It all sounds so easy, just purchase a list of names to market to, and let the magic begin. Of course, nothing in life is quite as easy as that. The tough reality is that the mail response rates of those who do not already know your company are quite low. Marketingzone.com pegs it like this,

• The typical response rate for direct mail is 1 to 2% for a purchased list (people who don’t know you).

• Response rates are higher if you’re mailing to people who know you (your own customer and prospect list). The typical response rate for internal mailing lists is 5 to 10%.

How To Boost Response Rates

There are ways by which one may boost response rates to a direct mail marketing campaign. Experts say that it comes down to three critical factors. Those factors are mailing the information to relevant parties, including information those parties can use, and the design of the actual piece being mailed. Yes, even something as simple as the design of the piece can have an impact on if it gets opened or not.

Carefully consider all three factors. It is most important of all to mail pieces only to those might likely to respond in the first place. This means purchasing relevant mailing lists.

How To Mail Only The Right People

No marketing campaign has a 100% success rate. There are always some individuals who see marketing materials that they have absolutely no interest in. However, this should not stop marketers from attempting to narrow down which kinds of people are likely to respond to their pleas.

Demographics play a vital role in determining who will express interest in a product. Young people like certain things, senior citizens may like different things. The same is true for all races, religions, and genders. Figuring out which demographics match up with the products one wants to sell makes a big difference.

Should I Buy The List?

If a marketing list meets the above criteria, then it is worth purchasing. That would be a list that has narrowed down the people on it to only those most likely to express an interest in your products. Blanket lists that simply include everyone are rarely worth the paper they are printed on considering the extremely low response rates.

Contact us for more information about marketing lists and when they should or should not be purchased.