Now more than ever, you need serious smarts and meticulous planning to develop a successful direct-mail campaign.

For starters, buying prospect lists and testing packages is expensive. Postage alone usually costs more than an entire e-mail campaign. By the time you’ve blown through the creative work and the paper, printing and postage, direct mail costs at least 15 times more than e-mail marketing.

It also takes awhile to get results. On average, direct-mail campaigns can take four to six weeks to complete, compared to e-mail’s seven to 10 business days.

Choosing Mail

So why bother? There are compelling reasons to rely on direct mail. To name a few reasons for using direct mail, you might want to:

• Drive foot traffic into a retail shop
• Generate traffic for a Web site
• Target customers who distrust the Web or aren’t online
• Showcase products and services in ways e-mail cannot, such as via a catalog
• Improve customer service
• Send content or news, such as an informational brochure
• Shift consumer perception of your brand

And that’s just a start.

The latest electronic databases and slice-and-dice psychographics have transformed old-fashioned, direct-mail methods. With appropriate lists and laser-targeted customers, direct mail is very effective. Its reach and credibility yields results that differ from other marketing efforts.

Rocket Launch

So let’s assume you’ve kicked tires, done the math and delved into database options and sales leads.

Once you’ve determined that direct mail is your most effective channel, here are five smart tips that will help drive direct-mail responses and boost your sales and leads.

1. Be true to your RFM. This stands for “recent purchase,” “frequency” and “monetary profile.” Before developing any campaign, you should know when each customer on the mailing list last purchased a product from you or a competitor; how often that customer buys your product or similar offerings; and what amount she tends to spend for the product or services.”Small businesses need to look inward before they look outward,” says W. Michael King, creative director at Grizzard Performance Group, an Atlanta direct-marketing agency. “Who are their best customers? Where do they live? What are their preferences? What has been their brand experience as it pertains to their business? They need to answer these and other questions before they lay out any acquisition strategy.”Experts say consumers need to receive at least three pieces a month to notice marketing. The price tag is the same if you mail 5,000 pieces to 5,000 customers or send five pieces over five weeks to 1,000 targeted customers.

Read more from this article by Joanna L. Krotz on Microsoft.com…