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Direct Mail Case Study Shows Unbelievable Response Rates

From Static to Viral- Direct Mail Marketing will never be the same.

The rising popularity of Social Networks has opened to marketers an entirely new arena to pursue. In a recent study by Nielson Group they found, Two-thirds of the world’s internet population visits a social network or blogging site and the sector now accounts for almost 10% of all internet usage time.1 As new dynamics in this industry are emerging, the basic questions as to how to effectively merge traditional marketing mediums with social networks has not been answered……until now that is.

Let’s look at the numbers:

You are sending a traditional direct mail advertisement to a database (10,000 records). This means the absolute maximum reach potential of your campaign will be those 10,000 customers who may or may not be interested in your campaign.
Maximum Reach: 10,000

Normal Response rates for Direct Mail Marketing are between 1-3%

Consider this… with the integration of social sharing into your direct mail marketing campaign you are not just gaining access to your current customer database, but you are now gaining access through your existing marketing strategy to an entire new segment of the market- your Customer’s Friend List. Whether their friends on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social networking site, integrating this simple step into your marketing mediums will expand your reach exponentially.

With the simple theory of multiplication, your reach has the potential to double, triple, and beyond by accessing your customer’s friends, who are engaged to respond.

New Maximum Reach: Exponential
Cost increase: $0

Social Networks add powerful benefits to traditional direct mail campaigns
1. Company Awareness Increases
2. Customer base is identified & expanded
3. Friend-to-Friend Sharing on social networks is more powerful than Company to Customer sharing.

With the release of Dukky’s Software, Direct Mail Marketing has been revolutionized and taken to the next level.

CAFE’ EXPRESS

Café Express is a Texas owned local restaurant chain with 17 locations spreading from Houston to Dallas. With a Direct Mail Marketing strategy, they were focused on growing awareness in the Dallas area, and promoting their breakfast menu. Having already gained success during lunchtime, there were looking to expand their breakfast customers. After some research, they discovered most people were not aware they served breakfast, which led them to their need for a successful direct mail campaign.

Campaign Goal: Grow Awareness & Promote Breakfast Traffic

With standard response rates of 1-2% being insufficient to the response they wanted, Café’ Express brought in Dukky to manage their entire campaign with desired results of 10-15%. Dukky developed all creative, target list, web infrastructure and managed printing and mail fulfillment.

Process: A special offer was mailed on a postcard size piece of direct mail with a detachable card displaying the Cafe Express offer. Each card was labeled with the homeowner’s name and with a PURL (Personalized URL) was mailed to 20,000 recipients in the surrounding area offering a free Breakfast upon activation of the card online through the owner’s PURL.

PURL Example: www.freeAMexpress.com/johnsmith

Poll: Customer’s were brought through a fast survey process in order to activate their offer, gathering Café Express’ highly valuable information for future marketing. Recipients were asked:

• How often do you eat out for breakfast?
• What items do you prefer to eat for breakfast?
• What do you look for when you eat out for breakfast?
• How often do you eat Café Express?

Overall Campaign Results: The campaign reached a total response rate of 23.64%, with almost 40% generated through Social Sharing. Most customers shared their offer on Facebook and Twitter, with the greatest amount of incoming customers coming from Shares on Twitter.

Results

Total Response: 4,728 23.64%

From Mail: 2,941 62.20%

From Social: 1,787 37.80%

Activations: 3,677 18.39%

From Mail: 2,282 62.06%

From Social: 1,395 37.94%

Networks Shared On: 650 %

Facebook: 510 78.46%

Twitter: 126 19.38%

Other: 14 2.96%

Redemptions: 1,500 7.50%

It’s all about Conversion

Dukky’s cutting edge software is leading the way in the industry to establish a new normal for conversion. The goal of every marketing campaign is ultimately to turn your advertising dollars into revenue. Until now, no other marketing mediums provided the means to track and engage customers in order to maximize a retailers customer base through sharing on social networks.

By simply adding Dukky’s PURLS to a traditional direct mail advertisements retailers can 1) Engage customers, 2) Encourage social interaction, 3) Promote Business Offers and Specials, 4) Gather highly valuable information, and 5) Track each step of the process.

How does it work?

