Hello Keeeran,
I've gathered numerous sources for you to read regarding return of
investment on postcard advertising, along with some tips for
designing and mailing postcards.
?Testing an offer with postcards is easy. Just send your card to a
small group of people and see how many of them respond. If you're
satisfied with the results, then roll out a bigger mailing!?
?Postcards are easy to redeem. If you're asking your customers to
bring your postcard into your store for a special discount, all they
have to do is show up with the card.
Or you could include a special tracking code with each card mailing.
Just ask recipients to enter that code into the order form on your
website, or give it to the operator when they place a telephone order.
The idea behind "Bring this card for a discount!" or "Use this code
and get an additional 10% off on your order!" is to give people an
incentive to do business with you.?
http://www.mailingknowhow.com/mailideas/postcards.htm
?Direct Order: According to the 2005 report, telephone marketing
received the highest ROI index (18.2) for marketers driving
direct-order purchases. It followed by e-mail (16.0), dimensional
mail (15.3), and direct mail (14.9).
In terms of response rates, telephone is also the leader (5.78
percent) as it was last year at 5.73 percent. This year, dimensional
mail response rates ranked second, followed by catalog at 2.18
percent. Telephone marketing and dimensional mail pulled higher
response rates than most other direct response media ? 5.78 percent
and 2.3 percent, respectively.
Lead Generation: Telephone, dimensional mail, e-mail, and coupons
provided the best response rate results for generating leads.
Telephone leads all media with the highest response rate of 5.53
percent. Dimensional mail was close behind at 5.28 percent, and
e-mail produced an average response rate of 3.39 percent.?
http://www.the-dma.org/cgi/dispannouncements?article=383
Sign up for a free visitor?s account to read more:
http://www.the-dma.org/cgi/registered/research/postalreport_executive_summary.pdf
Some available reports:
http://www.the-dma.org/research/
? ?you will need to estimate the response rate. Most successful direct
mailing produce a 1% - 2% response. That's successful? 98% of the
people don't respond to the mailing? Trust me, if you get 2% or better
with your mailings and your closing ratio is 50%, you'll make a good
living.
Here is your formula for computing number of direct mail pieces needed
to produce a specific revenue amount.
To Achieve A Revenue Goal of $10,000 if the average sale is $50.00
Average sale = $50.00
x close ratio = 50%
x response rate = 1%
divided into Revenue Goal ($10,000)
= Number of Direct Mail Pieces Needed
Would be:
$50.00 x 50% x 1% = 0.25
divided into 10,000 = 40,000 pieces?
http://www.smalltownmarketing.com/formula.html
?Mail response rates vary greatly. They are influenced by who you send
the mailing to, what you say in your letter, whether or not you are
reaching the right person, when the letter arrives, and the phase of
the moon. Mailers who send thousands of pieces of direct mail at one
time to carefully selected mailing lists usually consider they've done
well if they get 1 to 2 percent response rate. Mass mailings to all
the people in a particular zip code are likely to get response rates
as low as 1 in 10,000 or lower. ?
http://www.businessknowhow.com/QandA/mailrespon.htm
?Analysis shows that consumer Direct Mail campaigns continue to
achieve higher response rates than business campaigns. Although
consumer mailings are on average four times larger than business to
business, this does not necessarily dilute the quality of the
targeting or the impact of the creative work.
The average response rate for a Direct Mail campaign is 6.7%. The
average response for business to business mailings stands at 6.2%
while the overall average for consumer campaigns is 7.1%.
For both business and consumer campaigns, in-house customer data,
prospects and enquirers are by far the most responsive list sources.?
http://etools.pminet.com/newswatch/blg/article_1.asp?id_art=72
?Eugene Schwartz, author of Breakthrough Advertising, said it best:
"There are no answers in direct mail except test answers. You don?t
know whether something will work until you test it. And you cannot
predict test results based on past experience."
What he means is this. You can take something that has worked for
another real estate marketer, apply it to your own audience, and have
it flop. Or it could be a huge success. The only way to know for sure
is to try it and test it.
Sure, there are "best practices" you can start with, and you can learn
a lot from the successes and failures of other marketers. But to get
the best possible ROI on your real estate marketing investment, there
is no substitute for testing.
