You probably wonder why when you go home to your mailbox everyday and open it up theres dozens and dozens of postcards and other direct mail pieces sitting waiting for you everyday. If youre like me youre probably tired of having to weed all that junk mail out and drop it straight into the recycling bin before you even get inside the door of your house. Well the cold hard fact is that companies spend a lot of money on direct mail because it works. Direct mail is still a great way to get to specific prospects with a specific offer and this is no less true in the B to B space than it is in the B to C space. Companies that put together compelling offers, purchase the proper lists and have a strong letter or piece of ad copy can still generate very respectable response rates from direct mail campaigns. Many companies use that as a tool in order to generate first level leads into their system that they can then nurture along through email campaigns or telemarketing; they can be qualified through telemarketing. Other companies use direct mail in order to approach companies that they want to market to and warm them up to sales calls. You can target personalized letters to the executives that you want to reach inside your target prospect company and then following up with a direct sales phone call with the goal of selling an appointment and getting in front of a customer. So direct mail still has its place in the overall marketing mix and a lot of people have become disappointed or desensitized to the power of direct mail but when its done right a combination of a great list, a great offer and great content direct mail can drive new leads into your companies door that will help you to accelerate sales. |