A compelling offer equipped with a PURL will be sent to your customer driving them to a custom microsite for card activation. Through a quick, survey process, they will be guided to activate their card and receive the offer. They are then given the opportunity through Dukky’s “one click” broadcast to share the offer with friends on up to 233 social networks! Dukky’s platform captures valuable information during the process: a growing customized database of interested customers with accurate demographic information and intelligent feedback from your customers.

Reach maximization leads to increased conversion, which ultimately generates higher profits. Dukky’s software was designed with two things in mind: Conversion and Results.

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Social Media Marketing Complements Direct Mail, But Doesn’t Replace It

Should you ditch your direct mailing program in favor of marketing via email or social media? Not so fast, says the Wall Street Journal, which recently did a story about the decline of direct mail and the potential consequences for businesses.

According to the article, small business owners have been slashing direct mailing campaigns in an attempt to save money, only to find that their online campaigns aren’t producing the same amount of business.

For example,the article profiled Alicia Settle, president of Pro Annum Inc., who dropped a $20,000 direct mail loyalty campaign in favor of marketing through email only to find that the business’ orders dropped a whopping 25% from the previous year. Her company was able to recover the lost business by sending out the postcards to customers over the summer. The direct mail campaign, which had seemed like an indulgence, was actually an important investment.

Instead of dropping direct mail altogether, the Wall Street Journal notes that savvy marketers are working smarter, creating more personalized campaigns that catch recipients’ attention and generate higher response rates.

In the article, Eric Anderson, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, said that the ideal direct mail campaign for 2010 is “something that’s more appealing than “junk” mail and potentially more noticeable than an email message.”

Targeted direct mail campaigns may still be indispensable for many businesses, but that doesn’t mean that you can ignore social media, either. For 2010, many companies are trying to integrate the two. From the Wall Street Journal:

Prof. Anderson says other business owners are trying to figure out how to integrate Web marketing—such as email campaigns, banner ads and social-networking sites—with direct mail. “The introduction of new media has forced [business owners] to go back and revisit the whole playbook on what’s the best way to communicate with customers,” Mr. Anderson says.

Dukky’s platform offers an easy and effective way to integrate traditional direct response with social media. Our platform lets you send personalized offers to recipients using personalized URLs, either by direct mail or email. These offers can then be shared via email and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

With just a few clicks, customers can share your discounts and promotions with family and friends, helping them spread like wildfire. Dukky lets you harness the power of personalization and social media, improving ROI so that you get more out of every dollar you spend.

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What Can We Do to Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Direct Mailing Campaigns?

This post was written by Greg Barber, an experienced eco-friendly printer, and is part of a series of green printing tips originally published on the Eco-libris blog. It is reprinted here with permission.

In the post, Greg talks about the dramatic impact personalization can have on response rates, and how the power of personalization can be used to create greener direct mail campaigns. Dukky’s personal, PURL-based campaigns are an effective way to achieve the increased response rates Greg discusses below.

Direct mailing is considered by many a very not sustainable marketing channel, as it can be very wasteful and have a significant carbon footprint, while at the same time it often generates poor results. Today, in a tip dedicated to the Hopenhagen campaign, Greg is offering another option that combines greater effectiveness and a reduced carbon footprint.

What can we do to reduce the carbon footprint of direct mailing campaigns?

I attended a sustainable meeting at NYU last week and came away with a few good Green tips on direct marketing – how to make it effective and minimize its footprint at the same time.

There is no secret here and it’s actually quite simple – if you look at your clients and really decide to target what it is they really want, you can create a direct mail program that will give you better results, be environmental, and save trees, paper, energy, water and money.

First step: Make your list of names targeted to these best clients, or the ones that can do you the most. Look at their history of their buying. What did they buy, and when did they buy, and how much did they spend? Make a new print campaign that targets those wants and desires.

It’s all about personalizing your marketing. Personalize by name, products, time frame, and do a mailing that might be 20% of your present mailing list, but targeted to their past history of buying.

Second step: Even though you already eliminate waste by sending this printing only to past customers, don’t forget to use 100% recycled paper that is 100% processed chlorine free for the materials you’re sending.

Third step: You can also an email to this targeted audience on a second run, that will not only help you to minimize your campaign’s footprint, but can also be an helpful tool to estimate the effectiveness of your campaign and even further personalize your database for future campaigns. Read more

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Is Direct Mail Making a Comeback?

