How Seasons Affect Direct Mail Marketing Campaigns

Direct mail marketing serves a huge purpose in advertising, often combined with digital advertising to increase response rates. There’s method behind direct mail and mailing services, with Royal Mail revealing direct mailing boasts an astonishing open rate of 92%. From the huge 92% of prospects, 48% responded to the call to action within the direct mail.

With the figures in mind, it’s essential to strategically plan your direct mail to ensure the biggest and most effective response. You must also consider the effect the change in season has on direct mailing and mailing services.

Seasonal Marketing Campaigns

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While you must always consider your prospects and identify your target audience, note when you are sending your direct mail and using mailing services. If you are using a mailing company to produce seasonal direct mail, analyse the best time of year to mail before you send off your direct mail designs. Most industries have a good and bad time of year for direct mail marketing campaigns, and your mailing services should not affect your project.

Do your research

It may seem simple, but you must do your research when it comes to direct mailing and direct mailing services. Research your target audience; their needs, buying habits etc. and the time they are most receptive. For example, financial, transactional direct mail marketing achieves the highest response rates at the start of the fiscal year.
Have the data ready to send across to the mailing company before you produce your direct mail. Test marketing is best left in the less busy times of the year. During the holidays – in particular, Christmas – you’re better sticking to your proven sellers.

Set out your goals

A direct mail marketing campaign is worthless without a measurable goal. You need to start your preparations as early as possible, along with the results you would like to see from the personalised direct mail. Are you looking to drive sales to your website, or generate sales from the direct mailing campaign? All of this must be considered before you begin the process of creating the direct mail designs, and, possibly, using a mailing company.

Analyse the best time

As mentioned above, to generate the best possible response, look at the seasons and how they may have an effect on your direct mailing. Direct mail at Christmas competes with an abundance of flyers, brochures, catalogues, leaflets; you name it. Your prospects will, most likely, be overwhelmed by the sheer number of direct mail – especially in the holidays – so it’s important to create a clear and personalised message. Plan early enough to reassure your customers you can deliver on your mailing services (delivery times if promoting a product etc.), but not too early that they aren’t even considering the holidays.

Create relevant content

Once you have your research and the audience you are looking to target, you can produce the direct mail design. Ensure your content is relevant to the time of year, and to your services. Set a clear deadline for when you want your direct mailing produced, if sending it to a mailing company. Direct mail is time sensitive when it comes to the holidays, and it may cost money and prospects if your project happens to be delayed. If you are looking to send out your direct mail in bulk – transactional direct mail is a good example – then you are better sending your direct mail marketing campaign to a mailing company, who can target your audience at a lower cost.

Christmas, and other seasons, are a once a year event and you must be prepared with your direct mail. At WDM, we offer personalised direct mail services, as well as direct mail design and print finishing.