Is Direct Marketing still efficient marketing ?

[Deleted member 6464]

Hi all,

I hope you are well.

I am thinking of undertaking a direct marketing campaign this Autumn.

I would like to find out if direct marketing is still a good way to spend your marketing money.

If it is . . . could you please suggest a good company to work with for physical addresses . . . it would be a B2C list . . . I retail candles.

Is sending out postcards or letters better.

I am thinking of sending out 500 . . . as a test market . . . is this a good number?

Any other advice to make the campaign a success would be appreciated.


Best wishes,


funmi

 

[garyk]

It *can* be if you know the recipients are interested in your product/service.

In your case I'm not sure how you would get a list of prospects who have an interest in candles? I feel you maybe wasting your money.

Have you got a facebook page? FB is great for targeting specific interests and this may be a better fit for you. If you go into facebook and then click Ads Manager then tools->Audience Insights this is a great tool for findina a target market. You could enter things like yankee candles, interior design etc. etc as interests and run ads to those people.

 

[Raul Picart]

Hi all,

I hope you are well.

I am thinking of undertaking a direct marketing campaign this Autumn.

I would like to find out if direct marketing is still a good way to spend your marketing money.

If it is . . . could you please suggest a good company to work with for physical addresses . . . it would be a B2C list . . . I retail candles.

Is sending out postcards or letters better.

I am thinking of sending out 500 . . . as a test market . . . is this a good number?

Any other advice to make the campaign a success would be appreciated.


Best wishes,


funmi

Hi Funmi,

Direct Mail has always been a channel I've operated in during my career in B2C Marketing. While I still believe in the power of Direct Mail I have to be honest, I have seen response rates plummet lately - it's one of the reasons a lot of people had stopped using DM and one of the reasons why the Royal Mail started their Mail Men initiative to get more businesses to pump money into it.

The most important thing in DM is your data. If you've got that wrong then it doesn't matter how good your postcard or letter is, the campaign won't work for you.

Also, the key thing with DM is to test, learn, and adapt.

You asked if a postcard would be better than a letter - that in itself is something you should test! Other tests you could consider is having copy for males and copy for females, segment your data by age bands so you can see if a woman aged 20 - 29 performs better than a woman aged 30 - 39, etc.

However, for candles...and B2C I would really suggest, like a previous poster mentioned, looking into Facebook! The options you have with Facebook advertising (selecting age, gender, location, likes, etc. could really help you out and would be cheaper than testing a full DM campaign).

However, if you have any questions feel free to drop me a PM - Direct Mail has and always be a love for me!

Hope it helps and all the best!

 

[hawts]

You could try something a little creative to spark interest. How about offering the retailer free stock and if it sells, they pay double for the next order? Could you send them one candle as a sample? Whatever it is, doing something a little creative with some value for the recipient will generate a better response. Sending a letter / postcard which says we sell candles, here are the prices etc will generate less response in my opinion.

I'd also suggest doing some face-to-face "selling" in the interim to test the idea. Could you make a list of 10 - 20 local retailers who might sell your candles? You could then visit them, personally hand them your product and say this is free all I ask is if you sell it, please let me know. You also then have a reason to follow up with them in a few weeks to ask for a proper order.

 

[Raul Picart]

Sending a letter / postcard which says we sell candles, here are the prices etc will generate less response in my opinion.

Totally agree with this!

You will need some sort of response / conversion incentive. Maybe you could offer your B2C list a discount on their first order as an introductory offer. However, you could do the exact same thing through Facebook to a more receptive audience and fully test it!

It would be good to understand what the call to action would be off of any direct activity you plan on doing? 0800 number to order? Website?

 

[tombuckland]

It's hit and miss. We have run 2 campaigns. 1 of which netted 3 new clients totalling £2,300 a month. One of which made exactly £0. (same process too.) So depends how effectively you research your leads and how good you are at closing the leads too.

Also as candles is such a wide generic market I don't think direct mail would be your best bet. I'd look into PPC and SEO channels as that will probably generate you a better ROI.

 

[beasty]

If you claim to be environmentally friendly you should not be sending out leaflets that will be binned

Effective or not, if you have a company ethos, stick to it

 

[Intelicle_]

Direct Marketing is one of the strongest tool in marketing concept. It totally depends on that Target Audience/ market. If is it relevant and your product has an opportunity.

Digital marketing can be useful you can set up account on Twitter, Facebook and join the relevant communities. It is cost effect and will give you an idea quickly compare to postcards.

 

[SeanKelly]

Email would be more cost effective, you could personalise it also and it wouldnt effect your carbon footprint

 

[Raul Picart]

DM can be personalised just as much as email. Plus, it could also have more standout depending on how crowded someone's inbox is as opposed to the doormat. As for carbon footprint...if it is a huge concern...use FSC certified paper stock.

A useful resource: mailmen dot co dot uk

 

[Asjs3n4]

I appreciate this may be a little late

If I were you I would use Growth Hacking as you will get a far better return on your investment. Google it and you will find allot of ideas for growth...

I recently sold my own business AutoeBid that has taken over £230m in orders, mainly based on Growth Hacking strategies. I am now helping business to grow via Growth Hacking strategies and everything else you would expect from a digital design and marketing agency.

Please contact me, if I can help.