Think of it this way. Best practices will put you ahead of 75% of your
competition. Testing can help you surpass the other 25%.?
?Direct mail makes testing easy. In fact, it?s one of the easiest
marketing mediums to track and measure. If you send 500 postcards out
and get 25 phone calls about that postcard, you?ve just measured a 5%
ROI (if we could all be so lucky!).?
This site has several good tips for tracking the response of postcards.
http://www.ezinearticles.com/?Real-Estate-Marketing---How-to-Measure-Your-Direct-Mail-Success&id=112624
?If you want to improve the response rate to your direct mail, the
answer may be as simple as making a better offer.
For example, a recent mailing by one Positive Response client offered
free samples and pulled a 7.5% response. Here are the details:
A manufacturer and wholesaler of skin-care products, my client offered
free samples to a targeted list of licensed estheticians (high-end
skincare professionals). These two factors, the offer and the list,
were far and away the most important reasons for the client's success.
The third and least important factor was the copy. Sure, it played a
role and had an impact. But without an excellent offer?free
samples?it's unlikely that this mailing would have produced much more
than a handful of responses.?
http://www.marketingprofs.com/6/nicastro7.asp
?Once your direct mail campaign has begun, it is important to
quickly follow through with those prospects or customers who have
received your mailer and responded. All calls or e-mails should be
answered promptly. Depending on your sales strategy and price points,
you can have a telemarketing team in place to answer questions and
move people along in the sales cycle. You can also conduct a telesales
effort and sell your product or service to people over the phone.
If your direct mail piece includes an offer for a piece of literature
or a gift, you need to distribute the item as quickly as possible. If
you anticipate a large number of responses, you may want to use a
fulfillment house. If you chose to use a mailing house to send out
your direct mail, they may also be able to handle your fulfillment for
a nominal fee.?
?One of the greatest advantages of using direct mail is the ability to
measure and evaluate the results of a campaign. Examples of what you
can measure include the number of:
? Leads generated.
? Qualified prospects obtained.
? Appointments that were scheduled.
? Presentations given.
? Product demonstrations given.
? Sales made (units and dollars).
? Add-on sales made (units and dollars).
After you've summarized this information, compare the results to the
goals that you outlined in your creative brief. Once you have analyzed
your results you can calculate the return on your investment and come
up with ways to improve the results for your next campaign.?
http://www.hp.com/sbso/productivity/office/direct_marketing_guide.html
Tips from Microsoft - ?Is your marketing working? By Joanna L. Krotz
Smart marketing based on in depth research can generate leads, build
brand awareness, and grow your business. But marketing that's based on
luck or raw instincts will only waste money, opportunities, or both.
http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/challenges/marketing/working.mspx
?Cost Per Exposure
Affordability and return on investment are important considerations in
any marketing decision. Cost per exposure is one way to determine the
effectiveness of a direct mail campaign.
?Cost per exposure,? says Christensen, ?is what makes this product the
most effective and affordable direct mail choice. Postcards get
ignored, thrown away or lost. A magnet goes directly to the fridge;
and it?s going to stay there for years. You can?t get that kind of
exposure with anything else.?
A well known and accepted law of marketing is that a consumer must be
exposed to a product or service multiple times before the decision to
purchase takes place. Some businesses, in an effort to create repeat
exposure, send out a series of postcards. Production costs and postage
has to be paid for with each mailing.
The same positive effect of repeated exposure can be achieved by
sending out a magnet postcard once. The magnet will continue
advertising a message or service long after traditional mailers have
been thrown away and forgotten.
http://www.printondemand.com/MT/archives/007095.html
?The "Playing the Percentages" Perspective.
This is the "industry standard 1-2% response rate on your mailings"
perspective you've heard so much about. This is the yardstick favored
by businesses that are sending large quantities of direct mail to sell
mass market products.
For example, if I own a pizza parlor, and I'm doing a "use this card
for 10% off on your next order" mailing to all residences within a
three-mile radius of my business, I might have a mailing list of
10,000 names.