Editor’s Note: This post was written by Damon Samuel and was originally posted on his blog, Broadcast Thoughts. It is reprinted here with permission. In the post, Damon explains how better targeting, among other factors, has helped improve direct mail response rates at the marketing agency he works for. At Dukky, we integrate social and viral sharing with direct response campaigns through the use of social PURLs, and use the information gathered to help improve targeting and response in future campaigns.

For years people have derided junk mail. It is the bastard step child of marketing. No one likes receiving junk mail. But the fact is, it works.

Now I’m the first to admit that response rates are poor. Last DMA stat I saw was 1.8%. But the fact remains, it can be highly profitable. And in a time where my mail box is the emptiest I can ever remember I believe Direct Mail is showing strong signs of life.

Here are a few reasons I think DM is gaining strength.

First has to do with a direct mail campaign we have done for a client. In interests of not violating confidentiality all I’ll say is the response rate this year is nearly double from 2 years ago and up 50% from last year. Revenues are also way up. Granted we had better targeting which drove a lot of the positive change.

Second, the offers and pieces I do receive are more valuable. With rising costs of doing campaigns the companies that continue to use direct mail are investing heavily in it. When I get a credit offer it always has very generous terms with extravagant perks. Or in the case of the Porsche Panamera launch piece, the creative cost a fortune. It was a well designed box shipped overnight with color samples and design documents and probably cost $20-$40 to mail all told. Of course a single response is worth thousands for them.

Third, companies are using analytics more effectively. See point 1, my client utilized better targeting. Example 2, my wife and I both received offers from a credit issuer on the same day. I usually round file my direct mail pieces unless I am specifically looking for that product. I opened both of these since they obviously had different creatives. The offer and message treatments were equal but I could tell you which creative would have been more likely to generate a response. Here’s a hint, it was the one with the value proposition clearly displayed at the top of the messaging.

Last, direct mail stands out in a world of email spam. I have 5 email accounts and can also receive communication through two social networking sites. I also have a blog that accepts comments. I am inundated with electronic communication. I also believe many companies over communicate via email when consumers opt in. I just don’t need 2 emails a week. In fact I typically opt out after a few weeks at that rate. Share of active attention is a premium. I can delete an email in seconds along with 30 others in the same click. It takes me 20 seconds to walk from the mail box to the garage while I am purposely sorting through my mail before I reach a trash can. The DM piece guarantees I will at least see its shell.

E-marketing is fantastic and is here to stay. Just don’t write off direct mail just yet. There is still plenty of evidence that when the right piece with the right offer hits the right consumer a company can make millions.

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Our Direct Mail to Web API Integrates Social Media Tools

by the Dukky Team | September 3, 2009

Why does Dukky’s direct response platform combine traditional direct mail with new media technology? Based on a study conducted by the DMA, 42% of interested direct mail recipients prefer to respond to offers online. So Shawn Burst, founder and direct mail pioneer, developed a suite of products to capitalize on this finding by providing a stimulating online user experience combining gift cards and coupons.

A psychologically validated phenomenon, “coupon stigma,” partially explains the generally low usage rates of less than 2% of the traditional direct mail coupon offers. A Journal of Consumer Research study demonstrated that coupon users are stigmatized by others as “cheap.” The study confirms longstanding common knowledge that coupons are, in many cases, not socially acceptable. The Dukky Platform sees higher-than-normal redemption rates because both its offline and online distribution methods avoid this “coupon stigma” by completely changing the frame of reference: both physical and online coupons are reinvented as personalized gift cards.

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That Special Start-Up Sauce

by The Dukky Team | July 31, 2009

The calendar might tell you we’re in the midst of the lazy days of summer but recent buzz in the marketing world tells a different story. Entrepreneurial energy is humming in some less expected spots: Read more

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The USPS and Direct Mail: Beasts in Transformation

by The Dukky Team | July 31, 2009

Since the start of the current recession, one business that has taken a particularly big hit is the mailing business. This includes FedEx, UPS, and DHL but the company that has faltered the most is the USPS. In 2008 alone the USPS saw a net loss of almost three billion dollars. The reason for this is largely due to the huge decreases that have been occurring in the amount of mail being shipped every year. The USPS thought it could survive solely on the bulk mail sent out by junk mail companies, but it appears that they were wrong.

