Every day you go to your mailbox to see it you have mail. As you hover over the trashcan to sort, how do you decide what piece you’ll read and what piece will fall through your hands to its demise? While direct mail is an effective tool in your marketing campaign, there are some easy ways to foil your efforts. Here are a few tips to keep your mail out of the recycle bin.

Wrong Audience
First, you must understand your target audience. Second, you must find a way to obtain their mailing address. If you’re planning to purchase a list, look to your current customers as a source for demographic and psychographic information. Current customers are also more likely to respond to direct mail, so consider a campaign for repeat business.

No Call To Action
The whole purpose of direct mail is to get people to do something. For businesses, that usually means purchasing something from you. It’s important that you have a clear call to action and that the offer is compelling. Make an offer they can’t refuse and the response rate will raise.

Poor Design
The quickest way to get a person to look at your direct mail is by having a clean design. Conversely, the quickest way to get them to toss it is to have a design with no purpose. Here is where you want to call in the professionals who can create the perfect piece for your needs.

Tracking Results
How will you know whether your direct mail campaign was successful unless you include a way to track it? Include a special promotional code or make customers bring in the direct mail piece. It is important to know if you got a good ROI to determine if you want to mail again or make adjustments.

Think about the businesses you like to frequently visit. There’s just something about them that makes you want to go back for more. It may be hard to actually describe specifically why, but you know you love their brand. You find value in doing business with them, and you’re not ashamed to pay a little bit more. If you’d like to compete without getting into a price war, consider finding cost-effective ways to add value to your customers’ experiences. Here are some ideas to help you impress your customers into paying more.

Fullfiller of Needs

Customers do not visit your business for a simple sale. Okay, well maybe some of them do. Nevertheless, returning customers do so for the experience your business provides for them. It’s your job to make that process as amazing as possible. You should have a customer service philosophy that sets you apart from your competition. Although, remember to walk the walk if you are going to talk the talk. A written mission means nothing if there are no actions to support it. So make sure that you and your employees are living your philosophy each and every day. 

Put Out the Welcome Mat

Beyond customer service, consider your customers’ surroundings when they’re in your business. It’s the little things that make a huge difference. Your image should be represented from point of purchase, signage and packaging, to dusted fixtures and clean bathrooms. And hey, maybe some free candy along the way??

After the Cash Register Closes

We all know that it’s easier to keep an "old" customer than to find a new one. Thus, you want customers coming back. Consider ways to keep in touch with them after the sale. Maybe it’s a birthday club mailing that entitles them to a sale or a frequent purchase card. Even a simple hand-written thank you note from time to time really impresses customers!  Regardless, you need to keep reinforcing your brand by showing you care in order to increase that value.

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