Businesses are singing the blues – the electronic marketing
blues, that is. CASL (Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation) has disrupted certain
business promotion models by requiring that all recipients of such messages
have given prior consent or fall under implied consent. Gone are the days of
the email blast, the commercial text message and the unsolicited social media
promotion – no minor blow to legitimate businesses especially entrepreneurs
and small companies with limited budgets
that have relied on the electronic media to promote themselves and to prospect
for those all-important new customers. While CASL’s goal to reduce unwanted
messages is laudable, the legislation is forcing a change of direction and a
re-evaluation of methods including a return to an old stand-by ̶ Direct
Mail.
Direct Mail can fill
the gap caused by CASL
Your email marketing list continues to be a legitimate way
for your business to communicate with those who have an existing commercial
relationship with you, who have given their explicit consent, or who have
implied consent.
The problem is: How do you find new
customers? How are new prospects made aware of your very existence and the
wonderful things you can do or provide?
Yes, there are options such as links
in online ads or the use of blogs on social
media. But ads are more impersonal and blogging requires someone with that set
of skills and constant attention. These methods while useful may not reach the
person who does not read blogs or skips the ads.
Direct Mail is a proven method – with
the right preparation. Arguments against it are the cost. However, if
carried out properly Direct Mail can successfully broaden your reach, can bring
in new prospects and even enlarge your email contacts by inviting prospects to
sign up to your communication. It has worked for the businesses as diverse as a
musical instrument dealer and a long distance company. The key elements for
success are:
- Precise targeting,
- Addressed mail (name and address), and a
- An attractive, inviting or enticing insert
Precise targeting is important in
order to reach those most likely to be interested in your message. It avoids
waste. Which types of people are buying from you? Your own customer list can
provide much of that information. If it isn’t clear then a professional analysis
of the list will reveal the kind of customers already engaged with you. Using
that information those types of households dominant in particular geographic
areas can then be targeted. In the case of the instrument dealer, he wanted to
hold a one day sale. He knew he had to target families with children, at a
certain level of income. He sent invitations to the households in areas that
exhibited those characteristics
Targeting gets you into the
right geography but so far it’s still junk mail. The key here is to personalize
your message. Use the name and address of the householder on the mail piece.
This technique recognizes that there is a person on the other end and separates
it from other mailings. Canada Post has found that there is a high propensity for
individuals to open addressed mail.
With personalization you have
increase your chances that you have their attention and that they will actually
open up the envelope. Now you must reward them. From here on in your insert
must speak for you. It has to be attractive to the eye, offer good information,
perhaps the opportunity to take advantage of a sale or a coupon. The instrument
dealer took it one step further. Confronted with a large ethnic segment in his
target areas, he chose to send the invitations in their language. He was
speaking their language – recognizing who they were. He had a great sale.
Now that you have their
attention and their interest invite the prospect to sign up to your email – for
a reward. This could be the start of a long relationship.
If you need to reach beyond your
customer base Direct Mail is an alternative worth looking at. When precisely
targeted, personalized with name and address and rewarding the prospect for
their willingness to investigate who you are, Direct Mail can connect you with
new prospects and fill the gap of electronic marketing.
Hilde Reis-Smart is the owner of
SM Research a company that generates targeted Consumer and Business lists and
uses Analytics to mine for customers.
