Business mailshots
Discussion
My boss used mail shots last week. He has set up a spin off, company granulating wire and he needed some raw material to get the process started.
He got the office Junior to print some mail shots on bright paper and mail them to every one that he marked for her in the yellow pages.
The results were instant and we have been getting four to six calls a day as a result.
For the cost involved the results have been very effective.
>> Edited by airtrixx on Sunday 12th September 20:23
He got the office Junior to print some mail shots on bright paper and mail them to every one that he marked for her in the yellow pages.
The results were instant and we have been getting four to six calls a day as a result.
For the cost involved the results have been very effective.
>> Edited by airtrixx on Sunday 12th September 20:23
We're in the middle of trying one at the moment, will let you know how it goes.
By the way, we got our mailing list from www.businesslistsuk.com who we found pretty good.
By the way, we got our mailing list from www.businesslistsuk.com who we found pretty good.
The usual response from mailings is around 3 per cent. This can climb if you target the right people and personalise your mailing piece - the wonders of digital print these days is only limited by your own imagination.
If you are sending out more than a 1000 pieces then there you may be able to get discounts from the Royal Mail (this is not available for light weight items tho)
One thing my clients dont always take on board is the importance of udating your database when you get returned items which brings me onto - make sure you put your return address on the envelope.
We do mailings from 100 - 100,000 on a regular basis for clients so if you need any advice please feel free to ask.
If you are sending out more than a 1000 pieces then there you may be able to get discounts from the Royal Mail (this is not available for light weight items tho)
One thing my clients dont always take on board is the importance of udating your database when you get returned items which brings me onto - make sure you put your return address on the envelope.
We do mailings from 100 - 100,000 on a regular basis for clients so if you need any advice please feel free to ask.
We regulaly use direct mail to promote our business, being a direct marketing company we'd be mad not to. The returns you can get will vary depending on the offer and the response required from the recipient, if you are ferrari and are offering a test drive in a new Ferrari you will get a better response than an IT company trying to get new customers to post a cheque for a machine.
Obvious I know but it is the essence of all direct marketing. Think about the message you are trying to get across in the mailshot, what are you offering the recipient, if the offer isn't good enough they won't respond. I'm not saying offer 50% off or buy one get one free, we offer impartial free guides to different aspects of marketing. These work very well as we are helping people to do their job better, they might not turn into a customer today but will contact us in the future if they have a project as they know we offer good advice.
I would also reiterate some of the other comments about data, it can be very expensive if your databse is not accurate, and can damage your brand if you are mailing people who have left or even died, so it is worth the effort before you send the mailshot out.
If you have any questions or want any advice please email me.
Obvious I know but it is the essence of all direct marketing. Think about the message you are trying to get across in the mailshot, what are you offering the recipient, if the offer isn't good enough they won't respond. I'm not saying offer 50% off or buy one get one free, we offer impartial free guides to different aspects of marketing. These work very well as we are helping people to do their job better, they might not turn into a customer today but will contact us in the future if they have a project as they know we offer good advice.
I would also reiterate some of the other comments about data, it can be very expensive if your databse is not accurate, and can damage your brand if you are mailing people who have left or even died, so it is worth the effort before you send the mailshot out.
If you have any questions or want any advice please email me.
thomson do an excellent product called business search pro which enables you to build very specific mailing lists. I'll post the number tomorrow when I'm back in the office. As we target distress purchases (insurance)to very specialist markets we get exceptional response rates, and even better take up rates. The last one was 12% response with 78% taking up the quote.
not sure if you can legally just mail people from the yellow pages...
Businesses are in the Yellow Pages to receive trade from customers, not receive B2B mailings...
I know that consumer mailing lists have to be de-duped against the MPS (Mail Preference Service - you can sign up to 'stop' DM coming through your door), but do commercial mailing lists apply?
Jeez, I only stopped doing B2B marketing a few months ago, and I can't even remember...!
Businesses are in the Yellow Pages to receive trade from customers, not receive B2B mailings...
I know that consumer mailing lists have to be de-duped against the MPS (Mail Preference Service - you can sign up to 'stop' DM coming through your door), but do commercial mailing lists apply?
Jeez, I only stopped doing B2B marketing a few months ago, and I can't even remember...!
MPS: currently does not have to be carried out for business addresses, providing you are selling business products or services.
Handpicking: be careful about online directories. Some directory owners put seeds in that sound like ligitimate businesses. Mail them by mistake and they have proof you are misusing the list according to their terms and conditions.
Edit: legal loophole... when handpicking if you call up the company and say you wanted to check their address before posting them something, I believe this makes it legal, unless at that point they say something like 'please don't send us stuff'. However it's expensive if you have thousands of addresses. If that's the case you might as well buy from the list owner (for around £100 to £300 per thousand depending on list owner).
>> Edited by shadowninja on Tuesday 14th September 18:57
Handpicking: be careful about online directories. Some directory owners put seeds in that sound like ligitimate businesses. Mail them by mistake and they have proof you are misusing the list according to their terms and conditions.
Edit: legal loophole... when handpicking if you call up the company and say you wanted to check their address before posting them something, I believe this makes it legal, unless at that point they say something like 'please don't send us stuff'. However it's expensive if you have thousands of addresses. If that's the case you might as well buy from the list owner (for around £100 to £300 per thousand depending on list owner).
>> Edited by shadowninja on Tuesday 14th September 18:57
shadowninja said:
.
Handpicking: be careful about online directories. Some directory owners put seeds in that sound like ligitimate businesses. Mail them by mistake and they have proof you are misusing the list according to their terms and conditions.
>> Edited by shadowninja on Tuesday 14th September 18:57
This is definitely the case if you buy a list in from a list broker, and then try to re-use the list again later for your own purposes
Corpdata (www.corpdata.co.uk) also do good lists for B2B mailing. They charge differently if it is a one-off mailer to if you buy a licence to mail mutiple times over 12 months. They can also check list integrity against other sources.
I don't believe MPS applies to B2B mailings, but certainly does if you are mailing consumers.
2% response is about normal, but this can be improved with good data and a very focused message with a compelling call to action (they Thing you want them to do when they get the mailer).
I don't believe MPS applies to B2B mailings, but certainly does if you are mailing consumers.
2% response is about normal, but this can be improved with good data and a very focused message with a compelling call to action (they Thing you want them to do when they get the mailer).
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