Now the huge corporation that is the third largest employer in the United States, and gives jobs to nearly one million people is in serious jeopardy. This graphic presented by the website Good, gives an excellent indication of just how massive the USPS is, and how important it is for it to figure out how to pull itself through the recession.

Image Source: Flickr

This week there was a lot of news about the future of the US Postal Service. The President of the National League of Postmasters reported that the organization’s obligation to pay retiree health benefits is dragging its bottom line into the red (reportedly to the tune of $20 million in losses a day.) In response, the USPS is considering restructuring its employee benefits and cutting back on delivery and office hours. As you might imagine, these announcements have caused a stir.

We thought it was a good time to take another look at this graphic published by Good a little while back. It gives an excellent indication of the size of the USPS (according to wikipedia, it’s the third largest employer in the country) and how important it is for it to figure out how to pull itself through the recession.

The USPS is going to have to embrace some change to stay relevant – and so does its mainstay direct mail. Dukky’s developing new technology and listening to consumer sentiment in order to help our direct mail customers. This week we launched a demo that shows how we marry direct mail with social media and voice technology in order to increase response rates. See where the future of direct mail is heading here. We hope the USPS will follow suit and innovate alongside us. Because when change is brewing, the worst thing you can do is put down your head and avert your eyes.

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Advertising Hits and Misses

by The Dukky Team | July 24, 2009

Sewing2

For this week’s Direct Marketing News Round Up we decided to go old school and looked into some recent advertising campaigns that were successful and also not so successful. We figured it would be a good reminder that you can have all the social media, tracking, testing, and planning in the world but if you don’t have a good advertising pitch than you are simply just wasting your time. Deciding to be charitable as well, we’ve included a video of what Twitter really is, for anyone who has been living under a rock for the past couple of months.

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Tough Times for Direct Mail

By Brice Sanderford | July 23, 2009

Piggy Bank2

Tough Times

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times focused on the health of the direct mail market, and attacked the increasingly unpopular business tactic. The reporter, David Lazarus, took the time to go to the office of the main direct mailer in the Los Angeles area and interview the co-owner of the company that sends out 12 million articles of third class mail every month.

Lazarus found the building a bit despairing - in the midst of the recession the direct mailing company in LA followed the trend of many other businesses, and recently laid off nearly half of its work force. They aren’t the only ones suffering. For the first time in nearly six decades, the direct mailing industry has experienced a decrease in sales.

Lazarus didn’t disguise his contempt for the direct mail industry. Others are cheering its demise. There has been an uproar against the direct mailing industry due to its apparent disregard for the environment and its lackluster approach to reducing waste. There are reportedly 19 states that at the moment are trying to pass laws involving a do-not-mail registry, and more stringent restriction on the junk mail business.

Thing is, the direct mail industry is an important cog in our economy. Direct mailing companies in the U.S. alone employ about 1.2 million people, and indirectly employ another 9 million. It stimulates an estimated two trillion dollars in spending every year helping to keep small businesses afloat, drive major corporations advertising campaigns, and also keep the United States Postal Service running. An attack from the government may not be the most prudent solution…for anyone.

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times focused on the health of the direct mail market, and attacked the increasingly unpopular business tactic. The reporter, David Lazarus, took the time to go to the office of the main direct mailer in the Los Angeles area and interview the co-owner of the company that sends out 12 million articles of third class mail every month.

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The Need to be Social

by The Dukky Team | July 17, 2009

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Most of our personal lives have collided with social media to some extent. And now, we marketers are finding that our work is leading us deeper into social networks. At Dukky, we’ve developed tools that allow marketers to spread their deals through social networks and track the activity. This week, bloggers and journalists have been writing about similar concepts. Below are some of the top stories about how to most effectively incorporate social media into your marketing mix.

Dukky’s Direct Marketing News Round Up:

How to Make Your Tweets More Useful, Duct Tape Marketing: Been having trouble figuring out how to make the most out of your Twitter account? Here are some tips to really get some use out of your Tweets.

Just Because You Can Wear Spandex Doesn’t Mean You Should, Dukky Blog: Do all marketers belong in social networks? We don’t think so.

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