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If
your direct mail marketing program is not producing the results you'd
like, take a hard look at your offer.
Chances are, you can improve your response by crafting a
stronger, more compelling offer. For
example, a recent business-to-business mailing by one of my clients
offered free samples and pulled a 7.5% response. By industry standards,
particularly in the business-to-business arena, that's a respectable
response. Here
are the pertinent details: A
manufacturer and wholesaler of skin-care products, my client offered
free samples to a targeted list of licensed estheticians (high-end
skin-care professionals). These two factors -- the offer and the list --
were clearly the most important reasons for the mailing's success.
The
third factor was the copy. Of these key factors that played a role in generating an
interest in my client's products, the least important factor was the
copy. Sure, the copy played
a role and it had an impact. But
without an excellent offer - free samples - it's unlikely that this
mailing would have produced much more than a handful of responses. Crafting An Effective Offer: First, Do
Your Homework I
realize that not everyone's business is suited to offering free samples.
But that doesn't mean you can't craft a stronger, more compelling
offer that will substantially increase your response rate.
To
craft an effective offer you should first consider the economics of your
business. What is the best
offer you can afford to make to land a new account?
Is your business such that you can settle for substantially lower
margins, a break-even or even a slight loss on the first order? For
example, you run a high-end printing business.
You know that the top 20% of your customer base spends an average
of $23,000 a year with you. And because of the high-quality nature of your work and your
outstanding customer service, these top-tier clients stay on the books
with you for an average of five years. When
looked at in this light you may determine that you can afford to make a
generous offer in targeting prospects that fit the same profile as your
best customers. You may, in
fact, want to make the prospect an offer of a significant discount on
their first order, free color separations or some other special
incentive. Get Creative
With Your Offer Allow
me to continue with the above example and show you how a little
creativity can help you craft an even more compelling and unique offer. Let's
say you feel that the offer of a first-order discount would cheapen the
high-end, high quality image you've worked hard to establish for your
printing company. So you
and your staff do some brainstorming and come up with another idea.
After careful consideration of the $115,000 future income stream
each name on your targeted list is capable of producing you decide to do
a test mailing of a very special offer. An offer that, figuratively and
literally, drives home your corporate image as a classy organization.
Here
it is: Because
you have a world-class printing facility with state-of-the-art presses
and digital imaging equipment your most effective sales approach is to
have the prospect tour your shop. So
your offer is a guided tour of your facilities. But
here's the kicker: You
arrange for a limousine service to provide each prospect with
transportation from their office to your shop and back.
(I can see the envelope copy now.
"May I send the limo for you?"
Who wouldn't want to read what's inside?)
Plus,
for an added touch of class and more selling time with the prospect, you
schedule the tour immediately preceding the lunch hour.
Then, upon conclusion of the tour you and the prospect dine
together in your executive offices with lunch ordered in from a fine
restaurant. When lunch is
over you walk your soon-to-be customer to their limo and warmly send
them on their way. Class,
all the way. Play
your cards right and this approach will also generate some highly
favorable publicity (as in FREE advertising) for you. By
the way, if you use this idea let me know.
If you use it and get great results with it how about sending me
a case of filet mignons from Omaha Steaks? Now,
maybe your business doesn't lend itself to the type of offer I've just
described. That doesn't
matter. The
two key points I want you to take away from this example are as follows: 1.
Be a progressive, forward-thinking, "big-picture" marketer.
When calculating the ROI of any marketing effort, don't focus
solely on the short-term profitability of making a sale. Look also at
the much more substantial and profitable outcome of making a customer. 2.
When crafting an offer don't be afraid to think outside the box.
Make every effort to make your offer fun, unique, compelling.
Ask yourself, "If I were receiving this offer instead of
sending it out what would motivate me to take action?" Successful
Offers For Your Next Mailing -- Two Proven Business-To-Business Offers Sometimes,
particularly when you're mailing to a larger universe of prospects,
circumstances may restrict how creative or generous you can be with your
offer. That's
why I want to share with you two low-cost business-to-business
lead-generation offers you can use to achieve profitable results. But
first let me preface that with a brief discourse on one of the most
significant challenges faced by business-to-business marketers.
You
see, way too many business-to-business offers amount to nothing more
than "Call us for further information."
The problem with this offer is that it lacks any motivating force
and the prospect feels no need to take action.
Consequently,
the only people likely to respond are those folks who are already
interested in buying the product or using the service.
The end result is that "Call us for further
information" will produce high quality leads but not nearly enough
of them to make your salespeople happy and your marketing program
successful. On
the other hand, offering a free premium such as a Mag-lite Flashlight,
will generate a high number of leads, but at an increase in fulfillment
costs and a substantial drop-off in the quality of the leads. Using
one of the two offers detailed below can help you solve this
quantity/quality dilemma: 1.
Free Informational booklet
- Today's business owners and executives are overloaded with reading
material. The paradox is that they are always on the lookout for
advice, tips, pointers and information that can help them do a better
job of doing their job or running their business.
(Your taking the time to read my article is a perfect example of
this. And by the way, thank
you for doing so.) The
topic of your booklet should obviously be something of genuine interest
to your targeted prospects. It should offer relevant, helpful, meaningful information in
a seemingly unbiased and neutral way.
At the same time, the information in your booklet should help
sell the reader, in a soft and subtle manner, on your product or
service. A good editorial approach to take with your booklet is to
explain how to successfully accomplish a certain end result or how to
select a product that will help your prospects achieve that result. Naturally you wan to slant your material in such a way that
the reader will favor your approach or your product. Once
you've selected the topic and content approach for your booklet your
next step is to give it a title that will attract attention and generate
response. A good title is
very important and will largely determine how successful your free
booklet offer is. Here
are some examples of effective business-to-business booklet titles:
2.
Case Study - A Case
Study can make a great offer and a powerfully effective marketing tool.
Essentially a Case Study is a success story that details how your
company was able to help a specific client achieve exceptional results.
You can also look at it as a lengthy and detailed testimonial
written in the form of a magazine article.
A
good format for a Case Study is as follows: Problem:
This is how things were before our customer started using our product or
service. Solution:
This is how we solved the problem. Payoff: This is the documented payoff our products/services have enabled the customer to achieve. You
want your Case Study to show the "how’s and why’s" of a
customer's situation and decision. For example, how many products did they evaluate and which
other companies were among the "finalists"? Why did the customer choose your product over the others?
Your Case Study should emphasize the successful results your
customer achieved with your product or service. Plus,
you'll want to be sure and include numerous direct quotes from the
principal parties involved in the buying decision.
Also, as with the informational booklet, you'll need to give your
Case Study a good title. Well-written
case studies will build tremendous credibility for your product or
service. By providing
references and helping prospects gain a better understanding of how your
product or service can help them achieve their goals and objectives, a
good Case Study can overcome the prospect's natural skepticism. Plus,
a Case Study has public relations value.
Many trade publications make extensive use of them, either as
full-length feature articles or as fillers. Profitable
direct mail marketing hinges on your making the right offer to the right
people in the right way. If your direct mail efforts are not as successful as you
think they should be, improving your results may be as simple as
improving your offer. |
