What it All Boils Down To

We’ve got your results from the Direct Mail Survey. And for those of you in the industry, This was no Surprise at all…

We analyzed each response and found the most successful companies said that they direct mailed:

1. A minimum of 4 times per year.
2. A majority of them said Postcards and Letters give them the BEST results.
3. A majority of them said Money Mailer/ Val-Pak give them the WORST results.
4. Of those who said direct mail did not work for them, they mailed less than twice a year.
5. Those that mailed 1-2 times a year have had little to no success
     Those that mailed 3-4 times a year have had some success
     Those that mailed more than 7 times a year have had the most success

So the results indicate that to be successful at Direct Mail, you need to:

1. Consistently Mail – at least 5 to 7 or more times per year
2. Use Postcards and Letters

But the Offer, the Copy, and the Direct Mail Piece itself HAS to be good. It HAS to elicit a DIRECT RESPONSE !

For more information on What to Put in your Direct Mail Piece – entitled “It’s What You Say” see our Blog at: http://thebedrock.com/it’s-what-you-say/

And Here’s the Whole Enchilada:

For those of you hungry for numbers, here’s the data we collected.

This is Who Responded:

Here is what YOUR Responses were:

Fires, Floods, Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, and Snow Storms.

These are some of the disaster situations we think about and prepare for…. But what about marketing disasters? What about when the phone doesn’t ring? Or when no one is setting appointments?

You plan for other emergencies, so why not plan for Marketing Emergencies?

When you think about it, it’s a lot like any other emergency. You know the type of things that could go wrong, and since you know what could go wrong, you should be able to anticipate how to compensate for it… Right?

We’d all like to think so…

Let’s look at a couple of Causes and their Effects to see what we could plan for.

Cause: The Economy is Dog Slow.

Effect: People don’t have a lot of money and they will most likely repair their equipment.

Plan: Structure an offer around repairing their equipment – and that’ll at least get you in the door. You’ll have a much better chance of pitching new equipment (if needed) when you’re able to meet people and get a look at their equipment.

Cause: The Weather isn’t Cooperating.

Effect: You have offers out there. But the timing isn’t “just right.” It’s Too Hot to push furnaces. Or it’s Too Cold to push A/C. What do you do?…

Plan: Gear up campaigns that can go out at a moments notice. With weather that changes so quickly, you’ve got to be able to turn on a dime.

Make up an offer, and keep it in your warehouse for the season you are NOT in. Because let’s face it, when the weather IS cooperating, you just have to be the first people think of.

Wait… and when the weather ISN’T Cooperating… you STILL have to be the first people think of.

Either way, you need to get your act together, and keep it together. Be prepared for Marketing Emergencies and you’ll survive the toughest storms that blow your way.

For more information on how to plan for Marketing Emergencies and what to say or do –
Call Bedrock Markets at:
1-888-363-3377

You may have a few tools in your marketing tool belt, but you haven’t connected all the dots quite yet…

Today we’re going to connect 2 of those dots.

The first dot is print – whatever you see on a postcard, yard sign, billboard, or other hard copy. The second dot is electronic marketing – websites, videos, and other dynamic content.

How do we connect these dots? Quite simply, with a QR code (aka Quick Rate Code).

There is a lot of hype about QR Codes. Even the Post Office jumped on the bandwagon this last summer and said if you used QR codes for a short period of time on your mail pieces, you could get a discount on your bulk mail rates.

QR Codes can be found on table top ads at a restaurant, in the newspaper, on a direct mail piece, or even on a Billboard.

If you don’t remember what they look like – Here is one:

So what’s the big deal with this new Code?

You can tie dynamic electronic media to your static mail piece. You can make it LIVE ! It can talk to you, it can show you a video, it can do all kinds of things!

Here are the “Catches:”

1. People have to have a Smart Phone that will:
a. Have internet accessibility (a data plan)
b. Have a camera to take an image of the QR Code.

