Direct Marketing News

Raise awareness for your agency and keep top of mind with prospective clients by using direct mail. Most agencies fail at their own direct mail efforts because they give up after only a couple of mailings when they have little or no results. Direct mail isn’t dead. But its not very effective unless it is part of an integrated marketing plan and is used consistently.

To be consistent:

*Keep it simple, a single concept that fits with your overall new business plan and additional campaign pieces. For simplicity I would suggest using an oversize postcard, 6 to 12 designs for monthly or bi-monthly mailing

*Treat this like a project as you would for any other client. Open a job, develop a creative brief, identify your target audience, have a start date and hard deadline for delivery.

*Develop a years campaign at one time. Have it on the shelf ready for mailing.

*Outsource with a direct mail service. Let them print, presort and stamp for efficiency. I’ve learned that the more things you can outsource the more consistent your efforts will be. Some can even pay for themselves in cost savings. An agency client of mine outsourced their direct mail for the first time, more than doubled their mailing at a savings of $72 not to mention the staff’s time that was saved.

*Purchase a mailing list. Most agencies don’t have the time and resources to develop and maintain their own data base. Executive positions change often. Suppliment your data with a targeted list of companies. Purchase a list for 1 to 2 years and multi-use. Names, titles and addresses plus phone numbers that you can use for your “warm call” program.

Have a “creative” strong call to action. Drive traffic first to your agency’s blog site. The blog site is becoming the gateway to ad agencies and websites are more like an agency brochure or portfolio.

*Automate as much as possible. Set mailing dates throughout the year to coincide with your other marketing efforts.

*Don’t “over-create” your own direct mail piece. Agency’s tend to be too self-critical with their own promotional materials.

*Keep in mind that your target audience isn’t other ad agencies. So don’t be concerned about their opinion or whether or not your self promotional piece will win an Addy award. The best designed self promotional piece wont be successful if can’t get it out the door.

Your agency is probably like most. When you get busy doing clients work your own work is put on the back burner. So remember to keep your process simple so that you can be consistent. Consistency is the key to success.

FUELING AD AGENCY NEW BUSINESS

Michael Gass is an agency new business consultant, primarily to small and mid-size advertising agencies. Michael works with marketing communications firms to create a more clearly defined focus and differentiating business strategy that will give them a competitive advantage for new business, a higher-profile reputation, and an improved ability to attract and win the clients they really want.

http://www.michaelgass.com | http://www.fuelingnewbusiness.com

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