Key branding principles behind direct mail

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Question - is direct mail still relevant in the age of the Internet?

Answer - yes, especially for certain tasks, including brand building and delivering catalogues, and for people who cannot easily be targeted in other ways, e.g. who dislike the Internet or refuse to receive sales calls

Key points

Direct mail has been a staple of mass marketing campaigns for many years because it is so targeted and can deliver a clear ‘call to action’.

To a degree, it has been superseded by e-mail marketing which is cheaper, more immediate, more targetable in terms of Internet behaviour, more measurable, and more integrateable.

Nevertheless, direct mail is still set to grow in specific categories, including for branding purposes.

There is a huge body of knowledge around how direct mailing works best (and adopted by a particular type of e-marketing campaign), and it remains a critical part of the marketing communications mix, especially for targeting groups of (potential) customers who are resistant to Internet and telephone campaigns.

In more detail.........

Unsolicited e-mail outside a pre-existing business context is increasingly illegal. Offenders can be fined significant amounts if, of course, they can be found.

Unsolicited telesales calls are also illegal in some countries.

Direct mail is not subject to these strictures, but most of it is either filed without being read in detail, or thrown away.

So, is it worth it if you are going to be ignored by most customers, and alienate much of the rest?

Apparently. Buying relationships at a distance are growing, whether via catalogues, the Internet, or telesales. The simple rule of direct mail is to knock at the door politely and wait to be invited in. Don't put your foot in the door or, worse, attempt to kick it down. The other rule is to remember that you are delivering an on-going brand experience, not just making a sale. However, do remember to include a clear ‘call to action’.

Design

Major historic users of direct mail/marketing have learnt a great deal about how different treatments affect response rates.

For instance, inserting the recipient’s name raises response rates significantly, as does the use of certain colours, italicizing and emboldening.

There is also a belief that people read direct mailshots in different ways. The scanners want to understand the gist of the mailing and to respond or not. For these people, regular calls to action throughout the mailshot will increase their response rates. You should also use “Johnson Boxes” to summarise the argument because they are not going to read it in detail. Conversely, those who like detail are believed to be more likely to respond the more detail they are offered.

This differentiation is probably the basis of the longstanding debate as to whether it is better to use long or short cover letters. Those who use long cover letters swear by them and argue that you can always accommodate the ‘short and sharp’ readers within the design. They also argue that there is a specific sequence in the way you lay out your argument in a long cover letter which will maximise impact. This sequence includes the following components:

• creating sharp, compelling headlines

• giving recipients the gist of the proposition early to encourage them to read on

• providing endorsement quotations throughout the mailshot

• providing frequent opportunities to respond

• inserting regular “Johnson Boxes” to summarise the argument

• dedicating sections to overcoming objections

• placing recipients in the position of having already bought the product or service

Measurement

Direct marketing/mail campaigns are usually rigorously monitored in terms of the customer response:

• asking for more information
• ordering a trial
• buying the product/service

Sophisticated statistical or neural network techniques are used to predict likely customer response to a mailing piece, based on past behavior or customer profile. An accurate prediction of response will significantly reduce the cost of a campaign, or significantly increase its effect in the market place, but this will depend on the richness of the customer profiling data from which the prediction can be drawn.

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