You'd better believe that I'm going to watch the overall response rate
like a hawk, and I'm going to be looking at precisely where those
hungry customers are coming from. If most of them are coming from a
handful of apartment complexes next to a college campus, I'll know to
send my future mailings to those complexes.?
http://www.sideroad.com/Postcard_Marketing/postcard-direct-mail-marketing-tips.html
?By setting up specific evaluation measures, Esurance was able to
quantify the contribution the direct mail strategy added to their
marketing efforts:
? Approximately 30% increase in purchase completion rate for postcard recipients
? Incremental cost per new customer is around one quarter of the
normal acquisition cost, a savings of 75%
? Conversion to sales for postcard recipients increased to reduce
acquisition costs by 17%
http://www.sheltongroup.com/newsletter/0403/3.html
?Make it easy for your customer's to respond. Provide a telephone
number, fax number, email address or a Web site. Let customer's
contact you in the way they prefer. Adding a toll-free number to your
direct mail piece makes it easier for a prospective customer to call
and can double your response rates. It will also allow you to better
track your campaign for messages and the effectiveness of your offer
so the campaign can be fine-tuned along the way.
8. Personal Follow Through
For an even greater return on your marketing dollars, follow up your
mailing with a personal follow up call. Many business lists include
phone numbers for your target customers. Whether you do it yourself,
or hire an outside company, recent studies show that a personal follow
up call can increase response rates by nearly 50 percent. When calling
consumers, though, be aware of the Do Not Call list.?
http://www.netreal.net/articles/direct-mail/get-better-results-with-direct-mail-make-the-call.html
?Direct Mail Advertising
The Response Device
The response device is a return card, a coupon, a fax-back form, a
phone number, an e-mail, etc. It is probably the most important part
of your mailer, and you probably want to start you direct mail
advertising piece by thinking about the response device.
The job of the response device is to transition the reader from
interest to acceptance and response. Think of it as the sales closer.
It has a big job to do. It must get attention, sum up the offer in an
exciting way, and close the sale or get the desired response.
The design of your response piece will most likely have the biggest
impact on your direct mail advertising results. It has to sell, and
sell aggressively. It has to scream for attention. It has to command
that the reader act now. It must be aggressive.?
? Examples in direct mail advertising include case studies,
testimonials, surveys, official third party endorsements, and
statistics. 60% of consumers believe ads that offer a money-back
guarantee. 57% believe ads that carry an official third party
endorsement. 46% of consumers believe claims based on survey results.
People believe examples, so you want to use them if you can in your
direct mail advertising.?
?Testing your Direct Mailer
Testing is very straightforward, but there are rules to follow.
First, you want to only modify one aspect of your mailer at a time.
Send the exact same mailer package with three different letters, and
measure which one gets the best response.
If you changed multiple parts of your direct mail advertising, like
the letter and the mailing list, you would not be able to tell which
change made the difference. You must make and test changes one at a
time.
Remember that profit is the ultimate goal. You might double the price
of your products, and have response drop by 80%. But what happened to
your profit? If your profit goes up, then you?re on the right track.
You want to test your mailing list, your offer, your response device,
your letter, and your envelope, probably in that order. If you are
only doing a small mailing, try two or three different letters. You
may be very surprised at the difference.
Over time, even your best direct mail advertising package will wear
out. Don?t get complacent. You should always test your control piece
to see if you can beat it.
To know how one piece works against another, code your response
device. This is as simple as printing a different code marking on each
response card so that you can tell which direct mail advertising offer
generated the response.?
Please read this entire page for further information:
http://www.myprofessionaladvertising.com/Success%20with%20Direct%20Mail.htm
Direct Mail advertising is still one of the best ways to gain new
customers and keep your old customers!
Consider these facts:
81% of Americans read a newspaper.
96% have a phone.
98% have a TV.
100% HAVE A MAILBOX.
If you want to stay ahead of this economic decline you must continue
using direct mail advertising.
If you want to increase your direct mail advertising response rates
you must put the following Do?s into action.
