Personalization Boosts Direct Mail Response Rates (and Sales) with Letters, Postcards - Self-Mailers
Seven in ten consumers want you to personalize the direct mail you send them. Are you giving them what they want?
According to Cap Ventures 2003 study of personalization, more than 69% of consumers prefer highly personalized direct mail offers over non-personalized offers.
Smart direct mail marketers personalize their mailings because personalization works. Personalization boosts response rates, sometimes by double digits. And it boosts orders.
Personalization works because it tells your clients that you know them and recognize their uniqueness. If I have to sales letters on my desk, one addressed to Dear Homeowner and the other addressed to Dear Alan, I know which letter will receive more of my attention.
Here are some ways to boost your response rates and orders with personalization:
1. At the very least, personalize the salutation on letters
2. Personalize the salutation on postcards and self-mailers
3. Refer to the customers last purchase, and name the product
4. Refer to the customers last purchase, and name the date of purchase
5. Mention the date that the customers subscription expires
6. Mention the product or service or problem that your reader mentioned in a previous transaction (web form or phone call, for example)
7. Handwrite your lift notes
8. Give readers the name and phone number of their area sales representative
A word of warning
Personalization works. But only if you do it well. If your mail merge misses one field, you might call Bob, Betty, which breaks trust, or tell Customer A about Customer Bs confidential buying history, which breaks the law. So, if you are new to direct mail
personalization, proceed cautiously.
----
About the author
Alan Sharpe is a direct mail copywriter who helps business owners and marketing managers generate leads, close sales and retain customers using direct mail and email marketing. Learn more about his creative direct mail writing services and sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.sharpecopy.com.
2007 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the author" message).
Direct Mail Postcards
Direct mail postcards are one of the most economical print communications media available on the market. It is a cost-effecti...
Avoid Direct Mail Suicide with Postcard Magnet Mailers
On their 10 year anniversary American Printing & Promotions, Inc. launched www.postcardmagnet.com to make business owners awa...
Direct Mail Still Works For Lead Generation
You probably wonder why when you go home to your mailbox everyday and open it up theres dozens and dozens of postcards and ot...
Get the Response that You Want with Folded Postcards
Postcards are the most economical yet the fastest way that you can get the response that you need from both your loyal custom...
Direct Mail Response Rate Boosters (12 tips and ideas)
1. Mail to a different listr Your list is the most important part of your direct mail campaign. Who you mail to is more impor...
5 Ways of Using Direct Marketing
Direct marketing is attractive to many marketers because in most cases its effectiveness can be measured directly. For exampl...
Use of Postcards as a Promotional Tool
Most businesses sometimes overlook the power of promotional postcards. They dont realize the effectiveness of this small, lig...
Self-mailers in B2B Direct Mail: Advantages and Disadvantages
Business-to-business direct mail marketers have learned through testing that a letter in an envelope will usually generate mo...
Stamps Boost Response Rates Over Metered Postage and Indicias in Direct Mail Marketing
Direct mail fundraisers learned long ago that stamps
boost response rates. Maybe the same will work for
your sales letter...
Use Pain Instead of Credentials in Direct Mail Marketing Lead Generation
How do you generate sales leads with direct mail
when you have no credentials?Im talking about the financial planner with m...
Get Personal: Letters vs. Direct Mail
One of the reasons direct mail works is the personal aspect. Its ostensibly a letter from you to your prospect. Because of th...
Testimonials Boost Direct Mail Response Rates In Business-to-Business Sales Letters
Correct me if I am wrong, but there is nothing more powerful in a business-to-business sales letter than a credible testimon...
Direct Mail Reply Devices Must Tell Sales Letter Buyers How To Respond
My brother-in-law says you should be thankful for truckers because everything you buy was handled at some point by a trucker....
The Power of a Postcard
Electronic newsletters. Automated e-mail. Interactive web sites. With so many high-tech marketing weapons available to busine...
Direct Response Marketing Via A Texas Marketing Consultant
Direct response marketing solicits a direct response from your customers, according to Texas marketing consultants. Instead o...
Successful Direct Response Marketing
What is Direct Response marketing? The central idea behind direct response marketing is to create an immediate benefit for yo...
Sales Letter Writing - A Simple Step-by-Step Guide for Creating a Money Making Sales Pitch
Despite the variety of new marketing methods available today, the sales letter remains one of the most effective means of del...
Direct Mail Leads - Brand Identity Guru
Direct mail can be one of the most effective tactics to reach your target audience. Developing a strategy for direct mail is ...
Postcard Direct Mail Marketing Tips And Ideas
Postcards are perhaps the least expensive way of reaching a large number of people with your sales message. Although they hav...
Improve Direct Mail Response Rates With Promotional Products
Direct mail has been proven an effective marketing technique that generates new business. The same is true for promotional p...