How To Increase Response In Direct Marketing

While direct marketing activities like email marketing offer great ROI, there are a few drawbacks to take note of. One of these is open rates, which influences response rates. It’s challenging to convince a message recipient to open an email – let alone respond to one. However, if you get your direct marketing recipe just right, you’re essentially developing a lead generating machine that will offer returns long after you’ve outlaid the initial capital. So, before you embark on a new direct marketing campaign for your brand, here are 7 points to remember to increase responses in your direct marketing campaigns:

1. Personalise All Mails

Most email marketing campaigns talk generally, as if referring to all contacts at once. Emails that speak directly to the recipient, like using their first name in the subject line, have a better chance of being opened as well as read.

2. Segment Your Lists

Don’t send one email to all of your contacts, as your supplier will require different information than your customer. Divide your database contacts into categories (suppliers, customers, staff) and tailor emails that suite the tastes of each segment.

3. Focus On Design

The modern consumer wants to be wowed with breath-taking visuals that make them want to start up graphic design. Email marketing messages that are above average in the aesthetics department have a much better chance of being responded to.

4. Incentivise Readers

The easiest way in order to inject some life into your email marketing is to incentivise mail recipients to get back to you, using something like a giveaway or a lucky draw. This can also be used to achieve other marketing objectives, like increasing website traffic.

5. Integrated Marketing

Email marketing is highly effective due to a number of reasons, one of which being its ability to integrate with other marketing platforms. For example, a marketing mailer can link people to a business website, social media pages, blogs, third parties, etc.

6. Use Strong CTAs

Readers of your mails won’t know what to do with your information unless you tell them. Likewise, they won’t click through to any resources from the mail if you don’t instruct them will prominent call-to-action buttons and other clickable elements.

7. Improve With Data

Finally, the best way to improve your email marketing response rates is this: data-driven decisions. Look at past campaigns, noting where it did well and where there is room for improvement. Then use this information when next designing a promotional email.

A keen understanding of marketing fundamentals is required in order to understand how people interact with direct marketing, and what activities are best to maximise engagement and response rates.

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