www.manuren.com

Is Direct Mail Useless for DMers?

Is direct mail useless at helping direct mail businesses
generate leads?

That’s the question I was asked last week by a
reader of Alan Sharpe’s B2B Direct Mail Tactics
newsletter. Here is her unusual challenge, and my
response.

“My biggest challenge in generating leads from direct
mail is to convince our marketing people that direct
mail should be used. This is a completely ironic
situation given that we are a DIRECT MAIL HOUSE.
Yes, that’s right. I’ve been told that ‘direct mail is
not good for our business.’

“Apparently, direct mail was tried once long ago and
had a bad response rate. Our other lead generation
methods include sales outreach activities
(prospecting, networking, etc.) and community
involvement - charities, boards, councils, etc. Our
word of mouth reputation is excellent - we’ve been in
business for 18 years, our turnaround time is
excellent, our customer service people are top notch,
our team really knows their stuff . . . . However, it
seems to me that a larger outreach should be done
as well . . . am I barking up the wrong tree here?”

Myth #1: Direct mail doesn’t work for us

The only way to convince management to use direct
mail over the long term to generate sales leads is to
prove that direct mail either outperforms other
methods or increases the effectiveness of other
methods. You can only do this through testing and
measuring results.

After all, the telephone, not the letter, is the number
one tactic to generate leads according to the Direct
Marketing Association’s 2005 Response Rate Report.

Your firm sounds like it is content to do business in
your city only. That’s why they rely on “networking,
community involvement - charities, boards, councils,
etc.” These methods of meeting prospective clients
are not sustainable nationally or even regionally.
They are too expensive.

Unless your management wants to grow the business
outside of your city, or grow the business in an
aggressive way in your city, you may have a hard
time convincing them to try DM. This is especially
true if your city is small, since your prospect pool is
so limited.

Myth #2: We tried it once and it didn’t work

You say, “Apparently, direct mail was tried once long
ago and had a bad response rate.” Business-to-
business lead generation using direct mail is a
program, not a campaign. It consists of a plan, a
year-long series of mailings, and a way of testing
methods and measuring results. I would suggest that
if you have not tried direct mail consistently for at
least a couple of years, testing different packages
against each other, testing DM against your other
lead generation methods, and measuring your results
to see which method is most cost-effective, you
have abandoned direct mail prematurely.

Myth #3: Direct mail delivers poor response
rates

You say, “Apparently, direct mail was tried once long
ago and had a bad response rate.” Direct mail
response rates are misleading if you read them
incorrectly. Your response rate only tells you part of
what you need to know. It tells you the percentage
of people on your list who responded and nothing
more.

Your response rate doesn’t tell you how much you
had to spend to generate one lead. Or how much you
had to spend to make one sale. Your direct mail
response rate does not tell you if the sales people
who followed up on the leads closed any sales. Or if
you broke even. Or if you made a profit.

So don’t be fooled by a low response rate. Unless
you measure these other things (cost per lead, cost
per sale, break even, return on investment) and
compare your results with your face-to-face
prospecting, community involvement and other
methods, you will always be relying on feelings and
not facts. One of the things that I like about B2B
direct mail lead generation is that it is empirical. The
numbers never lie. You can bank on it.

Recommendations

1. Show your boss a compelling business case for
   testing direct mail lead generation at your firm.
   Calculate cost per lead, cost per sale, break even
   and ROI. Show your boss the numbers
2. Start with a list of prospects that have been
   unresponsive to your other methods, or people that
   you cannot reach cost-effectively any other way
3. Think niche. Target a narrow group of prospects
   and go after their business with a year-long
   campaign, reaching them more times and in more
   ways than your salespeople ever could in a year

I wish you every success!

About the author

Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter and lead generation specialist who helps business owners and marketing managers generate leads, close sales and retain customers using business-to-business direct mail marketing. Learn more about his creative direct mail writing services and sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.sharpecopy.com

© 2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the “About the author” message).

