The Seven Golden Rules Of Direct Marketing                                        Home

Even among seasoned professionals in Direct Marketing there is a huge difference in the results that they produce. I don't mean that in different markets their response rates are different. I mean that their results depend greatly on their levels of knowledge and that those levels vary a lot. This has prompted me to write down seven rules that I see commonly ignored.

1     Layout your plans in advance

Before you schedule the campaign or begin even preliminary work, look at the basic numbers. DM is a discipline driven by numbers, so pay attention to them. Try the following steps:

• Estimate the marketing cost of the campaign

• Estimate the expected response level

• Work out your gross margin on the offer less any exceptional fulfilment costs

• Forecast the average order value that will be generated

• Sales are (responses) * (average order value)

• Gross margin is (sales) * (gross margin %)

• Campaign profit contribution is (Gross margin) - (campaign costs)

If returns are a major factor in your business you may need to factor in those costs or any others that are significant in your business. Response levels can be difficult to estimate as so many factor play a part. There are some sources which can be found on the internet. Beware of extrapolating customer response levels to prospect lists. Also look at what the response is to. I have worked with a client where customer research surveys had a 55% response level, but product offers pulled less than 5% response.

2    Pay Most Attention To Your List

Everyone is drawn to the creative, because that is where the fun is. However the list is where the money is and it should get the majority of your time. Assess your potential universe of prospects. Ask yourself which sources have the best, most recent data, of the type relevant to you? How was it collected and assembled and will the process affect your response? How will you target your mailing and what data will you need from the list to make your mailings relevant to your prospects?

Test your list sources and see which one produce the best response. Look at your list in detail and don't just send it to the fulfilment house. Put your name on the list so you can check when mailings are sent and you can see the mailing as your prospects do.

3     Produce An Irresistible Offer

Behind the list, but significantly more important than the creative is the offer. To make it compelling, you must stir the need in the mind of your prospect and then explain why your offer is the best solution for that need. Of course the need is already there, but you need to bring it to mind. Then don't just suggest your offer. You need to show why it is the obvious choice ahead of all your competitors. And you need to show why they should act now.

If you can assemble all these elements you will have an irresistible offer.

4    Test Your Communication

Any piece of direct marketing is trying to achieve a lot in a small space. In this striving for brevity it is easy to overlook some element of the explanation of the offer or how the response piece works. Use a colleague or friend who is not directly involved in the project to review the communications piece to make sure that you are getting across the offer and how everything should work.

5    Test Everything Else

Pick out your key variables in the campaign and test them. Test one thing at a time and record the results. Find someone with a knowledge of statistics to set the test up, or else you run the risk of having results which are not valid. Record the results and use them in future campaigns. This makes a huge difference to response levels, particularly where campaigns are repeated frequently and many test can be carried out to optimise results.

I am always amazed when I go back to clients that I have done testing with in the past to find that marketing personnel have changed and they are now re-making mistakes that they had eliminated through testing. This knowledge is valuable and should not be forgotten.

6    Make Sure That You Can Fulfil The Offer

Whether your aim is to sell products or to generate leads, make sure that you have a plan to fulfil the orders or to follow-up the leads. Nothing is more wasteful than creating demand that you can't fulfil. If you are a direct mail business, your single most valuable asset is your mailing list. You damage that list directly if you cannot follow up on campaigns. In the court of customer opinion, this is an unforgivable crime.

7    Never Take Your Eye Off The Numbers....

but never forget that this is art not science. Instinct and creativity play a strong role in campaigns that are consistently successful and instinct should reign in the rules. Every one can be broken if it is for the right reason and done with understanding rather than out of ignorance. New ideas are the most powerful thing in any business and direct marketing is no exception.

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