The 40/40/20 marketing rule may have a somewhat enigmatic name – but in reality, the approach it’s describing couldn’t be more straightforward. In essence, it’s a theory that says that the ultimate success (not to mention return on investment) of your campaign is essentially relying on three core factors:
- 40% of your success is directly related to how effective your mailing list is.
- Another 40% ties back into how compelling your offer is.
- The remaining 20% comes from literally everything else.
Why the 40/40/20 Marketing Rule Matters
For the sake of discussion, let’s start with the reverse order. The 20% that falls under the “everything else” category directly refers to not only graphic design, but also the specific copy of the mailing, the images you’ve chosen, the delivery date, the method of delivery, etc. None of this is to say that graphic design isn’t important – but it helps remind us of the fact that you could have what is the most objectively perfect-looking piece of direct mail collateral ever and it ultimately won’t mean much if you’ve sent A) a boring offer to B) the wrong person.
Then, we arrive at a compelling offer – something that itself ties directly into certain elements of your direct mail collateral, like your call to action. People can like your brand and still not take your desired action if the thing you’re offering just isn’t very interesting or valuable. Never underestimate how important that really is.
Finally, we have the effectiveness of your mailing list. This is another reason why targeted mailing matters a great deal. We’ve written in the past about how so much of your success will come down to your ability to get the right message in front of the right person at exactly the right time. If you hit every other target but still send that collateral to the wrong person, it won’t matter how much money you’ve spent on it – it WILL be ignored.
But provided you follow the 40/40/20 marketing rule, you’ll soon find that a higher response rate (and a higher ROI) is a lot easier to achieve than you may have suspected.
If you’d like to find out more information about the 40/40/20 marketing rule, or if you have any additional questions you’d like to discuss in a bit more detail, please don’t delay – contact us today.
