Introduction
In today's competitive business environment, Direct Mail is the best way to reach your audience, and is a crucial component in any successful advertising mix. If you already have a Direct Mail program in place, we can help you fine-tune your efforts in a cost effective and creative manner. If you do not, we provide the skill and technology you need to develop your own successful Direct Mail program, giving you access to new markets or increasing the levels of loyalty in your current customer base.
Advantages of Direct Mail
Consumers today are more sophisticated. They are bombarded constantly with advertising messages from everywhere - television, newspapers, magazines, radio and the Internet. So how do you get their attention? How do you reach your target effectively in such a demanding marketplace?
The solution is simple. Use Direct Mail.
Direct Mail is the only form of marketing communication that allows you to precisely pinpoint your target audience and gives you measurable results. Fast. And, unlike advertising in mass media, you know precisely who you're speaking to, so "waste" is kept to a minimum. With Direct Mail, you know exactly how many pieces of mail you sent out, who got them, how much each piece cost to send, and how many responses came back. This information makes it easy to calculate cost-per-order or cost-per-response, or how much repeat business and income a sequence of mailings has generated over a longer time period.
In short, Direct Mail has truly become a science. It's precise and effective, and dollar for dollar, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more cost-effective advertising medium. That's why using Direct Mail is a win-win situation.
| Did You Know? Large and mid-sized companies typically allocate 2% of sales volume or revenue to the marketing communications budget, and 22% of that budget is allocated to Direct Mail |
Tailored to your specific needs.
Another great feature of Direct Mail is its flexibility. Whether you have a large or small business, it can work for you in a variety of ways. More and more successful businesses are discovering Direct Mail's versatility as an effective tool for generating awareness, leads, store traffic and even customer loyalty. No matter what you want to accomplish, you can do it through the mail.
Direct Mail is advertising that you share with your customers, not your competitors. By reaching them through their personal mailboxes and not through more "public" media like newspapers, radio or television, you can take advantage of something very unique - speaking to your audience "in private."
| Did You Know? The top three reasons mailers gave for increasing their mailing frequency were company growth/expansion (56%), strategy change (55%), and new product item (39%). |
Meeting Marketing Objectives
Every day, throughout the South Africa, businesses and individual consumers receive Direct Mail. It can help you achieve a variety of marketing objectives, including:
Retailers
Service Companies
Manufacturers
Professionals
Direct Mail is almost infinitely flexible, and the creative opportunities to deliver your message or a sample of your product are nearly limitless. You can send a personalized letter, a brochure, a videotape, a postcard, or even a bowling ball. The attention-getting possibilities are endless. Direct Mail can help you emphasize a seasonal selling opportunity or build sales in a traditionally slow time of year. Many leading companies use Direct Mail as an effective tool for reducing inventory and keeping product lines current. Smaller businesses operating primarily on a local level, or franchises of larger operations, can participate in co-operative or shared mailings, in which many retailers or service businesses share some of the mailing costs.
Because Direct Mail pieces can be prepared in a relatively short time, they can give you the competitive edge of surprise or the capacity to respond quickly to a competitor's effort. You can prepare and send your communication in a matter of days. Moreover, Direct Mail efforts can be kept secret from the competition right up to the time they are delivered to your customer.
Pinpoint Marketing
Mail is a highly focused medium. Television, radio and print campaigns can reach millions, but inevitably you will be reaching many people who have no interest in or need for your product or service. Direct Mail is a medium that targets your audience and then delivers your message right to their front door, making it personal and compelling.
Your Direct Mail audience can be targeted by any number of criteria. As a result, prospects can be identified to an amazingly precise level. It may be as simple as targeting a Postal Code, or it may involve one or more items of consumer information. For example, the SA Consumer Database includes records on 22 million individuals with demographic and descriptive information including ID numbers, and the SA Commercial Database contains information on 700,000 South African companies
With today's extensive databases and sophisticated demographics, you can direct your mail to potential customers who are interested in what you have to offer and who have the purchasing history that makes them prime prospects for your business.
In addition, Direct Mail can be personalized and delivered right to your customer's home or business. Geographical considerations don't have to be broad. Even when sending out a mass mailing to an entire region, you can be selective in your demographics choices.
Goals And Strategies
There's a world of difference between Direct Mail and "traditional advertising." The thing to remember about TV, radio and other mass media is that, while they reach an audience of millions, you really have no way of knowing if you're speaking to people who are interested in, receptive to, or even appropriate for your product/service. What's more, speaking to an audience this huge usually comes with an equally hefty price tag.
With Direct Mail, however, you can be incredibly targeted - cost-effectively. Especially when you take advantage of today's sophisticated demographic management techniques. These let you personalize messages to potential customers and even customize them.