Direct mail is a type of marketing in which a business attempts to reach its target audience by sending them physical items in the mail. This can include things like post cards, letters, catalogs, brochures and other promotional materials.
Those who choose to advertise in this manner typically mail their promotional materials to either a specific demographic of people or to a individuals in a specific geographic region.
Large corporations have been using direct mail as a main form of advertising for many years because it has proven to be one of the most profitable and effective ways to engage with both existing customers individuals who could potentially become new customers.
Direct mail, however, is not for everyone, and it is important to consider the pros and cons before deciding to implement it.
Advantages
One of the biggest advantages of direct mail marketing in Chicago is the element of control involved. As the advertiser, you can control exactly who receives your promotional material and how many people you wish to market to, as well as when they receive it.
Also, if your Chicago promotional material is well-written, and if you target the correct audience, direct mail can be extremely effect and getting a response from the recipient.
Bulk mailing is much less expensive than regular mail, so you will also be able to save money by sending out large batches of promotional material.
Disadvantages
Unfortunately, direct mail marketing is not without its drawbacks. One of the biggest disadvantages of this type of advertising is that some people will inevitably perceive it as “junk mail” and simply discard it.
No matter how well-written your content, and how well-target your mailing list, you must accept the fact that some of those envelopes will never be opened.
This type of advertising can also become extremely costly, especially if it fails and does not deliver the results you thought it would. Due to the cost and risk involved in direct mail marketing, it is important to do everything you can to design the most effective campaign possible and maximize your return on investment.
Tips
By far the most important factor in running a successful direct mail marketing campaign is being able to identify who your target audience should be. One way to do this to analyze your current and past customers, which will help you determine what demographic is the most receptive to your product or service.
When you build your mailing list, you can simply target people in the same demographic and geographic location as your current customers. This will significantly increase the amount of responses and sales that your campaign generates.
Targeted marketing is much more effective and cost-efficient than traditional mass marketing, which simply isn’t practical.
It can certainly be intimidating to plan your first direct mail marketing campaign, but the benefits your business will receive if the campaign is done correctly are well worth the effort.
If you are highly targeted in your approach, then direct mail marketing can be one of the most lucrative and effective ways to reach out to potential both new customers and current customers alike.