Why Use Direct Mail?

These days there are seemingly endless choices for getting a marketing message out.  Social Media, TV, Radio, Billboards, Magazines, Email, Signage, Door Hangers, E-Blasts, Networking Groups, Blogs, Meet-Ups, Tweet-Ups, Conventions, Trade Shows, Websites, Apps, Web Advertising, Event Sponsorship, (insert breath here)…okay, I think you get the point.  But what about Direct Mail?  With the myriad of choices available today, why should you use direct mail?  After all, direct mail is old.  Heck, Robert E. Ramsay wrote a book about it back in 1921 – Effective Direct Advertising:  The Principles and Practice of Producing Direct Advertising for Distribution by Mail or Otherwise.  (available on Amazon, by the way)  But before you dismiss this old-school marketing channel.  Forget about what direct mail is not (new).  Instead, try thinking about what direct mail IS.

Direct Mail is Targeted.
You don’t have to shout your message to everyone.  With direct mail you can speak directly to groups that you want to reach…your target market. (i.e. geographic, interests, income, membership, etc)

Direct Mail is Economical.
Compared to some other forms of advertising, direct mail is very cost-effective.  Working with a reputable mail services company (like Right On The Money), you don’t even need to buy a bulk mail permit.  And the bigger your lists, the more money you save per piece thanks to economies of scale.

Direct Mail is Memorable.
People tend to hold on to direct mail pieces that interest them.  It is not uncommon for someone to refer back to a mail piece 3 months, 6 months, or even a year or two after they received it.  Well done direct mail pieces often lead to immediate bumps in activity, but also have long shelf lives.

Direct Mail is Personal.
Because you determine who will receive your mail, you can also create a message that will interest them.  Direct mail is an easy way to speak directly to your market.

Direct Mail is Interactive.
It’s not all about words on a piece of paper.  Direct mail pieces include images that grab the reader’s attention.  Mail is an introduction, leading people to your website, videos, or social media via QR (Quick Response) Codes and web addresses.

Direct Mail is Timely.
Your message goes to your public when you want it to.  It doesn’t get stale, and each message can be unique to what is going on right now.

Direct Mail is Efficient.
A solid direct mail campaign can be designed and implemented quickly.  There is no waiting for publication or event dates.

Direct Mail is Measureable.
You know exactly how many mail pieces you are sending out, where they are going, and what type of offer or hook is included.  With each mail campaign, you learn how markets respond to different messages and the lifespan of each type of campaign.

Direct Mail is Brand-Building.
Professional mail pieces can go a long way to developing and maintaining recognition of your brand.  It is a great anchor to other marketing channels available today.

Direct Mail is Effective.
You are taking your message directly to your potential customer, participant, voter, or donor.  You are opening the doors of communication with them.  You are taking the first step and introducing yourself.  And people have been responding to such introductions for hundreds of years.  And yes, it still works today!

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Right On The Money is a direct mail company located in the Houston, TX Metro Area.  Visit our website for more information on Non-Profit Mail, Political Mail and Business-to-Consumer Mail.

Think Like a Recruiter to Win New Clients!

Today is a big day for high school football players and colleges… it’s National Signing Day… the day when fax machines (yes, I said fax machines) in athletic offices around the country deliver the news that coaches and recruiters have been waiting months to hear…  which recruits will be joining their team.  So what can business owners learn from National Signing Day?  Plenty!  Here are a few tips to “Recruit” great new clients…

It’s about finding the “right” customers.
While it may be your dream for folks to line up around the corner to come into your business, it won’t do you much good if they are not interested in or cannot afford your product or service.  Just as recruiters must identify players who will fit their program, work hard, succeed academically and be happy with their life at the selected college, businesses need to identify customers who want their product, can afford (and are willing) to pay for their product, will be loyal to the business and hopefully tell their friends.  So how do you do this?  Take a few pages from the recruiters handbook.