-----------------
Do?s:
Do send postcards -
Of the different types of direct mail pieces available the following
performed best in the category for pieces immediately read:
#1 Postcards (76.1%)
#2 Letter-size envelops (74.3%)
#3 Flyers (67.6%)
#4 Catalogs (67.1%) (USPS)
Do attach magnets, phone cards, or other promotional items to postcards.
http://www.advancingwomen.com/direct%20mail/how_to_increase_direct_mail_advertising_response_rates.php
?We still print postcards for direct mail, but that's not the most
effective use of postcards. Close to 75% of the people who attend our
church for the first time still come through the invitation of a
friend. Postcards help with personal invitations because they have all
the information about the series, a map, service times, kid's ministry
details, etc. We've found that postcards are a great tool for fueling
the buzz.?
http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/archives/2005/08/reasons_to_use.html
Some return rates:
http://www.experian.com/direct_marketing/pdf/innovative_postcards.pdf
Quick Postcard Design Tips
http://marketing.mcdar.net/1112.php
?Marketing Effectiveness Is Not Measured By Response Rates Alone?
http://www.webpronews.com/enterprise/marketing/wpn-16-20050809MarketingEffectivenessisNotMeasuredbyResponseRatesAlone.html
APPROACH #1: Revenue Return Rate
If you use this approach, you decide that each dollar spent on your
campaign should bring back, say, $10. Or $100. The amount is up to
you.
APPROACH #2: Cost as a Percentage of Sales
With this approach, you benchmark the cost of your campaign as a
percentage of sales generated. In other words, if you think that your
campaign cost should be 5% of sales and your campaign cost is $500,
then your campaign should produce $10,000 in sales.
Your cards will work well if they meet or exceed the standards you
have set, whether it's Approach #1 or Approach #2.
Martha Retallick, "The Passionate Postcarder," hails from Tucson,
Arizona, USA. She is the author of Postcard Marketing Secrets, a
downloadable PDF manual will show you how to put postcards to work for
your business--profitably.
http://advertising.mcdar.net/1182.php
?Make it easy for customers to buy your product or service, and
your advertising dollars will stretch further. Marketing postcards can
increase response to your sales message or subscriptions to your
newsletter. As annoying as we may find those multiple reply cards that
fall out of our magazines, publishers will tell you that the response
they generate far outweighs the nuisance factor. Even on a small
scale, reply cards work wonders.?
http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/postcards/a/postcardsales.htm
Promotional Response
http://www.mattsonjack.com/promoresponse.asp
The biggest challenge you have with marketing today is getting
people?s attention. With over 3000 advertising impressions hitting
each of us every day, you need something that gets people?s attention.
Unlike a letter, there is no envelope to open. No time consuming
effort. You pick up a postcard and turn it over. You can read it in a
matter of seconds.
That?s exactly what other people do. Unlike many letters that
immediately end up in the circular file, postcards get read. People
are curious and they know it will only take a few seconds to read the
postcard. Study your own behavior next time you get a postcard in the
mail. Ask yourself, would you like customers and prospects to give the
same attention to your postcards?
http://www.netreal.net/articles/postcards/postcards-a-quick-way-to-more-sales.html
Advertising Plan
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,315431,00.html
?It must be trackable -- John Wanamaker, a Philadelphia department
store legend, once said "Fifty percent of my advertising works -- if I
only knew what 50% was what. " When you're looking to leverage your
marketing efforts and boost response, use a trackable medium. For
example, if you code 5,000 sale flyers, and mail half to women (code
A) and the other half to men (code B), you can track the results Then,
the next time you run a similar promotion, your marketing efforts are
guaranteed to be more profitable (because the results will help you
focus on the most likely to respond customers).?
?What's the biggest secret of using direct mail postcards? The answer
is to mail on a regular basis. Sometimes, I mail postcards every other
day for two weeks to hot prospects (I call this blitz marketing) and
every 30 days to the rest of my mailing list. Mailing postcards is a
lot like lifting weights. If you do it only once, you won't see much
effect. But do it consistently and over time, you get great results!?
http://www.hallogram.com/mailers/postcards/
?All too often people look at marketing ROI in terms of response rate:
in other words, "I sent out 10,000 pieces of direct mail and only got
39 responses which is terrible." This is wrong think.
When it comes to marketing ROI, you have to realize that the term
means Return On Investment and the return is measured in dollars (or
your local currency). Let's say you spend $2,000 to get out a bulk
mailing of 5,000 pieces and you get 10 calls as a result. Doesn't look
like much. But of these 10 calls you close 6 and get immediate sales
of $12,000. That's marketing ROI! And that's not even taking into
account the future sales to those 6 new customers. It could add up to
hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The same simple mathematics apply to any other marketing efforts:
radio ads, press releases or articles in magazines, print ads, yellow
pages, web site, etc.
