The majority of our clients say, “We’ve tried direct mail business and it didn’t work.” This experience makes us asking, “Why do several programs not perform as well as expected, while others succeed beyond a company’s wildest dreams?” Taking into consideration the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), direct mail can pull in answers rates as high as 15% or as low as 0.03%. With such a huge gap, it is easy to see why many companies have lost their trust in this rather popular marketing practice.

Over the years we’ve learned how well a direct mail program performs depending on the chemistry of three elements- format, offer, and list-and whether or not you have designed the program with enough frequency and follow-up triggers built in. But before you can pull these three elements into the most effective program possible, you have to first define:

The aim of the direct mail piece (For instance, is your goal lead generation or direct-to-order?)

The current relationship you have with the list. Is it a cold list or has qualification already occurred? (For instance, have they already attended a seminar or webinar of yours or downloaded something from your website?)

Then follow this advice as you design your direct mail business program:

FORMAT. Direct mail comes in a variety of formats-the postcard, the business letter, or the 2-D or 3-D package to name just a few. The truth is, all three of these formats pull about the equal percentage of answers, when used correctly. The magic then is to select the format most suited to reach your goal and specific audience.

OFFER. The suggestion is a critical aspect to a successful direct mail effort. From our experience, the strongest direct mail offer is one aimed at driving traffic to a website or retail location for the next qualification and/or selling (qualification if the contact is still cold and selling if it’s a contact where qualification has already done through a previous marketing activity). This suggestion may be anything from a free product demonstration, an online ROI calculator, an article download from the website, or just retrieving more service information.

LIST. The list is possibly the single most important element to an efficient direct mail strain. If you have the best format and offer but send out cards to the wrong list, you will still have nothing. And, even if you are sure you have sent it to the appropriate list, if that list has not yet been qualified you will throw out a lot of money. Even a house list can get quickly out of date. Make a qualifying call down of any list you are going to to mail to and make sure the list is still a) accurate and b) qualified to get your offer. Perform the call short (3-4 qualifying questions at the most). Just after you’ve linked with and qualified the prospect should you place them in your direct mail engine. This will save marketing precious dollars and sales precious time, while ultimately making the whole campaign more efficient.

Direct mail will always be one of the most compelling options to prospect, and when done strategically, pulls high open rates and makes excellent leads. Make relevant and cost-effective selections, tool with a frequency of at least three impressions, be sure to follow-up on every prospect you get to take an action and watch those leads pour in!