In order to have a Successful Direct Mail Campaign which is more Important the List or the Offers?

It has been said many times that the most important ingredient of a successful direct mail campaign is the list.  Others would say that the offer is more important.  The list and offer work hand-in-hand.  The right offer to the wrong list is just as worthless as the wrong offer to the right list.

There are a few new lists now available to make your direct mail promotion more targeted.  Regardless of who does your direct mail, there is a very good chance that R.L. Polk is their major list provider because it is one of the few companies with auto registration data.  Polk has just released ten new lists that combine automotive intelligence data with credit data under the PolkOne brand name.  Many of these new products were created for the prime market, but a few of them will work well for special finance.

The combination of multiple data sources normally will decrease the number of names available for mailing and increase the cost per name.  Keep in mind that you are looking for return on your investment, not the lowest cost per mailer.  The list is only part of the total cost for a mailing.  You also have printing and personalization of the mail piece, the envelope, sorting, mail preparation, and, of course, postage.  In many cases, postage is the most expensive part of a direct mail campaign.

If you look at a normal direct mail campaign, the typical response rate is 1%.  If you normally close 20% of the respondents, you sell two tenths of 1% of the households on the mailing list.  In a recent test of one of these new lists, 1% of the recipients purchased a vehicle.  Based on these numbers, the results of this campaign were five times better than normal.  Even if the cost of this mailing was double that of a typical direct mail campaign, the return on investment made this campaign well worth the extra cost.

Each of these new lists has its own unique attributes.  For example, if one of your lenders has a first time buyer program, you can now target individuals who have no auto loan on file.  You can also combine demographics with credit data.  If you specialize in working with Hispanics, you can now select ethic surnames and credit score.  In addition, the ability to select credit score with income is now available.  This could greatly decrease the time spent with individuals who would not qualify for your lender programs because they do not meet the minimum income guidelines.  These are just a few of the new lists available.  Contact your Coast to Coast Direct Marketing for more information.

Now what about the offer?  In the special finance industry, the offer is that you can help people get financing for a new or used vehicle who didn’t think they could get credit.  It’s that simple.  The problem is that every other dealership in your area that has a special finance department is making the same offer.  The only for you to stand out in this crowd is to do a better job stating your offer than the competition.

Below are a few profitable rules to help make your next campaign a stunning success.

If you want to use testimonials but don’t have any, offer prizes for the best ones.
You’ll get a lifetime supply.  Good testimonials can greatly increase the response to your offer.  Get them and use them.  Offer a dinner for two at a nice restaurant for the month’s best testimonial.

If your mailing asks the reader to do something, such as placing tab A into slot B, be sure the reader recognizes a benefit in the action.
Instead of just asking the reader to call you, use a statement like “Call 1-800-000-0000 today and you could be driving your new vehicle tomorrow”.

Underlining can force the reader to emphasize the proper words and phrases.
A typical letter can contain hundreds of words.  If you scan through a letter, you are more likely to stop and read the underlined words.  Make sure the main points of your letter stand out.

A better list with an offer that stands out in the crowd can make the most successful special finance marketer in your area.  Good luck and good selling.

Denny Long 2001