Obviously you need to keep track of response from each marketing
campaign you do so that you can weed out unsuccessful campaigns and
strengthen successful ones.
http://marketing.mcdar.net/18448.php
?The "Playing the Percentages" Perspective
This is that "industry standard 1-2% response rate on your mailings"
perspective you've heard so much about. This is the yardstick favored
by businesses that are sending large quantities of direct mail to sell
mass market products.
For example, if I own a pizza parlor, and I'm doing a "use this card
for 10% off on your next order" mailing to all residences within a
three-mile radius of my business, I might have a mailing list of
10,000 names.
You better believe that I'm going to watch that overall response rate
like a hawk, and I'm going to be looking at precisely where those
hungry customers are coming from. If most of them are coming from a
handful of apartment complexes next to a college campus, I'll know to
send my future mailings to those complexes.
? The "You Only Need A Few" Perspective
This is the one for those One-Man (or One-Woman) Bands who are selling
services that take a fair amount of time. Like, for example, Web
design, graphic design, photography or customized computer software
applications.
http://graphicdesign.about.com/cs/marketing/a/postcardresults.htm
This site has a bit about effectiveness of postcards.
http://www.effie.org/award_winners/images/321_2001.pdf
?Be sure to track the effectiveness of any placements, so you're not
paying for something that doesn't work. Use special reference codes in
your ads or ask every contact how they heard about you.?
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,285344,00.html
?Each time you refine your mailing list you eliminate more and more
non-customers. Every non-customer you eliminate lowers the cost of the
mailing.
For example: My target market is left handed Italians, who live in
towns of less than 9,714 people, in two story houses, on the south
side of the street, own female Clydesdale horses and are married to
women named Inga. Does this list eliminate most of the population? Yes
it does. But why would I want to spend a ton of money on conventional
advertising hoping I would reach this small market segment.?
?This is really a no brainer. Direct mail really becomes an effective
weapon in towns of 50,000 or less. The smaller the better. In a town
of 50,000, how many potential customers do you have? Let's say it's
20% for this exercise. The other 80% are the wrong age, don't need
your product, deal with your competitor or don't buy from you for a
variety of reasons. It's sort of the old 80-20 rule. 80% or your
business comes from 20% of your customers.
Twenty percent of 50,000 is 10,000 potential customers. Do you mail to
all 10,000? No. These are only potential customers. How many fit the
exact profile of your ideal customer? The people who buy from you now
and keep you in business. It may be 8,000 or it may only be a few
hundred. But that's who gets your offer.?
http://www.smalltownmarketing.com/directmail.html
?Writing powerful headlines is not easy but it can be done if you
follow some simple guidelines. Some of the most powerful and effective
headlines of all time contain at least 3 of the following points
1. Your headline must give the reader a reason to act now instead of later
2. Your headline must communicate something the reader considers valuable
3. Your headline must scream how you might offer something that is unique
4. Your headline must point to something very specific for the reader
http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/advertising_trends.htm
? Great Return on Investment
Postcards are one of the most affordable means of advertising your
business, new products or announcing a sale or special promotion.
Postcard marketing is also extremely versatile and the same postcard
you use to mail to your client list, can be used at a trade show or
exhibit hall, in the lobby or cafeteria of your building, or anyplace
else where they might catch the eye of potential clients or customers.
At just pennies per printed piece, custom postcards from
48hourprint.com are as cost effective as you will find and will likely
be your best marketing investment this year.
