Why Your Mail May Fail

Why Your Mail May Fail
By
Marty Gross


Over the years, direct mailers have been able to come up with a lot of reasons why their direct mail wasn't successful. These reasons have ranged from the wrong phase of the moon to a post office conspiracy to dump their bulk mail. But more serious studies have pinpointed seven basic problems that may have contributed to poor results.

1. Unfamiliarity with product/service company. How do you overcome this objection? One solution is to use a celebrity spokesperson, a third-party testimonial from an expert or an endorsement. Sometimes the celebrity may have nothing to do with the product or service, as the case of sports figures, but their recognition helps dispel the mystery about the new product or service. Sometimes the connection can be very tenuous indeed. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, the widow of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, once endorsed Good Luck Margarine. Sometimes the connection can be a bit more apparent, as when a new health magazine carries the endorsement of a national medical organization or a celebrated doctor.

2. Skepticism about new or unknown products or services. Endorsements and testimonials can also work here, but the operative word is skepticism. A celebrity endorsement wouldn't be of as much value here as an endorsement by a happy user, preferably one known to the prospect. But the best endorsement of all would be that of the prospect who convinces himself. So here's where trial offers and guarantees really shine.

3. Inability to assess quality or value. Even when the prospect gets the product in his hands, he may not be able to evaluate its worth. The sales material has to show him that he's getting a bargain or a valuable item or a deal beyond the dreams of avarice. It's helpful here to reinforce the purchase with supplementary sales literature after the prospect takes home the twin llamas or porcelain motorcycle miniatures or the collected verse of the National Hockey League. What is needed is convincing copy that will enable the prospect to justify the purchase and overcome "buyer's remorse.".

4. Worry over large expenditures. An obviously expensive mailing sometimes will hinder sales because of its obvious cost. The solution? Discounts, special billing arrangements, rebates and credits can help tempt the prospect. But what will strengthen his resolve is thoughtful copy in a thoughtfully designed package that gives good reasons for spending the money asked. Emotional or image copy can set the stage, but a carefully written sales letter--a surrogate salesman--will be able to anticipate objections and close the sale.

5. Resistance to overeager direct mail. Spectacular envelopes that shout a message, colorful inserts that tumble out and say “buy me!” and hysterical letters that exclaim instead of explain are good arguments for larger wastebaskets. Even seed catalogs might benefit from a more thoughtful approach to the customer's wallet. While reticence and modesty may not be virtues to be cultivated by direct marketers, there's no doubt that an air of reason and interest in the prospect's needs can help the selling process-and strengthen long-term bonds.

6. Resistance to direct mail. What are you going to do when any mail that looks promotional is promptly discarded? You can find yourself lists of people who actually welcome direct mail...lists of mail order buyers, for instance. Or increase your mailings. The big national mailers do so many mailings over the course of a year that an antidirect mail reaction, if such a thing actually exists, is just a little blip. For the smaller mailer, however, the solution may be one of making his direct mail more interesting, more useful and more welcome by giving away free gifts or turning mailings into valuable newsletters. One pioneer newsletter, The Gallagher Report, began as a promotional tool for the publisher's main source of business, magazine brokerage. What began as a simple sales-promotion device became a sought-after communication.

7. Annoyance at subterfuges. We seem to go through periods that see a heightened use of devices like announcements of prizes that really aren't prizes. These work for awhile, then, when a particular locality or list's tolerance for them is exhausted, they're reincarnated for use in other parts of the country or in other lists. Their proliferation puts doubts in people's minds about all direct mail, and an innocent mailing may get tarred with the same brush, to the bewilderment of a mailer who can't fathom the reason for a sudden decline in an historically good package’s pull.

Irresponsible mailing practices obviously hurt the innocent mailer as well as the innocent consumer. While some poor mailing responses may be beyond help, the majority of problems are solvable. It may be worthwhile for the mailer faced with a mysterious decline In results to conduct a survey and see where he may have gone wrong. The reason may be closer to home than he realizes.
©Copyright Martin Gross 2009
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