Direct mail campaigns for local businesses: Everything you need to know

Marketing a local or small business can be tough. A tight budget can feel like it limits your options to 'low-cost' online and email marketing campaigns. Yet costs still spiral when aiming for good response rates.

It can be even harder in industries that used to rely on word of mouth to attract new customers. Removals services, cleaners and storage companies survive on local customers so they used to benefit from people asking for recommendations. This isn't as common anymore, and it can be hard to know which other channels to use instead.

Handled correctly, direct mail marketing could deliver the campaign results a local business needs. It can deliver an impressive response rate that balances out initial costs. It can even deliver results for longer than fleeting digital marketing campaigns too.

But to see real results from direct mail marketing, you need to understand this channel. You need to know exactly what the benefits are, what the drawbacks are, how to make a direct mail campaign successful and what formats work best.

In this everything you need to know guide, we'll explore all these questions and more. You’ll be able to make an informed decision on whether direct mail is right for your business.

What are the benefits of direct mail marketing for local businesses?

• Interactive
  Whether it's the physical act of opening an envelope or scanning a QR code, direct mail can create an interactive and multi-sensory experience that makes a deeper impact in the brain. This adds an increased level of engagement than just clicking an advert or link.

• Engaging and memorable
  Another benefit of direct mailers is that the interactivity makes them more engaging and memorable. Even when it comes to items that just need to be read, scientific research has found people prefer physical paper to a screen which gives direct mail an instant appeal.
  
  All these factors will combine to give direct mail a much longer life span than email marketing and other digital methods too.
  
  As well as staying in your memory longer, direct mail is likely to physically hang around as well - especially when it comes to targeted audiences in need of your services. Once a leaflet is pinned to a notice board or fridge, customers will be constantly reminded of your business.
  
  

• Less competition
  These days, many companies stream all their efforts into digital marketing. Social media feeds are cluttered with digital advertisements, while inboxes are equally stuffed with email marketing. Conversely, fewer people still make the effort to send direct mail so there is a lot less competition.
  
  This is particularly important for local and small businesses too. The majority of competition across digital marketing channels will be from big companies with deep pockets and a wide-ranging marketing strategy.
  
  Companies with instantly recognisable brand names might even get more preferential treatment from customers due to this name recognition.
  
  In 2021, around 70.5% of advertising budgets were spent online while only 3.6% was spent on direct mail. This shows that a direct mail marketing campaign saves you from competing with a vast list of unconnected and irrelevant offers and companies. You can pitch your relevant services without being lost in the background.
  

• Easy local targeting
  If you run a local or small business then it's a great idea to target potential customers in your local area. As direct mailers are physical correspondence heading to a physical address, you can make sure you're speaking to a location-specific target audience. If you're looking to contact homemovers, this is particularly important so for more tips on how to target homemovers in your area, we’ve got you covered.

If you’re looking to implement a direct mail marketing campaign into your marketing strategy, we’ve explored the benefits of direct mail marketing for 2022 already to give you the edge over your competitors.

How effective is direct mail marketing for local businesses?

Though the benefits of direct mail apply to any business, local businesses are likely to reap the best results of all. Particularly with a homemover audience.

We all know homemovers are likely to be under a lot of stress. They will not have hours of time to plunge into researching the perfect removals company, van hire or storage options. With direct mail advertising, you can make your business the first one they think of. Your direct mail piece can land on their doormat at the perfect time. New customers will have a perfect local business in front of them without the added stress of searching for them.

Even if they aren't in the market for your services, direct mailers can be stored somewhere easy to spot for weeks or months until the right time. No need to trawl back through a cluttered email inbox or recall a recommendation heard a year ago.

Another benefit of this for the homemover market is that this customer group often prefers to use a local business during their moving process. This is a time when location is heavy on their mind, and the knowledge that a business is tied to specific neighbourhoods can make a serious contribution to their decision process.