Get to know your customers.
Recruiters invest significant time in getting to know players.  They watch them compete, study their strengths/weaknesses,  spend time meeting with the players and their families, and set up visits to campus so that players can get a glimpse into what life might be like for them in the future.  Speaking with your current clients is a great way to gain insight into what other folks might be looking for.  What is important to them?  How did they find you?  Is there something that they are looking for that you do not currently provide, but could?  How far do they travel to get to you?  A little friendly conversation can go a long way to building loyalty amongst your current clients.  You’ll not only gain valuable information, but you will be showing your customers that you care about their opinions…that they are important to you.  And, don’t forget, people like to do business with people that they know and like.

Make sure that your marketing materials are a true reflection of your business.
A top recruit is not going to be interested in attending a school that appears to be one thing on paper or online, but is something else entirely in reality.  And, again, one of the most important rules in any type of recruiting is to make sure that you are attracting the type of candidate who will be successful and happy within your program.  If your website, mail, brochures, business cards, signs, promotionals, ads, social media or other advertising do not accurately reflect your business, you risk missing your target market completely.  And that could translate into a significant hit to your bottom line.  Spend time making sure that the public image you are presenting is accurate, and attract the folks most likely to do business with you long term.

Watch that “fax machine” ring!
OK, so I’m with you.  It is 2012 and we dumped our fax machine long ago.  But, the right customers coming into your business is akin to the athletic office fax machines ringing today.  They both add up to success for the coming year.  We saw a great example of this just yesterday.  We have been looking for a new piece of furniture.  During our hunt, we have visited all of the big furniture stores.  We had a nice experience at each of them… they all had attractive displays, nice sales people, and most had a decent selection.  But in our online searches we discovered a small business that grabbed our interest.  Their well-organized website featured images and information on pieces that matched the style we were looking for.  We drove all the way across town (and if you live in or have ever visited Houston, you know that “all the way across town” here is no small commute!) to visit their showroom.  It was EXACTLY what we expected based on their website.  The folks greeted us in conversation, not just sales mode.  And interestingly, every person who entered the store while we were there purchased something!  We walked out happy with our perfect piece and confident that we have discovered a new favorite shop.  Shout out to our new friends who are doing things right up at The Rustic Mile!  We’ll definitely be back!

And best of luck to all of the student athletes and colleges who begin their next step together today!

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Right On The Money is a direct mail company located in the Houston, TX Metro Area. Visit our website for more information on Non-Profit Mail, Political Mail and Business-to-Consumer Mail.

Business Priorities: Organization

Running a business, organization, fundraiser or political campaign is challenging.  You’ve got to be a 24/7-multi-tasking-problem-solver.  It’s easy to get caught up in chaos and lose sight of the overall goal.  Are you ready to make real progress on that big project?  Then sit back, take a deep breath, and get organized!  (oh…and don’t forget to let out that deep breath)

Organization Tip 1:  Lists are your friends
Take a few minutes to make lists.  What do you need to accomplish?  Of those things, which are the most critical at the moment?  Assign priority numbers or letters to each task and knock them out in order.  I know it’s tempting to jump ahead…but stay focused!  You assigned the priorities for a reason, remember?  You might be amazed at the sense of accomplishment that comes with crossing a completed task off of your list!

Organization Tip 2:  Divide up that elephant
A big task is a lot easier to complete if you break it up into smaller pieces.  Think about your project in terms of steps.  What needs to happen first?  Don’t worry about “D” if you haven’t taken care of “A” yet.  Prioritize your steps and stick to it.  It might be exciting devoting a month to developing the perfect advertising pitch.  But if you skipped the step where you consider the financial aspects of the project, you may have just wasted a month.

Organization Tip 3:  Don’t waste your time reinventing the wheel
As the owner, manager, or project leader your job is to get the job done.  It does not mean that you have to do it all completely alone.  Don’t waste your time trying to learn the tasks you need to complete a project.  Enlist the help of a support team of professionals who are experienced at the task at hand.  Need a website?  Hire a professional web designer/host.  Struggling with the financials?  Speak with a CPA.  Ready to send out a mailpiece?  Hello mailhouse!

Organization Tip 4:  Avoid Analysis Paralysis
Don’t spend so much time thinking and rethinking a project that the “just a few more little tweaks” morphs into the project being delayed indefinitely.  It’s amazing how many people start with a great idea, but then beat it to death…only to decide 3 months later that their original idea was the best of all.  Unfortunately then they find themselves 3 months behind and perhaps with a “stale” message.  Make a decision and stick by it.  You can always tweak the message in the future when you see how folks actually respond.

