"We sent out a mailing and nothing happened."

Let me paint you a picture. You have a hot new product or service, and you really want to bring it out to market. You come up with a super-cool mailing or promotion. You have your target list. You produce your mailing and send it out with high hopes and the best intentions. And then . . . nothing. Not a single call. What went wrong?

The truth is, a lot can go wrong when it comes to direct marketing. It could have been bad timing, a bum list, the wrong target, the wrong message, and so on. But what I often ask is, "What did you EXPECT to happen in the first place?" Sometimes, we get so caught up in the rush of a new product or service, or a clever message that we forget to define our expectations before we set out to market.

Here's a simple but effective exercise that will make sure your next mailing will be better than your last one. Before working up catchy phrases and cool images, ask this: "What do we want recipients to do, think or say when they receive our promotion?" Then, draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper. On the left side write: "Desired Outcomes." On the right side: "Necessary Ingredients."

Under “Desired Outcomes,” list all the desired reactions that you want to elicit from your audience. Some examples would include: “I want to ‘warm’ them up for a future sales call.” “I want them to visit our website for an online demonstration.” “I want them to perceive us as an industry leader.” “I want them to call for an in-person analysis.”

On the right column under “Necessary Ingredients,” list all the criteria that would make the “Outcomes” possible. For instance, if you want recipients to visit your site for a demo, “Ingredients” would include: a large, bold URL with invitation to visit, multiple reasons to view the demo, attractive screen grabs from the demo, valuable information that could be learned from taking the time to visit your site, and so on.

If one of your “Outcomes” was to “warm” recipients for a future sales call, “Ingredients should include: informing them that a person will, in fact, be calling; explaining why they should take the call; giving them some specifics as to what will be covered in the call, and so on.

And if you want recipients to “call” you, a large, bold phone number, preferably a toll-free number, is most certainly in order.

Try this on your next direct marketing effort, and you will most certainly improve your results. In fact, this same exercise can be applied to virtually any other form of marketing:

- What do you want attendees to do when they see you at a tradeshow?

- What do you want readers to do when they see your next print ad?

- What’s the first impression you want to make when a visitor lands on your home page?

And, for the brand-conscious, remember that the key components of your brand message and image must be woven in seamlessly from beginning to end.

It’s this kind of approach that will move you away from hit-and-run marketing, and one step closer to true, strategic, results-oriented brand-building.

"We sent out a mailing and nothing happened." - To learn more about this author, visit Ed Delia's Website.

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