, and you should select the price at the top | | | | enhancing sales volume. Mail is a game of |
| of the curve as the "winner" of the test - that | | | | efficiency/return trade-offs - make the right |
| price is the highest amount of money people will | | | | decisions, and you'll get back more than you could |
| be willing to pay for the product without | | | | have imagined. Get it wrong, and you're throwing |
| negatively impacting response or sales volume. | | | | money down a hole. Nobody gets raises and |
| All this testing helps you home in on the essential | | | | bonuses for that, do they? |
| components of the package, and tells you which | | | | |