Now excuse me, while I cross “Write New Blog Post” off of my list!

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Right On The Money is a direct mail company located in the Houston, TX Metro Area. Visit our website for more information on Non-Profit Mail, Political Mail and Business-to-Consumer Mail.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Marketing Lists

In the world of Direct Mail, one of the most important parts of any project is the list.  Without a solid list, your beautiful mail piece might be worthless.  So before your next mail campaign, consider these do’s and don’ts…

DO get your list from a reputable source experienced with lists.  There are plenty of websites and companies to buy lists from, but what are you really getting?  Ask questions and make sure you know what your are receiving for your money.

DON’T alter or sort your lists.  Unless you are experienced with Excel, it is best to leave data manipulation to the experts.  Just last week, some of our family received 2 postcards from someone running for office.  Both cards had their address, but names they had never heard of and who had never lived at that address.  Someone had sorted their list incorrectly mixing all of the names and addresses.  It’s an easy, but embarrassing mistake to make.

DO run your list through Move Update.  This is a requirement of the US Postal Service, but it also updates your records to ensure that your mail is going to the correct address if the person has moved. 

DO scrub your list to remove people who have passed away and people who no longer live in your geographic target market.  Does someone in Delaware really need to receive your mail piece if you are a dentist in Sugar Land?

DO remove duplicates from your mailing list.  Earlier I mentioned folks receiving 2 cards addressed to the wrong names.  The first mistake was erroneously sorting the list.  The second mistake was paying for postage twice to reach one address.

DON’T overbuy your list.  Lists are available in all shapes and sizes.  They can be general and cover entire zip codes.  They can be very specific and based on income, home values, education, interests, etc.  The more detailed the list, the higher the price tag, and the fewer people that you will be reaching.  Before you buy a list consider your real needs.  What do you really hope to accomplish by reaching out?

DO make sure your list hits your target.  If you spend more money buying a “targeted” list to hit high income families, for example, how are you reaching all of the retired folks who have substantial savings, but have no “income”?  If you look at geographic lists, how far will people drive to reach you?  How many competitors will they have to pass on the way?

Just a few things to think about!  When you are ready to look at lists, we are happy to help you!  Right On The Money can provide you with all of these list services and more.  It’s what we do every day.  For more information, visit our website or call us at 281.633.9797.

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Right On The Money is a direct mail and marketing company located in the Houston Metro Area.
Visit our website for more information on Business Marketing, Non-Profit Marketing and Political Marketing.

What Does Your Website REALLY Say About You?

So you have a website that you like.  Great!  That means that 24 hours each day/ 7 days each week / and 52 weeks each year, you are reaching out to potential customers.  Always a good thing, right?  Or is it?  What does your website REALLY say about you and your business?  You might be surprised…

Your website says your business is closed!
What?!  Not possible!  Guess again.  This really happens.  Just today I visited a website of a company that is still very much in business.  In fact, they are in the midst of a major marketing push using direct mail and publication advertising.  I visited their website to find their address.  They had a nice Google Map link on the home page.  Very nicely placed, seemingly exactly what I was looking for.  “Perfect!”, I thought…”that was really easy.”  But when I clicked on the map to open a larger version, Google announced “This place is permanently closed”.  Oooops! 

Luckily, I knew differently.  With a bit more research it became clear that the map was linked to an old address the company no longer uses.  So, in fact, Google is correct in stating that the “place” is closed if they are referring to that specific location.  But it appears the entire business has been shuttered.  Online mapping services can be an easy way to direct folks your way.  But ALWAYS make sure that you are linking to accurate information.

Your website says you don’t want to talk to customers!
I am always amazed at how many businesses fail to make their phone number easily accessible on their website.  In the days of phone books, every business listed their number as a primary way of reaching out to new customers.  Today, some businesses seem to believe that having a website is enough.  But what if someone has more questions?  What if they have visited your website and are interested in your product or service, but want to know if you have a specific item or capability?  What if they need just a little more help finding your location?  What if they need something from you right away and a call is much more efficient than digging through your site?  The internet may help customers find you, but it also helps them find your competition.  If you aren’t providing an easy way for folks to contact you, they may just move on to your competitor’s site.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that an email address or web contact form is all you need to facilitate communication with potential clients.  Always make sure that your current phone number is easily accessible on your website.  And make sure that your language communicates that you will be happy to talk with them. 

