Direct Mail That Rings Your Chimes

Tim Taylor » 4/1/2006

Consumers are getting hit with over 2500 media impressions every day. This has caused them to become increasingly immune to TV commercials and radio ads. The saturation point has been reached resulting in lower than ever consumer retention. With so much being thrown at them on a daily basis, it’s simply getting harder to reach consumers effectively. To escape the media barrage, your customers are turning to technology like Sirius, XM, and TiVo. As these systems become more prevalent, your customers are beginning to miss your message entirely. Print advertisers have had to contend with the fact that newspaper subscription rates have been falling consistently over the past twenty years or so, as well. Not a very comforting thought, and not always an effective advertising medium for your business.

While I am not suggesting that you cut out your TV, radio, and newspaper ads entirely, I am recommending you tie it up by building a real advertising strategy. So how do you reach your market? Survey says…direct mail.

Over the next two years, direct mail will increase significantly as a result of these alternative media devices losing their effectiveness. Direct mail has always been one of the most effective methods to reach specific, individual consumers. The only way to get closer is to go to their door and ring the bell!

According to recent statistics, car dealers are spending more than ever on advertising in order to make it work. Three years ago the national average for new car acquisitions was $450 per car. Today it ranges from $650 per car to well-over $800 per car, in some markets. So how can you tie it all up in a neat package? Use direct mail to build and support your other ad media. Stop using one time, hit-and-run, direct mail campaigns—they don’t work. Instead, use innovation, simplicity, and honesty as building blocks to develop an effective advertising strategy. You can generate a greater response with a direct mail piece when it is innovative and when it coordinates with your overall advertising campaign.  Direct mail that supports your TV spots, and radio ads that mention your direct mail piece all contribute to creating a cohesive advertising strategy. Consumers will remember “Look for our coupon in your mailbox this week!” They really will. This alone will increase your overall response, and if you continue to use direct mail on a consistent basis, you should have a greatly improved response with fewer peaks and valleys. You can still build a push weekend, but you want to build in consistency as well. Burying your sales and management staff won’t make you more money and might actually cost you money.