At its core, shotgun marketing is the idea that your campaigns – and by association, the collateral you create – should target the largest potential audience that it possibly can. It essentially turns marketing into a numbers game – the more people you reach with your message, the more people you’ll find who are receptive to that message. Right?
Wrong! Results talk and bull#%$~ walks!
When it comes to direct mail, only planning and research PRIOR to executing your campaign will be able to generate the results that you’re after. Next, use analytics to drive targeted campaigns and build a bulletproof list which performs.
It All Begins With a Marketing Plan
For the absolute best results with your direct mail campaigns, planning needs to begin with highly accurate and targeted mailing lists. It doesn’t make sense to invest money in a plastic postcard mailer, direct mail postcards or other types of materials if you’re positive a significant portion of your audience is just going to ignore them.
Instead, you need to go in the exact opposite direction. Only work with reputable list providers to help get as intimate and as specific with your lists as possible. It’s best to work with a one-stop shop who will be able to handle not only your genuine direct mail lists but who can also help guide your entire campaign from end-to-end.
The Power of Direct Mail Analytics
The importance of segmenting your campaigns with concrete data and utilizing analytics is something that cannot be overstated enough.
Having access to the right analytics allows you to really climb inside the mind of your customers, creating better, more timely and more relevant materials than ever before.
Having analytics at a granular level, create more valuable insight that tells you who your prospects are, what problems they’re trying to solve and, more importantly, how you can help them do it.
Performance Data
Analytics also provide your campaigns with real performance data regarding who your customers and non-customers are, which can then be funneled back into your process to actually improve list effectiveness over time. This is the point where you can then begin to build your own highly targeted and accurate marketing lists, that can then be used to create better and more efficient campaigns moving forward. Make no mistake: this is where your true return on investment really lays.
Don’t Go-It Alone
You may be expert in your industry and perhaps also an expert at marketing, however having access to highly accurate and granular mailing data is critical. Finding a partner who can provide you with accurate lists and turn-key services while also navigating the postal regulations and provide real analytics is key.
NOTE: A postal delivery report is NOT analytics. Your vendor should be able to provide you with complete real-time demographics of your targets, redemption rates, and much much more.
If you’d like to find out more information about how to significantly improve your direct mail ROI, or if you’d just like to find out why finding the right direct mail marketing services partner may be the silver bullet you’ve been looking for in terms of your campaigns, please don’t delay – contact us today.