Your website says you have something to hide!
The purpose of a website is to advertise your company.  Your site should reflect your business’ personality and tell your story.  But how many websites have you visited that are blatantly generic?  We’ve all seen them… only stock photos, generic messages, and overall a complete waste of cyberspace.  A potential customer who comes to your site is doing so because they are looking for a service or product they think you provide, and they would like more information.  If your site is not truly reflective of your company, you give the visitors no reason to stay on your website… and therefore no reason to do business with you.  And in some cases, they may leave the site distrusting your company, mad that you wasted their time, or thinking you have something to hide.

Cut out all of the “blah blah blah BS” and use your website as a tool to tell your story.  What products or services do you offer?  What makes your business unique?  What is the motivation/driving force behind you?  What gets you excited about your industry?  I’m not saying you need to spill your life story on your website.  In fact, your message should be concise and clear.  But, make the message about your company.  Use real photos and names.  People like to do business with people they feel they know and can trust.  Don’t hide behind your website, use it to start building relationships.

For more website tips, check out our Internet Marketing blog page!

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Right On The Money is a direct mail and marketing company located in the Houston Metro Area.
Visit our website for more information on Business Marketing, Non-Profit Marketing and Political Marketing.

Marketing Via the Fantasy Football Playbook

The 2011 NFL season starts tonight with New Orleans facing Green Bay.  I don’t know about you, but as huge sports fans, we are excited!  As everyone is setting their fantasy football lineups in preparation of things to come, it made me think… what can fantasy football teach us about marketing our businesses?  Here are 5 tips that come to mind…

1) Do Your Homework
Most fantasy football players don’t go into their draft completely unprepared.  They look at player rankings, team rosters, depth charts, injury reports, and general football news.  They watched how players performed in the pre-season and reviewed last year’s stats.  So, if you would spend serious time preparing for a game, shouldn’t you apply at least that much effort to marketing your business?  Who is your target market?  Where are they?  What are your options to reach them?  What will it cost?  How quickly should this happen?  What questions might they have?  What objections should you be prepared to answer?  There are a lot of questions to consider before you start spending money.

2)  Stop and Think
Experienced fantasy football players don’t just randomly cut and pick up players.  They think about how each player might affect their team’s overall performance.  Having a guy with great stats last year does you no good if he’s not playing this year.  Before you make major marketing decisions, stop for a moment and consider how each decision will fit into your overall plan.  What is your goal?  How will you get there?  How does the decision you are about to make affect all of your other decisions?  Does it really make sense?

3)  Don’t Overthink It
Ever heard of “analysis paralysis”?  In fantasy football, it’s the person who spends so much of their energy weighing the positives and negatives of two players, that he or she misses out on drafting either of them.  No marketing plan will come with an absolute 100% guarantee.  (if someone tells you that their plan does, run the other way)  If you’ve done your homework and you’ve considered your options, make a decision and go with it.  Spending all of your time second guessing your choices will often mean a lot of time wasted and nothing accomplished.  (while your competition actively picks up the customers you were planning to go after)

4)  Give Your Plan Time to Work
OK, so you drafted your team and the games begin.  Are you really going to start dumping players from your roster if they have one bad week?  Sometimes it takes a little time for your game plan to pick up momentum.  Guys need time to adjust to new teams, new schemes, get back in the routine of playing hard every week.  Similarly, marketing plans often take time to really catch hold.  Clients need to know that you are legitimate.  They need to realize that they need your product or service.  They need to have time to do their homework on you (you do have a solid website, right?).  What?  500 people aren’t lined up at your door on day 2 of your plan’s implementation?  That does NOT mean that your plan is flawed.  Success takes time.

