Direct Mail Marketing and Answering Services

[Greg Myroth]

I am working on setting up our first direct mail marketing campaign and I was wondering what recommendations the community might have for direct mail yellow letters/post card suppliers as well as what answering services you have found to work best.  We will have around a $1,500 per month budget for direct mail marketing.  Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.  

[Claire Trammell]

@Greg Myroth

I agree with @Chinmay J.. While $1500 monthly is a great start for direct mail, it would actually be more worth your while to save on the answering service cost.

It might help you if you had an idea on what to expect in respect to the response rates. Here are the average response rates we have seen based on our customer feedback as well as our own mailings throughout the years:

Yellow Letters- average response rate of 8%-9%, all kinds of calls (angry calls, curious calls, tire-kickers, quality calls)

Postcards- average response rate of .5%, mostly quality calls.

Zip Letters- average response rate of 2%, mostly quality calls. (Great for follow ups)

Greeting Cards- average response rate of 2%, mostly quality calls. (Great for follow ups)

Keep in mind that these are averages and your actual response rate will rely heavily on your market and the competition you may or may not have. Also, remember that direct mail tends to work best when you send a campaign of 5-7 different pieces, 4 weeks apart from each other. Follow ups are key as the average person takes 3-5 touches before picking up the phone to respond.

You're well on your way! Keep us posted on your success! And feel free to reach out if I can help any further.