Direct Mail and Direct Response

If you are considering direct mail as an addition to your current marketing program, or if you already use direct mail but are currently handling it yourself, you should consider hiring a direct mail service... and then start direct respnse... We offer both methods.

Direct Mail

As the name implies, a direct mail service is any company that support for some aspect of direct mail. These companies vary based on the types of services they offer. For example, some direct mail services specialize in digital postcard printing / mailing, while others offer everything from postcards to more complex direct mail packages.

When researching direct mail services, you should start by making a list of the kinds of direct mail service you will need. That way, you can narrow your search to those companies who provide the types of services you need. After all, there's no point in asking about secondary factors like pricing and customer support if the direct mail service doesn't even provide the primary factors you're after.

Here's a general list of services provided by direct mail companies. Not all companies will offer this entire list, so extract that items that are important to you and use them when screening direct mail service providers.

The Convenience Factor

One of the main reasons marketing professionals use direct mail services is for convenience and time savings. When you get down to it, there isn't much a direct mail service does that you couldn't do for yourself. You could design, print and mail a postcard or letter. But when you multiply that postcard or letter times a hundred, a thousand or more, you can see where it makes sense to bring in the professionals.

Direct Response

This marketing method refers to advertising methods which solicit an immediate and predictable response from target audiences. A distinguishing characteristic of the Direct Response Method is known as a 'Call-To-Action'. The idea behind Direct Response Advertising is to broadcast a marketed message through media forms such as radio, internet, newspapers, magazines and TV.

The Direct Response message is intended to encourage potential customers to act on the message presented to them and to make a purchase. A thing to note about Direct Response Advertising is that it is only one small part of the entire process of the Direct Response Method of Marketing. The Direct Response Method of Marketing encompasses product pricing, sales strategy, distribution, customer support, media planning, market research, and of course, the ever important advertising.

Advertising through the internet can be classified under Direct Response Internet Marketing. Direct Response Internet Marketing includes advertisements sent through emails, banners, links, forum posts, etc...

Online advertisements for Direct Response offers can be found on virtually every type of website, whether they are blogs, news sites, reference sites, and/or network sites as promotional banners or refer links. When clicked, these banners and links bring the user back to the advertiser's particular website for more information and in hopes of generating a sale by way of the 'Call-To-Action'.

Direct Response Advertising is intended to produce direct and immediate results. Results from Direct Response TV, Radio, and/or Internet Advertising Campaigns can be instantaneously measured and quantified, which is one of the reasons it is so popular.

Unlike traditional marketing and advertising campaigns, data is accessible over a very short period of time. It is unlike branding campaigns implemented within traditional marketing and advertising techniques because such campaigns may take months for enough data to be generated in order for the impact of the campaign to be measured.