5)  Study the Results and Adjust
I’d like all of the fantasy football players who drafted Arian Foster as their starting running back before the 2010 season began to stand up.  Anyone?  Not likely.  But to say that Foster went on to have a break-out year is the understatement of all understatements.  You just don’t know at the beginning of the season which players are going to bust out and lead their teams to victories.  And who will just flat out be a bust.  That’s why they play the games.  And that’s why you should study the results of your marketing.  How are your customers finding you?  Have they seen any of your outreach efforts?  Over time what has worked and what has been less effective?  What types of outreach are folks responding to today?  (it may be different from yesterday and/or change again tomorrow).  What adjustments should you consider?

Good Luck in your marketing and in your football season.  May you all find great success.  And GO TEXANS!!  (sorry, I had to say that) 

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Right On The Money is a direct mail and marketing company located in the Houston Metro Area.
Visit our website for more information on Business Marketing, Non-Profit Marketing and Political Marketing.

What Makes a Good Website Great?

We recently had the honor of helping to judge a website competition.  It was a great experience that really made us stop to think… what makes a good website a great website?  How can web designers and business owners differentiate themselves amongst the ever growing ranks of internet sites?  Here are a few things to think about when working on your site…

Content is King
A beautiful website is useless without relevant, helpful information.  Work to make sure that your content is current and useful.  If you offer links to newsletters or reports, make sure to keep them updated.  If your most recent breaking news is dated 2009, folks will assume that your entire website is old news.

Beauty Can Be Functional
Giving your visitors something to pretty to look at is awesome, and they’ll probably stick around a little longer during their first visit if they like the look of your site.  But to keep them coming back, your site should also be functional.  Make sure that your content is well-organized and easy to navigate so that folks can find what they are looking for without getting frustrated.  And remember, you are designing this site for your visitors not yourself.  Think about what your clients are interested in, what questions are they asking?

SEO is a MUST
You can create the most awe-inspiring, ground-breaking website known to man, but it will inspire no one if it cannot be found!  While Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can be a moving target and does not necessarily translate to thousands of visitors each hour, ignoring it will not help folks find you.  If you are building your own website, spend some time learning what the Googles and Yahoos of the world are looking for and then implement at least some of these things into your site.  If you hire professionals to build your site, make sure that they are well-versed in SEO and that it is included in the costs you are budgeting for site development.

Everything is Mobile
With the explosive growth of smart phones and mobile devices, web design is changing.  A growing number of people spend more time online from their mobile devices than sitting at their computers.  If your site is not mobile compatible, you could be missing out on a growing market segment.  Be careful using intro pages made of flash or similar applications which will not load in some mobile devices including Apple products.  Visitors who are greeted by a blank screen may not take the time to come back.

A website is a critical piece of any marketing program these days.  It lends legitimacy to a business or organization and gets you in front of potential customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  But don’t just settle for a good site…make yours GREAT! 

For more website tips, check out our Internet Marketing blog page!

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Right On The Money is a direct mail and marketing company located in the Houston Metro Area.
Visit our website for more information on Business Marketing, Non-Profit Marketing and Political Marketing.

You Might Need a New Website If…

It’s no secret that every business today should have a website.  It’s really one of the the first steps that any business owner should take when they are ready to launch their new venture.  But what about afterward?  Is a website really good forever?  In my best Jeff Foxworthy voice, “You might need a new website if…”

Everyone you talk to says, “You have a website??  Really?!?!??”
No matter how beautiful or informative your site is, it is useless if no one knows it exists!   Take a few minutes to visit the search engines to see how (or if) your website shows up.  You may find that your search engine optimization (SEO) is anything but optimized. 

The last time you updated your site was back in 2002.
No business owner has time to update their site every day.  And if you do, and your company is not 100% internet based, that’s another issue entirely.    But while it’s not essential for most businesses to update their websites every day, week or even month, it is important that your site be current.  Remember, your business evolves.  Take some time once a quarter or so to sit down and read through your site.

Your website isn’t compatible with mobile technology.
The smart phone market has exploded in recent years.  There are now folks who only surf the web using their mobile devices.  If your website is not compatible with this technology, you could be missing a growing portion of your market.

A year seems to pass while you wait for your site to load.
With advances in technology, our society has become less patient.  We want what we want immediately…instant gratification!  If your website bogs down and loads slowly, your visitors will not wait.  They’ll just move on to your competition’s site.

