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Coupons in the Mail
To generate a strong response, enclose a gift certificate or discount coupon on heavier stock, styled like a credit card and personalized for each valued customer. For a club or health facility, attach a personalized ID card for a bring-a-friend offer for members, or a one-day trial for prospects. These cards serve as an appealing "call to action" to recipients, who are likely to slip them into a wallet or handbag for later use.
The bonus for the marketer is that response to the campaign is easily and accurately tracked when the recipient presents the card. And with a self-mailer, you may even save on mailing costs while projecting an impressive corporate image and demonstrating that you care about every customer as an individual.
Be Careful With Personal Information
One more issue to consider is the sensitivity of personal information. Although most people would prefer to receive mail with their names on it rather than addressed to "Occupant" or "The Family at ..." including too much personal and personalized information can make recipients nervous.
You don't want to alarm recipients or make them wonder, "How did they get my personal information?" Similarly, you should avoid using very personal data like clothing sizes, weight or specific age in a direct mail piece, even if this information is known.
In many cases, the direct marketer is working with little more customer data than names and addresses, but even this limited information can be used to advantage when it's applied effectively and sparingly to the preprinted mailer, the versioned mailer or to a self-mailer with a gift card enclosed.
A better approach than letting budget constraints limit your marketing universe or reduce the quality of your mailing pieces is to research what is available within your price range, and then liberally apply your creativity and imagination. Generating a higher response with a limited budget definitely is a challenge, but by working smarter you can succeed.
David Henkel is president of Johnson & Quin, located in Niles, Ill. Johnson & Quin is a national leader in targeted full-service direct mail printing and production offering the latest data and personalization technologies and multichannel marketing capabilities. He can be reached at dhenkel@J-QUIN.com.
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