Requirements for successful Automotive Direct Mail Campaigns
Car Dealer Direct Mail Facts:
Did you know — 81% of households either read or scanned advertising mail in 2011, according to the DMA.
For small and medium sized businesses in particular, NY automotive direct mail is an important tool to use because it provides immediate response with leads and sales. Direct mail is personal, you can tell a complete story, and it is much more credible than e-mail.
7 Requirements for Success:
1. Set goals — Make it clear on what you hope to achieve from your automotive direct mail campaign. Your goals for the mail piece will drive list selection, your message, special offers and layout.
2. Develop the list — Lists can be an expensive element of a car dealer direct mail campaign, costing anywhere from $.05-$.25 or more per name. So, begin by compiling a house list from previous customers, contacts, or others who have expressed an interest in your products or services. Use whatever existing contacts your business already has including any that can be harvested from social media. Then use a trustworthy knowledgeable list supplier to help compile a list that matches your products and services being offered. If you wish to target certain neighborhoods consider saturation lists which cover entire carrier routes and afford large postage savings.
3. Offer and call to action —Include a special offer, discount or added service that is not always available. Coupons or savings vouchers should be considered. Include an expiration date and an easy means to take advantage of the offer.
4. Send the right message —Do not underestimate the importance of copywriting. Create the message content to match the likely purchasing factors of your prospective customer, i.e. savings, convenience etc. Compile as much information as possible about the recipients. The more you can personalize the content, the better the response. It is important to ensure that your piece captures the reader’s attention quickly. Unless you have a writing pro on staff, this is an area to outsource to someone with experience.
5. Create unique designs — Ensure that your concept causes natural curiosity to open the letter or read the card. Take advantage of many different packaging options available from specialty envelopes, custom folds, Post-it notes and hundreds of other creative designs.
6. Choose a fulfillment provider — If you plan to send more than 2,500 pieces, a fulfillment house is usually necessary to manage the printing and mailing, take note that some fulfillment houses will provide other services, such as planning, copywriting and graphic design, list purchasing and can help you save money with bar coding and pre-sorting. Choosing the right vendor can save time and money and even improve your response rates.
7. Test, measure and refine — Through test mailings you can find out what’s working and what’s not, without spending too much money on a single concept that doesn’t reach desired response rates. The best practice is to do small drops until you see acceptable results, and then run with it. A quality mail vendor can offer other analytic means to check ROI.
Hopefully these tips help you get a successful Automotive Direct Mail Campaigns up and running! NJ Car Dealer Advertising Agency provides digital marketing to the entire PA & NY area! Contact us for more information!