You can’t even find what you are looking for.
Websites should provide relevant information in an easy to browse format.  If you visit your own website and cannot immediately find something, how can you expect your potential customers to?  Keep it simple!

For more website tips, check out our Internet Marketing blog page!

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Right On The Money is a direct mail and marketing company located in the Houston Metro Area.
Visit our website for more information on Business Marketing, Non-Profit Marketing and Political Marketing.

Marketing Myths & Facts: Groundhog Day

Ground-hog Day:  (grownd hawg day):

1.  Occurs on February 2 of each year.  The day that groundhogs (the most famous of which is Punxsutawney Phil from Gobbler’s Knob) emerge from hibernation to predict the coming or not so coming of Spring.

2. 1993 movie starring Bill Murray as a TV weatherman (also named Phil, by the way) who lives the same day repeatedly until he learns from his mistakes and gets it right.

3.  A term used to describe the rut that business owners fall into leading them to make decisions based on habits, do things the way they have always been done, and forget the importance of thinking outside the box to generate fresh ideas for growth.

While the movie is funny and Groundhog Phil is adorable, there’s nothing cute or entertaining about being stuck in a rut with your business.  Just because something worked great 1, 5 or 10 years ago, doesn’t mean it holds the same punch today or tomorrow.  So how can you bust free from business as usual?  I’m glad you asked!

Have conversations.
Talk with your partners, employees, colleagues, clients, vendors, friends, … whomever will listen regarding your business.  Ask for honest feedback.  What works?  What needs work?  How can you shake things up and make them more interesting?  Most important – LISTEN to what they are telling you!

Don’t be afraid of change.
In your discussions you may be lucky enough to find a few carats of wisdom.  But those great ideas may require significant changes to the way you do business.  Don’t dismiss them just for being different.  Change can be a phenomenal way to open the door for renewed interest and growth within your company.

Take a lesson from Punxsutawney Phil.
My guess is that Phil isn’t absolutely thrilled with emerging from his warm, relaxing hibernation to throngs of people scrutinizing whether or not he sees his shadow.  But, year after year, he does it nonetheless.  Emerging from our comfortable, everyday business routines isn’t always easy.  But positive change doesn’t happen without action.  Once you’ve decided to make changes, don’t procrastinate.  Wake up, shake off the cobwebs, and get to work implementing your new plans immediately!

And don’t forget the learnings of Weatherman Phil.
Mistakes aren’t all bad.  Pay attention, listen to feedback, learn what you can improve upon.  And then work day after day to get it right!

Good Luck!

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Right On The Money is a direct mail and marketing company located in the Houston Metro Area. 
Visit our website for more information on Business Marketing, Non-Profit Marketing and Political Marketing.

Marketing Myths & Facts: If You Build It, They Will Come!

A memorable line from the 1989 film Field of Dreams (actually I think the quote is “If you build it, he will come.”) — this line also sums up what many business owners believe is the key to successful business.  Build something people like and the customers will line up at your door.  Sounds great!  But, in reality, it’s not always that simple.

Even with an awesome product or service, great location and exceptional deals many businesses struggle to compete and grow.  The truth is it doesn’t matter how good you are if no one knows you exist.

Think of a table.  The strongest, most successful and consistently durable tables often have 4 legs.  To build a solid foundation for your business you work hard to give it “strong legs”:  you offer a good product/service, have solid customer service, and build a positive reputation.  But to really  strengthen and grow your business, don’t forget the “4th leg”:  marketing!

Small business owners have a lot of marketing options:  mail, print, internet, social media, couponing, email…  It can be overwhelming!   The important points to remember are:

• Marketing is important for every business. 
  It’s not just for the “big boys”.  How do you think they became “big boys”?  You don’t have to do it all, but you can’t just sit there and expect folks to find you!
• Marketing is not “one size fits all”.
  What works incredibly well for one industry or company may not work for others.  Geography plays a role also…audiences in different areas respond differently!

We’d like to help you build a solid foundation so that customers will find your “Field of Dreams”.  Visit our website for information on cost-effective direct mail and marketing campaigns for your business.

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Right On The Money is a direct mail and marketing company located in the Houston Metro Area. 
Visit our website for more information on Business Marketing, Non-Profit Marketing and Political Marketing.