Take a look at what's in your mailbox. How much of it is direct mail with no clear, compelling call to action?
More than one or two pieces, I'll guess. Why do they even bother to send it?
In a recent Direct magazine article, Albert Saxon looks at this very puzzle. How to Fail at Direct Mail takes bad-direct-mail-sending businesses to task:
Too many businesses have bought into the general advertising approach of stating your company name and nothing else. The faulty idea is that your company name is all that is needed to motivate a person to buy. That idea is as ridiculous as it sounds. Yet business owners or groups continue to promote their business or charity with nothing more than a postcard.
Yep, it's the Brand Shamans at work. They persuade the hapless businesses that their brand magic will drive people into happy acceptance of whatever it is they offer. That's not how it works. The brand exists in the hearts and minds of the customers, not in the mail you send.
Nonprofits are less susceptible to the Brand Shaman Kool-Aid. But not immune. There's a good chance in today's mail you have an amazingly ineffective piece of direct mail from a nonprofit. The piece that never gets around to directly revealing what they want you to do.
We're no different from the guy who wants to clean gutters. Direct mail is a waste of money unless it clearly, and compellingly gives a reason to say yes now. So before you even embark on a direct mail project, ask yourself: Do we know what we want the recipient to do? And have we given her plenty of reasons to do it?
If the answer is no, stop everything and try again.
Technorati Tags: branding, direct mail
Jeff, You couldn't have selected a more critical point to emphasize as we move into 2007. I've shared your thoughts with my readers at www.GettingAttention.org.
Best,
Nancy Schwartz
Posted by: Nancy E. Schwartz | 02 January 2007 at 12:47