Share This

In business we find that no matter the size cash is needed for some situations. It is not always necessary to make a large loan when a small amount is needed. It has been found that at times a business person maybe traveling for the company and they need money for such things as meals, tips, cab fares, and the like. Also a company representative may need to purchase a sample item while at a trade show to bring back or they may want to purchase some items for everyone in the office. That is why certain companies have made it their business to set up B2B Business cash advances. The process is so very simple that most business owners have a special number so when they make their call the B2B Business cash advance is automatically put into their bank account. Payment is easy as well because with this kind of advance the money is taken out of the same account when time is due.

The cash advance system ranges from a small loan of $500 to a larger amount around $3,000. There are multiple companies that deal in this type of loan. The truth is you do not even have to tell them why you need the money. The B2B Business cash network is increasingly growing all across the United States and in foreign countries. You can obtain money from foreign banks just as easily as you can from an American bank.

The small business person should go online and do a search for cash advance to find the best rate along with the time period to pay back the cash advance. The list of these companies is very long but it is made simple for the consumer in the search engine. I recommend companies such as Cash Advance, Payday Advance, Sonic Payday, Coastline Credit LTD, United Cash Loans, and AmeriLoan because they are all reliable, no collateral is needed, and the quick easy method of getting your cash on line saves time. Everyone is busy today so time is important as it is said “time is money.” Cash on hand is vital in some situations a B2B Business cash loan saves time and money.

The importance of obtaining a B2B Business cash loan is vital at times to keep some business persons up and running. A business may have invested the most of the capitol on supplies to finish a major project that would bring in enough revenue to keep the business going.

The problem not enough cash to meet payroll in order to get this project going it is necessary to meet payroll. American Express and Visa have both created a purchasing card that when used a business owner can use this card as cash in their account. The account then can be used for payroll or even more supplies if need be. This form of B2B Business cash is getting to be one of the most popular methods of obtaining cash for those little business emergencies without the hassle of going to your local bank and borrowing every time a need pops up.

Visa conducted one of the largest studies on purchasing card benchmark back in 2005. The use of ready cash has grown in leaps and bounds. The use of this ready cash has been used by some executives to purchase automobiles, parties on yachts, expensive gifts for clients, and a variety of other not needed but much enjoyed items. The use of the B2B Business Cash has also saved smaller business from going out of business, helped them to grow, and made sure that they could remain sound.

The smaller business normally uses the on line sites for quick cash. The mid-size and larger business prefers the cash cards offered by companies such as Visa and American Express. They have accessibility to larger amounts of cash, each one of their executives can have their own card with a limit if the company so deems and the interest rates are normally pretty good. The B2B Business Cash has really become a success in modern business practices. The report discovered that about 85% of respondents increased purchasing power with the use of the B2B Business cash plan offered by these credit card companies. This is really a purchasing power that all new business people should consider. Those who have been in business should investigate the power of cash on hand without a hassle.

pyZc_H88ghdJkBJ7

Share This

Every organization regardless of its size and mission may be viewed as a financial entity. Management of an organization, particularly a business firm, is confronted with issues and decisions that have important financial implications. Questions must be answered like:

What kind of plant and machinery should the firm buy?

How should the firm raise finances?

How much should the firm invest in inventories?

What should the firm’s credit policy be?

How should the firm gauge and monitor its financial performance?

Business finance is broadly concerned with the acquisition and use of funds by a business firm. Its scope may be defined in terms of the following questions: How large should the firm be and how fast should it grow? What should be the composition of the firm’s assets? What should be the mix of the firm’s financing? How should the firm analyze, plan and control its financial affairs?

In general, business finance rests on the premise that the objective of the firm should be to maximize the value of firm to its equity shareholders. What is the justification for this objective? It appears to provide a rational guide for business decision-making and promote efficient allocation of resources in the economic system. Savings are allocated primarily on the basis of expected return and risk and the market value of a firm’s equity stock reflects the risk-return trade-off of investors in the market place.

Hence when a firm maximizes the market value of its equity stock, it ensures that its decisions are consistent with the risk-return preferences of investors. This suggests that it allocates resources optimally. If a firm does not pursue the goal of shareholder wealth maximization, it implies that its actions result in sub-optimal allocation of resources. This in turn leads to inadequate capital formation and lower rate of economic growth.

Business Finance provides detailed information on Business Finance, Small Business Finance, Business To Business Finance, Business Finance Software and more. Business Finance is affiliated with Auto Financing.

Share This