To run a successful direct marketing campaign typically demands that you have a number of prerequisites in place including:
- a clear and well-crafted proposition that hopefully contains differentiators between your and your competition;
- defined success criteria;
- well-trained and knowledgeable personnel for both delivery and fast follow-up activities for live leads;
- accurate and verified market segment data as the basis for your communications;
- an over-arching management and control system.
If any of these components are missing or poorly implemented, then your direct marketing campaign is likely to generate disappointing results.
Getting it right isn’t always easy. When times are tough and budgets scarce there is always the temptation to cut corners and try to fly the campaign by ‘the seat of your pants’.
There are a number of things that could go wrong including:
- contacting the wrong people;
- sending out duplicate mailings;
- having primary contact staff that know little of the domain;
- failing to call back prospects promptly when required;
- misaddressing emails and letters;
- spelling names incorrectly or getting job titles wrong.
All these things above can turn a campaign launched initially with the highest of expectations into a minor disaster. You could end up looking at the results statistics and wondering why you bothered.
The way to avoid this is to ensure that the basic building blocks outlined above are in place. If, like many companies, your core skills do not include direct contact marketing and related activities then using an organisation that knows the disciplines and with a clear track record of delivery, may be highly advisable.
Few would dispute that this sort of marketing campaign, when conducted professionally, can yield staggering results that may significantly change your company’s future.
There are direct marketing experts who can offer a range of marketing and data provision services that can help you make a success of your campaign and to ‘do it right first time’.
So if you are considering a direct marketing campaign, considering a specialist data marketing firm could be the next step.
Related articles….
- 27067802 types-of-marketing-research (slideshare.net)
- Email Marketing: The Ups and Downs, Ins and Outs. (wealthyways4you.com)










