|
|  | |
 |
|
| What
actually is Direct Mail? | |
| Direct
Mail is a sales and marketing method which uses the postal or delivery services
to carry advertising or product information to named individuals believed to be
in the target market.
By including an order response, such as a telephone
number or postal response, the mail piece becomes a direct sales tool. |
|
|
| Don't
most people throw away their junk mail? | |
| Research
and experience suggests that most people look at the postal mail they receive.
Even a few moments is enough to catch the reader's attention. Direct mail continues
to play an important role in the marketing activities of many highly successful
ad reputable companies. Done properly, with well-produced materials and carefully-targeted
lists, direct mail is highly successful and cost-effective. |
|
|
| Why
should we spend money on physical mailing when we can use the Internet for free? |
|
| There
are some effective ways to use the Internet, but relying on the Internet is insufficient.
Postal mail reaches out to a customer, addressing him or her by name. Unsolicited
mass email, 'spam mail', is becoming increasingly highly regulated. Even when
not regulated, the volume is so overwhelming, and the reputation so sullied, that
very few people now open messages that they did not expect to receive.
Also,
people are more inclined to read at length from a printed letter of flyer than
on-screen, and they keep the material for longer. Even in the Internet age, direct
mail is increasingly popular and effective. | |
|
| Are
you saying that DM is the most effective form of advertising or sales? |
|
| No,
we're not. All advertising methods have their merits. But when you consider the
cost of a TV commercial, which lasts only 15 or 30 seconds, then the cost of gaining
reader attention by a well-written, well-targeted printed piece in the customer's
hands begins to look very reasonable. | |
|
| If
we use your lists, what sort for people will we be reaching? |
|
| Due
to the experience we have built up as a publisher, our lists are characterized
by people who
|
| are
highly-educated, many to Master's degree or above
earn above the median income
travel abroad more frequently than the average
have computers at home
are computer literate
are proficient in reading and writing English (It is
generally estimated that less than 1% of Japanese are proficient in English)
are early adopters of new technology and services.
|
|
|
| What
sort of take-up ratio can I expect from a DM campaign? |
|
| This
depends on many variables : relevance and accuracy of the list, quality of the
offer, persuasiveness and clarity of the DM piece, response method -� as well as
the general market receptiveness to the product or service itself.
In Japan
take-up rates are higher than in other industrialized countries.
For a new
product or service, we have experienced take-up rates as high as 3% - 5%.
Free services, such as memberships, and offers with an enticement frequently achieve
a take-up rate of 5% - 8%, when written in Japanese. | |
|
| What
sort of businesses can benefit from direct mail? |
|
| B2B
and B2C can both benefit. Because of response rates, direct mail is usually profitable
for businesses where transactions are fewer and the value of a transaction is
fairly high, rather than high-volume low-price businesses. Therefore, typical
DM users are magazines (annual subscription), consultants, business and travel
services, and financial services. | |
|
| We
tried DM once and the results were not very good; why should we do it again? |
|
| That
may have been because you were mailing an out-dated, inaccurate or inappropriate
list. In any case, however, the take-up rate of direct mail tends to follow a
predictable pattern. Industry research shows that most people do not respond to
the first DM piece they see, or even the second. Orders generally come in from
the third piece and rise to their peak on receiving the sixth DM piece. Professional
and frequent direct mailers know this and they build their campaigns around it.
One or two mailings are not really sufficient to judge whether DM works for you. |
|
|
| So
how often is enough? | |
| Regular
and professional direct mailers will often expect to mail a list six or seven
times, and will continue to mail it if it brings in results. We realize, however,
that not all our clients are in a position to do this, and we will gladly advise
on how to maximize the effectiveness of your DM budget. |
|
|
| Do
we have to send thousands of pieces? | |
| No,
not necessarily. For a specialized field, we can conduct an effective campaign
targeted at a few hundred individuals. This can be very rewarding for a high-value
one-on-one type of business, such as haute-couture design or consulting. Obviously
the cost per order received will depend on the cost-structure of your business.
However, in most cases, we strongly recommend a minimum mailing of 2,000-3,000
pieces, in order effectively to measure the result, even for a test mailing. |
|
|
| If
we use your Groupage service, isn't there a risk that we will be sharing your
envelope with some unsavory characters? | |
| No,
because our Groupage envelope carries only our material and that of one client
at a time. Furthermore we do not carry direct mail for customers offering illegal
or immoral services or products, neither will we carry mail for businesses which,
although legal and legitimate, have a reputation with which we do not wish to
be associated. | |
|
| Aren't
you invading people's privacy by sending them mail they did not ask for? |
|
| Most
people are on lists from published sources. They can ask to be removed at any
time, but very few people do. | |
|
| What
about complaints? | |
| Post
office regulations require that the direct mail envelope have a Japanese address.
In addition, we include telephone, fax and email, so recipients can easily contact
us, if they have a complaint or wish to be removed from a list. If we are handling
fulfillment on behalf of a client, our service includes telephone help and support. |
|
|
| What
information should be included if we prepare our own envelopes and flyers? |
|
| A
return postal address in Japan must be shown on the envelope. Our address can
be used for this purpose if required.
The flyer should indicate clearly how
the customer should respond : by email, fax, phone, website or postal mail. The
address to which orders are sent need not be the same as that on the envelope. |
|
|
| Are
there any restrictions on the number of flyers or the weight of an envelope? |
|
| The
total weight of the envelope should be less than 50 grams, but arrangements can
be made for heavier envelopes. One flyer with a payment slip and return envelope
will generally be less than 50 grams. | |
|
| Which
companies have used your services? | |
| We
respect our clients'� confidentiality and can not disclose names. |
|
|
|
