What is most effective in communicating with your clients?

I can’t tell you how many conversations I have with advisors who dismiss direct mail marketing as ‘outdated snail mail’. Such is the modern world, people seem to think that emailing is a direct substitute for mailing. Either that, or they try to tell us that direct mail is too expensive to use for their purposes.?

There are many areas of marketing that business owners lazily dismiss as ‘dead’, including direct mail, TV, and newspapers. This could not be further from the truth. However, with many people ignoring them as direct marketing methods, it opens the door for you.?

There are a lot of different media choices out there and some while not dead, have become more challenging over the years. For example, Television infomercials which were thriving in the 1990s and 2000s, have become more challenging in recent times.??Personally, I’ve purchased 1,000’s of hours of television time for Informercials over the years.???Streaming and the multitude of options have made TV viewers much less likely to happen upon a long-form show while looking for their next show to watch.???They aren’t dead but, they’ve become more challenging.?

However, direct mail is as strong as it has ever been. In fact, not only is direct mail thriving but with the many suppliers, online tools, and digital tool’s it’s easier than ever. There is much less competition in the mail box.?Many businesses have abandoned direct mail in pursuit of more ‘modern’ techniques, leaving a window of opportunity behind. So, now that most of your competitors have abandoned direct mail, you need to find a way to effectively use it. Of course, as with anything, if you use it wrong, it does not work. And the unfortunate truth with direct mail is that most people do it wrong.?

The top priority for direct mail, which dictates whether it is going to work or not, is who you mail it to. This may seem obvious, but many people fail at the first hurdle. I see lots of businesses draw a radius around their office and deliver direct mail to every door in that area, as if that was the most important criteria.?

The first people you should always add to your direct mail list is existing clients. Yes, you already have them on the books, but direct mail nurtures that relationship, builds respect, and keeps them informed. After all, when you get a client, you want to keep a client. Direct mail to existing clients can consist of a number of things. Inviting them to a client appreciation event, sending them five tickets for their friends, mailing them the latest book you have come out with to pass along to their friends, sending them a special report on the new tax plan, and so on.