Direct Mail Advertising: Benefits and Drawbacks

Author Information

HomeTown OC has 5 Published Articles

United States of America,
USA,
USA,
USA,
USA

Direct Mail Advertising: Benefits and Drawbacks

Posted On : May-08-2011 | seen (237) times | Article Word Count : 961 |

Advertising is a numbers game. The more people that view your ad the more success you will have. It would be great to advertise in as much medium as possible; however, that is not possible since advertising cost money and every business establishment has a budget to follow. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully plan a suitable marketing strategy. Most advertising companies charge based on the popularity of their product. For example, Super Bowl ads can cost more than a million dollars per 30 second commercial because they attract a lot of viewers. Of course, for small businesses, a Super Bowl ad is not feasible; nor do they need that much attention. Most small business owners will focus their budget on a niche market or the area closest to their business. Because of this, a direct mail marketing campaign is a preferred method.

The word direct mail comes from “direct response” or “direct marketing”. It is basically a process of sending mail pieces to targeted customers. It is said to be a "direct” because it circumvents conventional group of media and targets a selected group of consumers. This form of advertising is said to be either the 3rd or 4th largest marketing medium behind newspapers, radio, TV and other forms of mass advertising.

Reason for using direct mail advertising service

There are many reasons why direct mail advertising is a preferred method for small businesses. First, direct mail advertising is extremely flexible. With the help of a mailing house, you narrow your mailing list to a group of consumers that are most likely to use your services or visit your business. There are literally thousands of criteria to choose from and with the data available, you can customize your list so that it targets exactly what you want. Second, when used correctly, it’s cost effective. You can customize your advertising to fit your budget, start with a few mailing pieces or a more robust campaign. Third, you can personalize your message. Because it is more targeted and you choose your audience, you can cater your message to individuals or small groups. With TV or radio, your message has to appeal to a wider audience and you cannot restrict who receives your advertising.

Drawbacks of direct mail advertising service

Though it’s a very useful service, direct mail has some drawbacks too. First, coming up with an accurate mailing can be a challenge. Even the best mailing house will offer a list that has about a 10% margin of error and some of the poorer ones can have up to a 50% error. Say you select a list with the criteria “family with pets”. Well because of the limits of data collection (families moving, pets dying, or just inaccurate information), your mailing pieces may be delivered to homes with no pets or single residents. This is a waste of money. Of course, you can try to build your own database; however, it is time consuming and requires a lot of effort and perhaps money. Second, even when it reaches its intended target, there is no guarantee that the individual will look at it. With so many mail pieces per household, residents may just discard it without ever looking at your ad. Third, direct mail can be expensive, especially if done alone. With solo pieces, you are responsible to pay for the printing, design, postage, and mailing house services. A typical cost runs 40-70 cent a piece. Of course, if it reaches your targeted audience this may not be a problem. However, for a mailing of just 1000 pieces and 20% comes back as undeliverable, that’s $140 wasted.

Because of this, many small businesses have turned to direct-mail magazines as a source of advertising their product. With a direct-mail magazine, the cost is shared between all the advertisers in the publication. This reduces the cost for everyone and allows the business owner to reach a larger pool of potential customers. For example, Hometown OC magazine in Orange County, California charges as low as 1 penny per home for a full page ad in their publication. Each of the magazine targets a specific city or area. So if you have a business in Tustin, for example, you can reach 25,000 residents in Tustin for the extremely low cost of just $250. It’s a great deal for businesses whose only criterion is their local community.

In conclusion, although direct mail has its limits, it still offers a great value to the small business owner. The advantage is that you can actually customize it. There are thousands of criteria to choose from. Also it works with any kind of budget. Literally, it can be big or small as you like it to be. If you want to use direct mail, you should spend your money on two things. At first, find a mailing house that offers quality lists. Asked them what their margin of error is and if they guarantee their service. A quality list may cost more but it will give you a better response. Secondly, carefully design your mailing piece and make sure the message stands out. With customers constantly bombarded with advertising, spend some time on design and branding will ensure less of your pieces go in the trash as junk mail. Lastly, with any form of advertising, make sure you have a way of tracking the response. Whether it’s counting the numbers of phone calls or tracking sales figures, you should pay careful attention to the response rate to ensure what is working and what is not. You will have to continuously adjust your marketing strategy based on the response rate.

