Page 207 - Duct Tape Marketing

Chapter 13

Mailing Direct to Your Market

In This Chapter

ᮣ Building relationships using one-to-one marketing
ᮣ Creating and maintaining a mailing list
ᮣ Creating effective direct mailers and direct mail offers
ᮣ Setting realistic direct mail expectations
ᮣ Navigating the opportunities and landmines of e-mail marketing

Direct mail is one-to-one communication that delivers your marketing
message to carefully selected prospects and customers one at a time.

One-to-one communication is the exact opposite of mass media advertising.
Mass media advertising uses the shotgun approach — that is, you create an
ad and use newspapers, magazines, and broadcast media to spread the mes-
sage far and wide. One-to-one communications aim your message only at spe-
cific and well-defined individuals.

Most marketers believe that the two approaches work best as a tag team
effort: You use mass media advertising to build awareness, desire, and per-
ceived value for your products and then use one-to-one marketing to call for
the order and to form the basis of a lasting customer relationship.

If you can only afford to do one or the other, however, consider placing your
bets on one-to-one marketing so that each dollar you spend is aimed straight
at a qualified prospect, and not scattered through mass media to reach
prospects and nonprospects alike.

One-to-One Marketing

When you employ one-to-one marketing, you bypass mass media vehicles
and take your ad straight to the mailboxes, telephones, and computer
screens of individuals who are prime prospects for your product or service.
You may hear the terms direct marketing, database marketing, direct-response
advertising, and direct mail used interchangeably in discussions about