Direct Mail Offers
Here at MarketingZone we'll share what we know so you can get your direct mail offer done. See tips on improving your offer, how to make your offer profitable, and specific examples by industry.
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The three basic types of offers are:
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Sale or discount off the full price when people act within a prescribed timeframe
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Free - either a free gift or "buy one, get one free" or "free with purchase"
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Guarantee trial offer or money-back
Some general tips to improve your offer
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Segment or cluster prospects into like groups and align the offers you make to each segment/cluster of people so it's most compelling.
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All offers don’t have to be about "price off." It may work better for you to make an offer of a report or free assessment to demonstrate your professional expertise to the prospect.
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Make the offer as risk-free as possible, incorporating a "limited time trial" or "money back guarantee" if necessary.
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Set a specific time limit for the offer. This will increase interest and response.
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Be clear about when recipients must respond by; avoid pressuring prospects with too short of a response time, but don’t leave it open-ended. Generally, four to six weeks to respond works well.
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Tie your offer to your main benefit. For example, "Act now and save thousands of dollars on online direct mailing costs."
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Test different price points, quantity of volume discounts
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Test different ways to state your offer (e.g. "save 50 percent" versus "purchase for half price")
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Link the offer to something relevant to your product/service so that the offer acts as an incentive, not the sole reason, they contact you. Everyone might want a free iPod but are they a "qualified lead" for your business or just after the iPod? You want quality responses.
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Watch what your competitors offer. Chances are if they use the same offer for six months or a year, it's working well for them.
Next page - How to make offers that attract profitable customers
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