As I was taking out the trash this past weekend, I realized how much marketing $$$ was being thrown away. I decided to pull out all the direct mail pieces from the trash bag and sort through them. Every piece was composed of different offers, content and images. After a brief examination, I realized a great deal of money, time and effort must have been required to generate and deliver these pieces.

The common reaction to direct mail is, “oh, more junk mail” and in the trash it goes. We would never consider the amount of resources that had gone into generating the piece and it would most likely go straight from the mail box to the trash bin. As marketers, we should all take a step back and ask why are we spending so much time and money creating something that just ends up in the trash without serving its purpose? We might as well just toss the actual marketing dollars in the trash.

Direct mail is not able to generate higher response rates and ROI because of two major reasons: they are typical and they lack relevance. They are typical, meaning they look just like the 50 gazillion other pieces of direct mail that are sent out each day. A two sided postcard with some text and a couple of images or a letter that looks like a legal notice of some kind. Who wants to read through tens if not hundreds of these pieces each month?

This was a piece used by the Seattle Art Museum to promote the Life Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness exhibit. If I received this in the mail, I would  likely to flip it around and read it before throwing it away. The point I am trying to make is we should always try to create a piece that no one else is creating. Part of marketing is to stand out and not be typical. Being typical will not catch any attention and is a waste of money.This may be a thought that is always in the back of our minds, but we don’t always factor it into our marketing initiatives.

A piece that stands out will only catch someone’s attention, but not necessarily motivate response. The key to motivating response is relevance. Only communicate to those who are likely to purchase your product/service. An 80 year old lady is most likely not interested in a discounted sky diving package. Personalization is an enhancement to relevance. Talk to your prospect customers as an individual and never address them as a part of a group. Just being able to print their name on the piece is no longer sufficient in creating a personalized piece. Think about the offer, images or colors that can vary depending on who is receiving the piece. Here is a good example of a piece that is both atypical and highly personalized…

Imagine receiving this in the mail. This was a piece created by Proximity London for a sensory-based direct mail campaign. The recipient’s name is printed on the chocolate and encouraged to touch, smell and taste the piece (it was created with real chocolate).

Before being engaged in your next direct mail initiative, make sure to consider if your piece stands out and who you are sending it to. Do not send out postcards because your competitors are sending out postcards. Send out something you know your competitors will not be sending out. Remember, you are not just competing with your competitors’ pieces, but with the 50 gazillion other pieces who are not even from the same industry. Take a minute and ask yourself if you would read the piece you are about to send out or would you just throw it away.

Just a thought.

Will V