2. People have to know what a QR code is and how to use it.

To Help you through this process.. we’re going to GIVE you some secrets to use in your marketing.

Secret #1: Make it Fun

Let’s face it, people will engage more if they see the ‘fun’ in an activity. No one wants to be bored, unless they can see the big value. Fun ideas are:

• Riddle Answers
• Preview Music
• Preview Video
• Directions to GO Somewhere
• Historical Facts
• Treasure Hunt
• Random Scan Contest
• Trivia Questions

Any of these can be put in a setting to engage your customers in a QR Activity.

Secret #2: Make it Worthwhile

What NOT to do: NO one wants to go to your website just to go to your website. DO NOT just put your website as the connection to your QR Code.

So What is Worthwhile? It has to be Meaningful to them. Relevant to them. It has to have WORTH to them.

Lot’s of things, like:

• Take a Survey – You could have them take a survey about food, the quality of service, the ambiance. They are sitting there anyway- what else are they going to do?

• Get a Coupon for dollars OFF this order or next order. Everybody loves a discount. They’ll take a discount for later, but they would really like one now (stay tuned for later in this post, on how to offer it now, and still get what you want).

• Restaurant Menus Let’s say you have people strolling by the restaurant, and you had a QR code in the window that says: “Scan this Code for our latest Menu” Wow ! They could view the latest menu, see photos and price, all from the website connected to your QR Code.

• For Sale or Rent Home or Office Information. What if people driving by your home for sale, or building for rent saw a BIG QR Code that would give them information about the listing instantly? They could see all the details, including, how much the rent or price is, how to get hold of you or the realtor, the square feet, number of beds and baths, other amenities, etc.

What if they could see a virtual tour of the inside of the home or building, all by clicking on your QR Code. Fantastic?! YES!

“So What Do I Get Out of This?”

That’s the key – you need to capture some information on the customer, so you can market to them again… and again… and again.

How do you do that?

Simple: At the beginning of your webpage connection, you collect the key information you want from them. It can’t be too much, or you will lose them. Customers are skittish about giving out too much information to an untrusted source.

At Bedrock, we suggest 3 key Data Elements:

• First Name
• Email Address
• Phone

They may not give you their phone, but they will more than likely share their First Name and Email Address. And that, my friend, is much better than nothing.

Your are already reaching out in print in some form already, why not tie electronic media to it through QR Codes, that can make your dollars – “Stand up and Sing.”

Call Bedrock today at 1-888-363-3377, and we’ll put a whistle in your step, and a humm in your tune… all the way to the bank.

Literally, if teenagers mutated faster than other generations, they may end up with just thumbs… Why, you ask?

Have you ever been in the room with the teens, and dare I say, “tweens” (adolescents prior to teenage years), you may happen to notice the clack, clack, clack of their thumbs on cells.

And if thumbs are the only digits teens use, we could conceivably be spawning a generation of “All Thumbs.”

… But not really.

Remember in our last Blog on Yard Signs, that texting has more coverage than you think. Here’s the part:

“I bet you’ll be surprised to learn that 72% of mobile subscribers send or receive 664 texts per month… even Early Boomers (45-54) are texting friends, sending or receiving 272 texts per month.”

^{http://www.motomessage.com/mobile-marketing-growth-statistics/}

What do we make of all this new texting trend, and alphabet…? Probably that we need to be involved, so we can communicate with people the WAY THEY are communicating with each other. In a word:

Texting

“So how do you reach texters?” you might say. And that is a very good question.

First Rule
You can’t (and shouldn’t) buy a list of people’s cell phones and blast away at them. That’s NOT good.

But if you could have them text you…? Now that’s a different story altogether! “And how Exactly do I do that,” you ask?

Second Rule
Get Them to ask you for information THROUGH Texting.

Here’s How You Do It:

Let’s say you have a shoe store. And you set up little signs (and some big ones) throughout the store that offer some deal – 25% OFF of all Running Shoes, IF they text 55678, and type in the code “Shoes.”