? Effective Marketing Tool
Test marketing a new product or offer is simple with postcards, as you
can easily send cards to a small group of people and gauge the
response before including a larger group. Direct mail is also
recognized as a key factor in driving traffic to your website, where
you can talk in detail about new products and exciting offers they may
not know about. You can also track the results of your postcard
marketing offer by assigning a specific discount code, or driving
potential customers to a unique page on your website created
specifically for a particular offer or product.
http://www.48hourprint.com/postcard-marketing.html
?The Direct Marketing Association's 2004 Response Rate Report
studied data on how 1,406 campaigns from 25 industries used 12
different media. Dimensional mail (typically in a box or tube)
averaged a higher overall response rate than flat direct mail, pulling
a 5.49 percent response rate compared to flat mail's 2.73 percent. The
catalog industry average was 2.45 percent, and e-mail had an average
response rate of just 1.12 percent, although its low cost made it
index among the highest for return on investment. Entrepreneurs
targeting highly qualified, small B2B audiences can successfully use
dimensional mail to cost effectively get past screeners and make a
strong impression on key decision makers.?
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,323637-2,00.html
?Marketing Is In A State of Transition
Marketers have learned they need better tactics for reaching
consumers, and in this regard, they've turned to understanding their
customers and developing customized offers for very specific target
audiences. Marketing is transforming from companies pushing their
message at consumers and hoping consumers buy to companies creating a
dialog with their customers to learn what their interests are and what
they'd be interested in buying.?
http://www.morningstarmultimedia.com/html/2004/12/will-narrowing-my-focus-really-make-my.asp
?Consider the Midwest School of Music, in Indianapolis , IN. When
owner Barbara Granneman returned to teaching piano, she used a
postcard campaign to get her business started. In a month she had 40
students and hired another teacher. Now a few years later she has 32
employees and has opened a Chicago branch. Aside from a Yellow Pages
listing, postcards are her only means of marketing. She tried others,
but stopped them all because postcards proved most effective.?
http://www.startupnation.com/pages/articles/AT_Low-Tech-Marketing.asp?bhcp=1
Scroll down to ?12 Reasons to Market with Postcards?
?If your marketing activity doesn't include postcards, you're
overlooking a highly effective and very low-cost sales tool. Here are
12 of the many reasons postcards should be part of your marketing
program...?
http://www.marketingsource.com/newsletter/11-29-2005.html
?The direct-mail postcard is a powerful, yet very affordable,
marketing tool for many types of businesses, including yours. With a
compelling message on a 4-by-6 (or whatever size you choose) postcard
and the right mailing list of potential and current customers, you can
get business coming to you without having a Coca-Cola-sized
advertising budget.?
?When should you implement a direct-mail postcard campaign? To
maximize effectiveness, you should do a mailer on a consistent basis,
such as monthly or at least quarterly. Prospects who don't respond to
your offer in month one may respond in a few months after becoming
more familiar with your business through your mailers.?
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,298155,00.html
Postcards Marketing: Thank you notes.
You can send a quick thank you to anyone for any reason and they will
be so surprised and pleased that you took the time. If someone sends
you a referral or business lead, gives you some information you
needed, mentions you in an article - send them a note that shows you
appreciate it!
Postcards Marketing: A follow-up offer or service.
Within 30 days after a purchase of a product or completion of a
service, send them a discounted offer for a related service or
product. Don't miss the opportunity for an after-sale contact.
http://www.allfreelancework.com/articleparzek.php
?Always remember to keep mailings that you send to your database
informative, attractive and most of all current. Personalize
everything that you can and make sure that what you are sending to a
past client actually pertains to them or their company. Anything less
and your customer may start to drift, and the only people that are
going to be happy when that happens are your competitors.?
http://marketing.mcdar.net/13772.php
?Plan for large mailings. There's a big difference between a sales
letter and direct mail, which is generally sent to lists of at least
5,000 at a time. Your lists must be large, since even good response
rates may fall between 2 percent and 4 percent. There's another
difference, too. Direct-mail campaigns are built around a single
goal--an action your prospects must take in order to move farther
along in the sales cycle. Not surprisingly, mailings that are designed
to produce leads yield higher response rates than those designed to
close sales.?
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,321492,00.html
Good postcard tips
http://www.allfreelancework.com/artcleleduc.php
Register for free at Marketing Bulletin. Then you will be able to
browse all sorts of advertising articles.
http://marketing-bulletin.massey.ac.nz/abstract.asp?id=latest
I hope this has answered your questions! If any part of my answer is
unclear, please request an Answer Clarification, and allow me to
respond, before you rate. I will be happy to assist you further on
this question, before you rate it!
Regards, Crabcakes
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