Get Your Best Win this Xmas

88 days…

And that includes Saturdays and Sundays!

There are 88 days between today (September 19) and December 15.

Why is that so important?

Because December 15 is the last day you can do any Holiday promotion with any chance of processing and fulfilling orders!

So… are you ready?

Are you set up for your best Direct Mail win this Xmas?

In case you need a hand, I prepared a simple 4-point holiday marketing checklist for your Direct Mail Xmas campaign.

This is a very busy time of the year, for you and for your suppliers, and for your customers, so you will want to make sure you check off these points and make a lot of happy customers this holiday season.

Why are these 4 Points so important?

Well, all forms of marketing tend to perform well during the holiday season, but Direct Mail is an especially effective way to increase response rates, boost conversions, and improve overall ROI.

Do you realize that, according to a recent study, 64% of consumers say that a piece of Direct Mail inspired them to take action, such as a visit to your website or brick-and-mortar store.

And 80% of consumers share their Direct Mail with friends and family and that extends your reach and visibility.

Enough with the stats, let’s get to the 4 Point Checklist!

1. Clean Your Data!

Do you remember the 40 - 40 - 20 Rule of Direct Mail?

(If not, ask anyone with more than 20 years of experience in the business…)

A huge part of your Direct Mail success depends on the target: will the people you want to reach actually get your promotion?

Clean up your contact list first.

Make sure all the required fields have data, and in a form you can use.

Did you split the names (first name / last name) so that you can address the letter Dear First Name?

Do all the records have street addresses, a city, state and ZIP or postal code?

Have you done an address verification through a trusted source recently to clean out bad addresses? Have you updated your file with a merge/purge against a new movers file for the places you want to mail?

If you don't double-check your physical address list, you could risk miss out on potential sales or see a decline in customer retention because your customers didn’t see anything from you lately.

Real-time address validation helps ensure that your addresses are deliverable and everything you send arrives at the right place at the right time.

2. Select Your Best

Will the best targets get the best offer?

A great segment selection can make all the difference.

If you have a great offer on tea cups, make sure you select your best tea drinkers to target.

If your offer has a $1,000.00 price point, don’t select buyers with an average order value of $29.95.

The better you segment your audience, the higher your customer acquisition and ROI. You can make your segment selection based on a variety of factors, including:

· Age

· Previous products bought

· Paid Customers versus Free trials

· Date of purchase

· Gender

· Location

You are going to personalize your Direct Mail piece, right?

Remember, 68% of customers are more likely to engage with you when you send a personalized message.

(Oh and 67% of consumers age 55+ prefer to receive Direct Mail from brick-and-mortar retailers.)

One old client of mine would always say, “The more you know, the more you get.”

So, this Xmas, make sure your best offer goes to your best prospect!

3. Reward Loyalty

During the Holiday Season, people hope to get a nice gift from family and friends.

It’s a sign of love and loyalty.

That’s why you need to show your most loyal customers a little extra love at this special time of year.

So, target your very best customers with something extra special, something they did not expect…

Like…

· Do you run a loyalty reward program? Great! Give your best buyers a nice big points bonus.

>>> Don’t want to give away points? Fine. Give these most loyal people a special offer that no one else gets (and remind them of that fact!)

>>> Identify you best customers (buy lots/pay lots) and make them a special offer they simply cannot refuse. Maybe a pre-release on a new product, or a new variant of an old product.

>>> Maybe a simple Holiday Greetings card is enough. No sales pitch. No special offer. Just a few nice words to remind your best customers that you think of them this time of year. (And they will probably think of you in January for you next sale!)

4. Test, test, and test some more.

Did I mention test?

This time of year, you will probably do some big quantities of Direct Mail. You want to make sure you get lots of mail out to all your customers, all your subscribers, all you hot prospects, all your warm prospects.

With such big volumes, you have fertile ground to test.

Test envelope copy versus no envelope copy.

Test different colored envelopes.

Test different CTAs.

Test different formats: post cards versus self-mailers versus traditional envelope mailings.

Test close-faced envelopes versus window envelopes.

Test… well you get the idea.

You should ABT: Always Be Testing. But the next 88 days is a great time to test.

But, test smart: ask one simple question (“Does envelope copy version A do better than envelope copy version B?”) and make sure you code properly so you can track your results.

Test now, and reap the rewards next year of your big winners!

So…what are you waiting for?

Tick…tick…tick…

These 88 days will pass quickly!

Plan now, and get your holiday Direct Mail campaign up and running.

Peter T. Britton,

Resultant

PTB@novuscom.net