Instantly, a pre-set text fires back to their cell saying: “Welcome, to ABC Shoes, You get 25% Off your next pair of Running Shoes. Just show this TEXT to the Cashier.”

Now, what does the customer get? He gets a discount that he didn’t have before… he’s happy.

What do you get? You get his cell number and can send him a text offer at your choosing because he just “opted-in” to your text service. You’re WAY Happy !

When you set up texting for your business, you have a growing group of cell phones that you can send a text message to. You can make offers when business is slow. Instantly. RIGHT NOW! What would you give to have your customers know you have a special TODAY. Sent right to their person. Right the way they like it – Texted to their cells.

Confirm Appointments by Texting

Here’s another benefit to your business. Let’s say you’re in a business that has appointments for your customers or patients (the people you serve). What would happen if you could offer them reminders for their appointments?

AUTOMATICALLY.

You set it up, and the system does the rest!

Think of it this way… If you capture your currently missed appointments by 20% — your Gross Revenue should GO UP, By 20%!!!

What’s that worth? – LOTSA Money!

Happy Texting…

To set up your Texting Programs, or get more ideas on how to capture your customer’s cell numbers, or figure out what to text, once you have their cell number, Give us a call at Bedrock at 1-888-363-3377 and we’ll be BFF (best friends forever).

Some would say all the signs point that way.

With record deficits each year at the Post Office, and increasing electronic media points of contact – some say, Definitely.

But wait…

The end of Direct Mail life is not totally dead. In fact, a recent study by ICOM (international advertising agencies) showed that 18- to 34-year-olds communicated a nearly two-to-one preference for receiving product information in the mail vs. other electronic options such as online or through e-mail. Respondents 65 years and older also overwhelmingly prefer direct mail for product communications.

So if Direct Mail is not only NOT DEAD, but the preferred source of contact 2 to 1, then what possible reasons could their be to use our friendly (smiles) direct mail system?

Well, I came up with 11. Not 7, but 11. So here are some very good reasons to use the system Benjamin Franklin instituted.

11 Reasons To Use Direct Mail:

 
1. Sense of Urgency
You can create a sense of urgency – the offer will expire at some point. Knowing there is a deadline motivates people to take action.

2. It is accountable
If they didn’t respond by the expiration date, you know if the effort worked or didn’t work.

3. It’s economical
You can keep your costs controlled to a per piece cost. It’s far more economical than face-to-face calls.

4. Exact Cost
Your cost per sale is very understandable. Total Sales/Profit divided by Total Cost = XXX % Return on Investment.

5. It’s Convenient
All you have to do is determine your copy, and pull the trigger.

6. Target Your Audience
You can choose your exact demographic and geographic of those that will respond to you.

7. Get Personal
By putting the prospects name on the piece, you can tailor the marketing piece to have a greater impact.

8. You can Test
Testing your piece to see what works and doesn’t, can give you the advantage of better responses to your campaigns in the future. As you mail more, you learn more, and it actually costs you less.

9. Campaigns are Best
A Campaign is Better than a single piece: By continuing to target the same market with the same or varied pieces, you can produce a campaign that will bring response rates most every time you mail.

10. Direct Mail is Theater in Print!
You have a sufficiently large canvas for telling people a complex story.

11. Shelf Life
A direct mail piece can hang around on the counter or coffee table for weeks or months. Your prospect can and will look at it over and over again.

So the next time you want to “Dis” your mail box, look around, and see what and who is reaching you… and getting business from it.

Which brings up the question – what are you doing to reach your potential customers?

If you’re not mailing to them…. Someone else is…

Isn’t it about… time?

^{1 – 9 are from Guerrilla Marketing Attack, Jay Conrad Levinson p 120 – 122
10 is from Direct Marketing Success, Denny Hatch, p 133 – 137 (great for MEI self marketing, by the way)
11 is from the Rock}