Direct mail can be a critically important component of an all-encompassing strategy, giving professionals a cost effective way to send action-oriented, personalized messages to key market segments and to continually improve that messaging based on results. The reports of direct mail's death have been greatly exaggerated. In fact, direct mail is alive and well, but it's changing. If you've tried direct mail and not achieved the results you hoped for, it's not because direct mail doesn't work. Maybe you expected instant results from the single piece you mailed out. Or perhaps you failed to personalize your messaging. Whatever the reason, you probably failed to employ best practice strategies that fully leverage direct mail's advantages over other forms of advertising.
Target only the customers you want
Working with a mailing list provider, you can select the precise criteria that match your target audience. Mailing list providers, for example, can help you build lists based on location, mortgage amount and credit score data, among others. Selecting specific parameters, you can be confident that you're reaching only the clients you want and not wasting money on those you don't.
In 2015, it's more important than ever to analyze the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. Direct mail makes it easy to see what's working and what isn't. You can track how many calls you receive from your efforts as well as identify which loans close from it. You can also include separate codes for each market segment to monitor how well each responds to your mailing. And you can use these results to enhance messaging and improve future response rates from segments that under perform.
Your message needs to grab your readers' attention and move them to take action. Make sure they are clear, compelling and original. Avoid trite expressions and exaggerated language that come across as hype and turn off your prospects. To build credibility and trust, give readers specific and realistic benefits rather than generic claims. Be sure to correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you print. Finally, thoroughly vet each piece with trusted colleagues who can help maximize its effectiveness.
Make a long-term commitment to create campaigns, not individual pieces
Some prospects will respond to your first mailing. Others need more time and more mailings. For this reason, think of the pieces you create as parts of a comprehensive, long-term campaign, in the same way as the chapters of a book hold together and relate to one another to tell the entire story. Create all the pieces that constitute your campaign before you send out the first to ensure they are well integrated and your messages flow naturally, from the first to the last.
K. Justin Restaino is vice president of Titan List & Mailing Services Inc. For more than 15 years, he has led Titan’s Mortgage Division, helping lenders of all capacities grow their businesses utilizing targeted direct mail. With a specialized focus in refinance and purchase markets, Restaino has the insight for proper data and mail application for success. He may be reached by phone at (800) 544-8060, ext. 204 or e-mail [email protected].
This article originally appeared in the March 2015 print edition of National Mortgage Professional Magazine.
