ForumsAdvertising, Sales and Marketing

I think a good direct mail piece is still effective -- provided it gets delivered! I was seeing a similar trend to what you're reporting a year ago -- so in the last campaign I injected the list with 200 valid test addresses where receipt/delivery would be logged and verified. 44 of those 200 pieces (22 percent) never arrived. Whether the DM firm never mailed them or the USPS "lost" them is still uncertain, but after adjusting the total campaign downward by that percentage, the response rate was actually slightly better than the "old days." I'm not sure that knowing that makes it any less frustrating, however!

Seeing as you have such a beautiful website, how about an opt-in form for your website.

A visitor signs up, and are added to you email list.

You then send emails, and can track the results of your campaign.

You will know when they opened up the email, when they clicked on a link in the email, and if they purchased a product through the email.

http:www.intechspecial.com

Emails can be custom designed, or you can use templates.

You do not have to be a designer to offer professional quality emails!

[http://www.intechspecial.com/images/its_large.jpg]

These are all great pieces of advice. I am going to prioritize checking up on whether the pieces are being delivered and running a telemarketing test. I'll see how that goes and get back to the group

FC,

I also have a large-scale Direct Mail Firm as a client that may be able to assist you.
They can review your current campaign and help you come up with ideas for better results.
I have many clients that have had a lot of success with them.

Regards,
CC08

I agree that the public wants a good website to look at. When I am looking into something i always go to the internet first. There are many different places where you can get a free or inexpensive web site going! They are very easy to do as well. Also, you can try posting ads in local community papers. We have one in my community that is about $20 per month. Not to mention flyers, handing out business cards to everyone you meet. Hope that helps!

Beth
Virtual Office Express
Businss Solutions for a Busy World

FC-
I recently came out of Broadcast TV Sales Mgt to start my own gig consulting small businesses on advertising and marketing. One of the biggest issues with Direct Mail is the generally poor response rate, generally less than 3%, some research shows as low as 1/10th of 1%! I'd agree with some of the others that the web is important, but the web is a resource and not a substitute for true mass market advertising. Television and radio remain the two strongest forms to convey a message, TV the hands down most effective. I didn't catch what city you live in, however, I can assure you that redirecting that $200k into a TV campaign in virtually any market (less Top 10) will get you visibility that DM can't possibly achieve. If you are in a Top 10 market, local cable, while still expensive, is very targeted and can still accomplish more than any mail drop. Lastly, I suggest you integrate a call-to-action in whatever you do. Mobile Marketing (my specialty) is an excellent means to take the call-to-action incentive of DM and combine it with branding of TV/Radio.

TV/Radio/Print Campaign: Text 'PAINT' to 12345 for 20% off
Text Response: Call xxx-xxx-xxxx, ref this text 2 get 20% off. 4 more r8 savings in ftr respond 'BRUSH'
Customers can make call then or later, phone number is on the text. Those who respond BRUSH are placed in a data base for access at a later point for a future incentive.

Beauty of Mobile Marketing is that you can assign a keyword (PAINT1, PAINT2, etc) for every medium you are advertsing in, thus allowing you to track the effectiveness of each ad, as well as making everything a call to action with an incentive. The database extends your media value for continuing client relations, could even use it to send out referral incentives...$50 gift certificate for each referral, pls fwd this message to a friend.

Bottom line: stop the Direct Mail, no President ever got elected using it. Look to TV & Radio and integrate text messaging to make sure you can measure the ROI.

Regards,
Eric Lazar
Image Architecture
www.imagearchitecture.com
312.203.4039