Finally, while multi-channel marketing is always the most effective marketing strategy, for many local or small businesses, it can be too expensive to combine direct mail or other marketing channels in one campaign. Research carried out by WARC and MarketReach in 2021 revealed that 35% of people made a payment or purchase after receiving direct mail marketing. This is an impressive return for any single marketing channel - so if you can only pick one channel for your marketing materials, direct mail is an excellent choice.

What makes a successful direct mail campaign?

When it comes to running a successful direct mail marketing campaign, it's easy to think that a bright, eye-catching mailer is the key to success.

But, while it is important that your direct mailers stand out, this isn't enough to convince people to commit to your company. Instead, you must make sure it appeals directly to your target audience. This applies to the visual design, but also the language you use, the benefits you boast and the promotions you offer.

The only way to know what's going to appeal is to know who your audience is. Understand their needs, their worries and their situation in general. This makes audience segmentation an integral part of direct mail marketing. This simply means breaking your audience down into small groups based on shared features so you can accommodate those features in your marketing. Take a look at our guide to audience segments for direct mail campaigns to find out more about this key direct mail marketing tactic.

How much does direct mail marketing cost?

One of the most common criticisms thrown at direct mail marketing is how expensive it can be. This is only true of unsuccessful campaigns though - manage your campaign effectively enough and you can actually achieve a low cost-per-customer attrition rate.

This will make sure your direct mail arrives on the doormat of a relevant and receptive audience so you don't spend money on printing or posting direct mailers with easy-to-read fonts and persuasive marketing messages only to put them in front of people who don't care about your product or service.

Combine this with that extended life for direct mail pieces and your direct mail results can prove impressively cost-effective.

For more exact information on how to get a better ROI on local direct mail check out our dedicated post.

To know how MoverAlerts can help with your fulfilment services, you can contact us here. 

What is a good response rate for direct mail?

Estimates vary, but research suggests response rates for direct mail are typically as high as 9-10%. This means that for every 100 mailers you produce you can expect as many as 10 people to get in touch with your company as a result.

In marketing terms, this is highly impressive - digital channels are more likely to be in the 0.5 - 2% range even for paid ads in search engines and social media.

Of course, your own response rate will depend on a number of factors including how well you target your direct mail campaign. Making sure you get your marketing in front of an audience of customers who need your services  and see your response rates soar.

What different types of direct mail campaigns are there?

When it comes to direct mail options, the most commonly used are letters and oversized postcards.

The benefit of both types is that they are covered by the cheapest possible postage costs, while still giving enough space to make a persuasive connection with potential customers. The cost of both is affected by the paper quality you choose, but it is important not to skimp and go for the lowest quality available. As cost-effective as this might feel, it can lower your response rate as the quality of your direct mailers is seen as a reflection of the quality of service you offer.

These similarities can make it difficult to decide which physical item is best for your business. However, they do have a lot of different attributes that can help you decide:

Letters

Letters are generally printed at A4 paper size and then delivered in addressed envelopes.

Benefits

• lower printing costs, as you will only need black-and-white printing services
• more space for personal touches due to their length
• more space

Disadvantages:

• not as eye-catching
• can be intimidating to customers who don't like reading
• easier to misplace or mistake for other mail
• the need for an envelope does increase costs

Oversized postcards

Fliers and leaflets can come in any size but A5 tends to be the most

Benefits

• allow for much more eye-catching designs
• as they are more attention-grabbing, they also tend to be more memorable
• let you make your services immediately identifiable
• can include QR codes in the design to add
• easier to incorporate branding including colour and font choices to increase brand awareness and tie into other marketing materials

Disadvantages:

• more expensive to print
• easy to spot and discard by people filtering out marketing
• less space to share important information

Is direct mail good for small businesses?

Is direct mail good for small businesses?

There is no denying that direct mail marketing can be fantastic for a local or small business as long as it is handled correctly.

MoverAlerts can help you build a target mailing list through our subscription service or even take the entire task out of your hands with our fulfilment service. We can help make sure your direct mail is finding people homemovers who could be in the market for your services, helping to keep the costs of your campaign down while pushing your returns high.