Tag: response rate

One Single Tip that can Make Your Direct Marketing 21% More Successful.

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BTW verhogingIn direct marketing, having an advantage is the name of the game. From offering trial periods, to free products, finding something that will increase response rate is paramount. This however sometimes leads to simple things being over looked that have a tremendous impact on responses. In this case, we’re talking about the signature line.

In 1987, the Journal of Social Psychology published an study about response rates in relation to how signatures are inscribed, titled Survey Response Rate as a Function of Personalized Signature on Cover Letter. In this study they took a look at a variety of different signature styles, appearances, sizes, colors, fonts, and even the big question of handwritten versus printed signatures.

Glancing at the study, most people wouldn’t think how big of a ramification it has on the marketing world, however what the study determined is absolutely huge. When comparing survey response rates based on just the color of the signature, 21% more people responded when the signature was done in blue ink over any other color. Take a moment, let that sink in. Out of a group of 1,000 people contacted, that’s 210 more people responding!

The big guys in direct marketing saw this study for what it was immediately, something you can see for yourself by looking at the signature lines of such big names as Publishers Clearing House. You’ll notice that while the content and overall appearance may differ between direct mail letters, one near constant is that they all feature a signature in blue.

Of course, adding a second color to a print job increases the cost, especially with large professional printing companies. It involves an added ink, running the print through the presses twice, and can take longer. The big guys in direct marketing take that added expense happily because they, like you do now, know that the little added detail despite it raising the cost of the printing returns several fold in the increased response rate, making it an quality investment.

To find out more tricks to get your direct marketing to be more effective, and how we can help you fill your direct marketing needs, contact us.

Is Your Business Making These Direct Mail Mistakes?

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35_2516978Direct mail can be a powerful tool to bring attention and new customers to your business, but to reap the rewards of this type of marketing you need to do it right. Just throwing together a package and sending it out into the wide world will not achieve the results that you need.

If you feel like you are not getting what you expected out of your Direct Mail campaigns, then you should make sure you are not engaging in any of these common direct mail mistakes:

Neglecting To Improve Your Mailing List

You should always be actively trying to cultivate a more effective mailing list. This doesn’t mean just adding more names onto the list either, bigger is not always better here.

You will achieve a much better response rate from a well targeted list of 100 people or businesses who are likely to have a need for your product than you will with a list of 500 people who you have not screened for potential.

Failing to Test Different Types of Packages 

A lot of work goes into developing a polished direct mail package, which can make it very tempting to continue sending out the same thing over and over. Unfortunately, it can take many attempts to find the right package to bring you maximum benefit.

It is well worth the effort to design and test many combinations of direct mail components to see what brings you the best response rate. Many businesses see huge differences in response rate depending on what they include in their mailers.

Having Poor Follow Up

While potential customers may take their sweet time before contacting you, they are still going to expect a fast response from you. If you are taking more than 48 hours to follow up with contact from direct mail responses, then your are probably missing out on many possible conversions.

You should also make sure to follow up on your most promising mailing lists with more than one mailing. Many times recipients who don’t respond to the first piece of direct mail will contact you on the 3rd or 4th mailing.

To find out what direct mail can do for your company, contact us for more information today.