If it isn’t already, Direct Mail should be a key component in your business for attracting or keeping your customers. Believe it or not, Direct Mail continues to out-perform other forms of media in overall cost effectiveness. However, the items that are mailed need to be something that will achieve the desired result – a response! Mail that appears to be hand written to someone or a specific address and could contain a personalized message is much more likely to be opened. If the item is never opened – no action will ever come from it (duh). If you personally receive something addressed to “Current” or “Occupant” with a skewed label stuck on an envelope – chances are it will not get opened. However, having your name directly printed on the envelope - in a crisp clean fashion – will dramatically improve the “open” rate and thus increase the potential for response. Here are some facts and additional points provided by Hasler, one of the leading postage meter vendors in the industry, about increasing your response rate:

Overview:

• Over 70% of businesses today utilize direct mail to generate leads, orders, and new customers. Without a doubt, a direct mail marketer’s top challenge is maximizing the response rate.
• As for industry averages, the Direct Marketing Association analyzed 1,122 industry-specific campaigns and determined that the average response rate for direct mail was 2.61%.
• In general, the financial return on a direct mail campaign becomes significant when your response rates are at least between 1 and 3%, which is not always as easy as it sounds.
• It all starts with the envelope. If it looks like "junk mail", the vast majority of your recipients won’t even open it.
• Personalization and color are both catalysts for boosting response. Combine them in the right ways and you can increase your rates by up to 500%. 

Recommendations:

• Start with the big idea. A good offer with a solid promise of value will motivate people to respond, but a pretty mail piece alone will not. Before you worry about the design of your envelope and contents, focus on the big idea.
• One of the “cardinal sins” of direct mail marketing is the use of mailing labels. Besides their added cost, labels give your piece an obvious “mass mail look.” Use a method to print the address directly on the mail piece.
• Print a personalized “teaser” line on your envelope. Envelope layout software can help you design an envelope with both of these elements that makes a great first impression.
• You only have a brief moment to capture the reader's attention and a strong headline is the key. So, rewrite your headline as many times as needed until it is (A) easy to read at first glance, (B) interesting in some way, and (C) suggestive of the value to come.
• Personalize the content of your letter with relevant information that is specific to the recipient, in addition to their name. Ensure that your message is concise, easy to understand on the first read-through, and includes alternate ways to respond such as a toll-free 800 number to call or a simple web address to type.
• If you use a third party to send large mailings for you, don’t assume this is the most economical solution. Compare your outsourcing costs to an investment in technology that would allow you to take full control of your mailing projects.

There are many vendors in the marketplace that can provide equipment that a few years ago needed significant mail volumes in order to justify the cost. Today the technology has changed so that small envelope printers can be used to really increase your response rate and improve your bottom line. These types of printing systems can be used by people doing just a few thousand items at a time to make a big impact in your bottom line. You can be the best judge (and jury) on the sell-ability of items that come in the mail. Ask yourself; what direct mail do you open at work or at home, and what ends up getting tossed to the side? If YOU wouldn’t open the item – why would anyone else? Take these points into consideration when you are looking at the finished mail piece that you are sending out the door.