Effective Direct Mail FormatsIn order for a direct mail campaign to be successful, it should be able to comply with the "100 % effectiveness rule." The success of this endeavor hugely depends on the accuracy and effectiveness of the mailing list obtained by the company, the product or service that is being advertised and the creativity of the mail pieces. More and more businesses have chosen this marketing strategy because it is effective in increasing sales and customer base at a more affordable cost. Every year, customers receive over a thousand direct marketing mails and a significant portion of these mails end up in the trash. Due to this, there exists a competition between companies that send out direct mails. To gain competitive advantage over the others, a company should be able to choose appropriate direct mail formats that would go well with its marketing campaign. Among all direct mail formats, postcards are considered to be the most simple. Usually, company logos are printed on one side of the postcard while the other side contains colorful designs that highlight an advertised product or service. This is the preferred format of many businesses because these are affordable to print and mail. A disadvantage of this format is its limited space for marketing communication and its impersonal appearance. Customers tend to disregard them because the offers in these mails are not exclusive and are, in fact, easily seen by just about everybody.
Mailers, on the other hand, have enough space where companies can print their marketing communications. These are basically marketing letters that are enclosed in envelopes. These are made up of one to three sheets of paper where product details, service specifications and customer testimonials are printed. To encourage responses from direct mail recipients, reply envelopes are also included in mailers. Unlike postcards and other similar direct mail formats, these ensure the privacy of customers since only the party who will open the envelope will know what the offer is. A disadvantage of this format is that most often, these end up as junk mails because of its general appearance. Brochures, newsletters and catalogs are considered as the more elaborate direct mail formats. These entail higher costs for printing the direct mail materials and postage. Typically, these direct mail formats are only used for existing or current customers and not for new customers. Brochures are glossy papers where information about a specific product or service is contained. Catalogs contain details about all products and services that a company offers. Newsletters, on the other hand, give information about recent company updates and news about special deals. Self-mailers and snap mailers are two direct mail formats that do not cost much to a company. Self-mailers are just single sheets of paper that are folded thrice and sealed with adhesive tab. These do not have to be placed inside envelopes. Though this format enables companies to save, they can easily be destroyed, ripped or crumpled during transit. Snap mailers, meanwhile, are special envelopes that have perforated sides that recipients need to tear off in order to see what is inside. These are commonly used by credit card companies and mortgage companies in their direct mail campaigns. |