Direct Mail Myths You Should Ignore
April 07 2016
Most direct mail marketers stick to the same bag of tricks that have been working for decades. While there has been plenty of valuable wisdom, experience, and strategies passed down from one generation of marketers to the next, there also have been some harmful myths that have persisted.
This industry seems particularly prone to following the book, even when evidence suggests it’s time for a change. As it gets harder to grab and keep the attention of target audiences through direct mail and other mediums, it becomes even more costly to cling to counterproductive marketing myths.
We’re dispelling the most persistent direct mail marketing myths so that you can hone in on the factors that make a difference in your bottom line results.
As much as marketers would love to believe that the perfectly worded offer or a tricky technique can hypnotize customers into doing whatever a marketer pleases, it just isn’t true. Focusing on tricking or commanding people to act will take you away from what you should be focusing on: putting a quality offer in the right hands at the right time and making the conversion as clear, appealing, and simple as possible.
Your audience will likely see right through any tricky techniques. If you turn off a potential customer, you’re only dragging your success rate down.
Have you ever heard the marketing saying: “People don’t want drills; they want holes.” There’s some wisdom in there, but today there are plenty of market segments where you can thrive with a feature-based approach. Talk about the holes, but don’t forget about the drill. The enthusiasts in your market segment may just want to dwell on the object of their affection without being hit over the head with its benefits.
More amateur and professional direct mail marketers have been brought down by this myth than any of the others on this list. The logic is simple: if I see a mailer that’s working for someone else, I’ll just copy it and make some minor tweaks to fit my purpose. Bam! Proven method for success.
Not so fast.
What you’ll learn the hard way quickly is that every business, service, product, list, and offer is its own animal. If you’re not digging into what makes your audience and your offer unique, you’re not maximizing your potential return on investment.
The surest way to ensure you’re avoiding the harmful myths of direct mail marketing is to work with experts that utilize data-driven solutions focused on finding custom strategies to target your most relevant, profitable demographics.
Visit the DataPrint homepage to learn more about the myth-busting power of our cutting-edge direct mail marketing services.
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