Direct mail has many benefits as we’ve already seen. One of them is the ability to target niche market segments that can represent very specific groups of people based on their demographics, psychographics, and even purchasing habits. Even in a mass-media market that has become increasingly segmented, advertisers have significant “waste” in terms of the people they’re reaching with their advertising messages who simply are not interested in what they have to offer. With direct mail — both traditional and email — marketers can be much more precise in targeting consumers who are most likely to be interested in what they have to offer. This presumes, of course, that they have taken the time to seriously and carefully consider who their target audience is.

      1. Identify Your Target Audience

      Once you thoroughly understand what it is you’re trying to sell, you can turn to the question of who you are trying to sell it to and how best to reach them. Consider these questions:

      • Who are you trying to reach?

      • When do you want to reach these customers?

      • Where do your prospects live?

      • How often do you want to reach potential customers?

      Direct mail can be used to target both prospects and existing customers in creative ways. The key is to clearly identify the characteristics that potential customers have, based on your own analysis, past purchase history, and any secondary purchasing information you can attain. The following examples demonstrate businesses targeting their markets:

      • iSchool Music & Art is an educational music and art school for children and adults in Port Washington and Syosset, Long Island, NY. With a goal of increasing new student enrollment and recognizing that its real target audience was parents of students (many who begin considering educational options for their children when they’re quite young), the school targeted residences in multiple zip codes representing the areas its students typically come from with children aged 3 to 17 years old. “We will typically enroll about 100 new students at each location from each mailing,” the school says.

      • Texoma Community Credit Union wanted to generate CDs (Certificates of Deposit, a type of term deposit), and decided to promote a great interest rate on CDs to 2,400 homeowner-investors from a rented list as well as its own existing top depositors. The promotion generated 198 CDs representing $5.31 million in new investments for the credit union.

      • Verlo Mattress promoted a ten-day sale through a direct mail effort using postcards that were sent to a list comprised of its own customers who had purchased directly from its stores over the past two years, and customers who had purchased from Verlo Mattress stores that had closed within the past three years but who were near enough to consider shopping at its locations. The result: $56,000 in sales.

      When considering who to target, you should ask yourself the following questions:

      • Who are you trying to reach? Define your potential customers in terms of both demographic and psychographic characteristics. Demographic characteristics include such things as age, gender, income, education, family status, and occupation. Psychographic characteristics involve lifestyle or attitudes. If you don’t know specifically who you’re trying to reach, you’ll have a very difficult time trying to determine the best list to use, and whether it’s best to reach out through the mail or online media.

      • When do you want to reach these customers? If your product is seasonal such as snowboarding equipment, you will not be mailing in mid-July. Be careful, however, not to reach your customers too late. Your goal is to reach the consumer at the time the purchasing decision is made — this is not necessarily the same point at which the purchase is made. You may very well find that you need to begin promoting snowboarding gear in late September or early October.

      • Where do your prospects live? Your choice of list will certainly depend on where your prospects live. Perhaps your product has national appeal and you are able to use national lists. However, again, the beauty of direct mail is that it can be precise. You may want to more narrowly segment your audience by region of the country, size of the city, etc. Or, you may be marketing internationally, which expands your options considerably.

      • How often do you want to reach your prospects? Will you do regular monthly mailings? Quarterly? It’s important to mail your own customer list on a regular basis so you keep your name before them and take advantage of the momentum created by any recent purchases. You’ll want to monitor the responses to these mailings closely to ensure you aren’t mailing either too often or too infrequently.

      • Where do you want to reach potential customers? At home? In the office? The type of product or service you provide will determine the best place for reaching prospects. If you are selling a subscription to a trade publication, you would most likely want to reach prospects in the office. If you are selling clothing, you probably want to reach them at home. However, this isn’t always the case. You may want to test some different approaches just to see what kind of response you get.

      Once you’ve thoroughly analyzed your customers, you need to take a close look at your prospects. To whom are you trying to sell your product? The following questions can help you get a good feel for your audience:

      • Are your best prospects men or women?

      • Are they young, middle-aged, or retirees?

      • What is their average annual income?

      • Where do they live?

      • What do they like to do in their spare time?

      • How much do they already know about the product or service you have to offer?

      Reviewing the information you have about your existing customers can help you develop a profile that can be used to find more people like them who will, presumably, also be interested in your product or service. It’s extremely important to know who your current customers are. By knowing the characteristics of current customers, you’ll have a much easier time of prospecting for new customers because you’ll know exactly what to look for when you’re researching mailing list availability. If you don’t have all of this information, you may want to consider conducting some research or getting access to secondary sources that can provide you with important insights and information. Secondary sources may include research or information available through trade organizations that serve the market you’re interested in, or data available through the US Government (e.g., the Census Bureau).

      1.1 Identify your target market’s buying habits

      Another important aspect of identifying your market is determining their specific buying habits. When you’re considering the purchasing habits of your potential customers, you’ll want to know the following information regarding the product you’re selling:

      • Where do customers typically buy this product? Suppose you’re introducing a line of deli foods that you’d like to sell through the mail. Traditionally, customers would buy deli items at a deli. You’ll need to address this obvious objection to purchasing through the mail in your advertising materials. In addition, knowing that there are alternative sources of supply will help you in determining pricing, developing unique benefits, and structuring your offer.

      • Are purchases seasonal or special occasion? The answer to this question will help you plan your mailing strategy. Obviously, if you’re selling Christmas items, you won’t be mailing in June; neither would you mail in December, which would be too far into the holiday season. You might, instead, opt for a late October mailing date. Seasonal considerations also apply to swimwear, educational materials (which often see low sales during the summer months), and gardening supplies.

      • Is purchase premeditated or impulsive? Direct mail works best for selling