by Meryl K. Evans and Hank Stroll
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In 2004, direct mail enjoyed a response rate increase—up 12% from 1999, according to the US Postal Service. A USPS news release says, "While 57 percent of households say they check their email only once a week, 98 percent of households collect and assess what's in their mailboxes every day."
DM News agrees. It reports that 73% of mail gets opened and more than 50% of adults prefer receiving ads through the mail. The American City Business Journal reports that the profit of one company, Vertis, increased 40% in its third quarter thanks to its sending more direct mail.
With such statistics, direct mail remains a successful way to reach customers. The trick is, of course, getting customers to act on the mail.
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Do you have a trick for figuring out how much to request for a marketing budget? |
Wanted: High returns on direct marketing responses
I am planning a direct marketing campaign to businesses for training and workshop-creation services. I have worked with my customer database to better understand their needs and how my services meet those needs. Now that I've done the analysis, I am preparing the direct mail contents, which include a letter, brochure, an article about the business and a reply envelope. What can I do to increase the response rate?
—Elana, President
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