Re-Publish this Article

<h1>Direct Mail Advertising: Benefits and Drawbacks</h1> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_HomeTown OC.aspx'>HomeTown OC</a> Advertising is a numbers game. The more people that view your ad the more success you will have. It would be great to advertise in as much medium as possible; however, that is not possible since advertising cost money and every business establishment has a budget to follow. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully plan a suitable marketing strategy. Most advertising companies charge based on the popularity of their product. For example, Super Bowl ads can cost more than a million dollars per 30 second commercial because they attract a lot of viewers. Of course, for small businesses, a Super Bowl ad is not feasible; nor do they need that much attention. Most small business owners will focus their budget on a niche market or the area closest to their business. Because of this, a direct mail marketing campaign is a preferred method.

The word direct mail comes from “direct response” or “direct marketing”. It is basically a process of sending mail pieces to targeted customers.  It is said to be a "direct” because it circumvents conventional group of media and targets a selected group of consumers. This form of advertising is said to be either the 3rd or 4th largest marketing medium behind newspapers, radio, TV and other forms of mass advertising.

Reason for using direct mail advertising service

There are many reasons why direct mail advertising is a preferred method for small businesses.  First, direct mail advertising is extremely flexible.  With the help of a mailing house, you narrow your mailing list to a group of consumers that are most likely to use your services or visit your business. There are literally thousands of criteria to choose from and with the data available, you can customize your list so that it targets exactly what you want.  Second, when used correctly, it’s cost effective. You can customize your advertising to fit your budget, start with a few mailing pieces or a more robust campaign. Third, you can personalize your message. Because it is more targeted and you choose your audience, you can cater your message to individuals or small groups.  With TV or radio, your message has to appeal to a wider audience and you cannot restrict who receives your advertising.

Drawbacks of direct mail advertising service
 
Though it’s a very useful service, direct mail has some drawbacks too. First, coming up with an accurate mailing can be a challenge. Even the best mailing house will offer a list that has about a 10% margin of error and some of the poorer ones can have up to a 50% error. Say you select a list with the criteria “family with pets”. Well because of the limits of data collection (families moving, pets dying, or just inaccurate information), your mailing pieces may be delivered to homes with no pets or single residents. This is a waste of money. Of course, you can try to build your own database; however, it is time consuming and requires a lot of effort and perhaps money. Second, even when it reaches its intended target, there is no guarantee that the individual will look at it. With so many mail pieces per household, residents may just discard it without ever looking at your ad. Third, direct mail can be expensive, especially if done alone. With solo pieces, you are responsible to pay for the printing, design, postage, and mailing house services. A typical cost runs 40-70 cent a piece. Of course, if it reaches your targeted audience this may not be a problem. However, for a mailing of just 1000 pieces and 20% comes back as undeliverable, that’s $140 wasted.

Because of this, many small businesses have turned to direct-mail magazines as a source of advertising their product. With a direct-mail magazine, the cost is shared between all the advertisers in the publication. This reduces the cost for everyone and allows the business owner to reach a larger pool of potential customers. For example, Hometown OC magazine in Orange County, California charges as low as 1 penny per home for a full page ad in their publication. Each of the magazine targets a specific city or area. So if you have a business in Tustin, for example, you can reach 25,000 residents in Tustin for the extremely low cost of just $250. It’s a great deal for businesses whose only criterion is their local community.

In conclusion, although direct mail has its limits, it still offers a great value to the small business owner. The advantage is that you can actually customize it. There are thousands of criteria to choose from. Also it works with any kind of budget. Literally, it can be big or small as you like it to be. If you want to use direct mail, you should spend your money on two things. At first, find a mailing house that offers quality lists. Asked them what their margin of error is and if they guarantee their service. A quality list may cost more but it will give you a better response. Secondly, carefully design your mailing piece and make sure the message stands out. With customers constantly bombarded with advertising, spend some time on design and branding will ensure less of your pieces go in the trash as junk mail. Lastly, with any form of advertising, make sure you have a way of tracking the response. Whether it’s counting the numbers of phone calls or tracking sales figures, you should pay careful attention to the response rate to ensure what is working and what is not. You will have to continuously adjust your marketing strategy based on the response rate.
About the Author: Hometown is one of the oldest <a rel="nofollow" href="http://hometownoc.com/">direct mail advertising</a> companies in Orange County. Local merchants offer amazing <a rel="nofollow" href="http://hometownoc.com/">deals in Orange County</a> that you can print out. Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Direct-Mail-Advertising-Benefits-and-Drawbacks_61634.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Direct Mail Advertising: Benefits and Drawbacks_61634.aspx</a>

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Direct Mail Advertising: Benefits and Drawbacks_61634.aspx

Author Resource :
Hometown is one of the oldest direct mail advertising companies in Orange County. Local merchants offer amazing deals in Orange County that you can print out.

Keywords : Direct mail advertising, Coupons in Orange County, Deals in Orange County, Adverting in Orange County, Hometown magazine,

Category : Business : Advertising

Print this Article Send to Friend