How to Follow Up on Direct Mail Advertising
Direct mail is a powerful marketing tool that can help you reach your target audience and achieve your marketing goals. However, to increase your chances of success, it’s essential to follow up with your recipients after they receive your direct mail piece.
Here are some tips on how to follow up on direct mail advertising:
* Choose the Proper Channels *
You can follow up with direct mail recipients using several different channels, such as email, phone, social media, and direct mail again. The best channels will depend on your target audience and budget.
- Email: Email is a great way to deliver an additional message to your audience because it's relatively inexpensive and easy to track. You can also personalize your email messages and send them to specific audience segments.
- Phone: Phone calls are a great way to have a more personal conversation with your direct mail recipients. However, phone calls can be more expensive and time-consuming than email or social media.
- Social media: Social media is a great way to connect with your direct mail recipients more formally. You can use social media to share additional information about your products or services, offer discounts or promotions, and run contests.
- Direct mail: If your budget allows, you can also follow up with recipients by sending them another direct mail piece. However, it's important to make sure that your second direct mail piece is different from your first piece so that it doesn't feel repetitive.
* Time Your Follow-Up Carefully *
It’s essential to time your follow-up carefully. You don’t want to reach back out too soon, or your recipients may feel bombarded. You don’t want to follow up too late, or they may forget about your direct mail piece.
A good rule of thumb is to follow up with your audience within 72 hours of them receiving your direct mail piece. However, the best time to follow up will depend on your industry and your target audience.
* Offer a Compelling Incentive *
Offering a compelling incentive, such as a discount or a free gift, can encourage your recipients to take action.
For example, you could offer a 10% discount on the recipient’s first purchase or a free gift with purchase. You could also offer a free consultation or a free trial of your product or service.
* Make it Easy for Recipients to Take Action *
Your follow-up messages should make it easy for recipients to take action. This means including clear calls to action and links to your website or landing pages.
For example, you could include a call to action such as “Visit our website to learn more” or “Call us today to schedule a free consultation.” You could also provide a link to a specific product page or landing page.
* Track Your Results *
It’s essential to track the results of both your original direct mail campaign, as well as your follow-up campaign so you can see what’s working and what’s not. This will help you improve the efficacy of your campaign over time.
You can track your results by using a CRM system or by monitoring your website analytics. You can also track your results by asking your audience how they found out about your company.
* Test and Iterate *
Feel free to test different follow-up strategies and see what works best for your target audience.
For example, you could test different channels, different sequences, and different messages. By testing different strategies, you can find the most effective way to follow up with your direct mail recipients.
* Be Patient *
It may take multiple follow-ups to convert a lead into a customer. Don’t give up too easily.
The key is to be consistent with your approach and to keep your messages engaging and informative. By following these tips, you can create a successful direct mail follow-up campaign to help you grow your business.
Here are some additional tips from the team at Path2Response:
- Use data to segment your audience. This will help you send more targeted and relevant follow-up messages.
- Use personalization to make your follow-up messages more meaningful. This shows your recipients that you're interested in them and have taken the time to learn about their needs.
- **Use storytelling to connect
