Target Audience + Message / Offer + Channels + Timeliness = RESULTS!
By Natalie Cook, Director of Marketing

Direct marketing is, without a doubt, a marriage of art and science. It keeps your constituents engaged and, if supported by a sound strategy, opens doors for new ones. Direct marketing can be a catalyst for impressive results.

The four key ingredients to a perfect direct marketing recipe are: The right target audience, a relevant message or offer, efficient delivery channels and the right number of times, all in perfect time!

The right mix of these ingredients guarantees the right outcome for your organization

AUDIENCE
Your audience is the single most important piece of a direct marketing program. No matter how compelling the creative, or how many times they receive it, if it is not aligned with the audience it will have less than optimal results. In fact, the Direct Marketing Association suggests that targeting and list quality comprises 40% of the success of a marketing campaign.

MESSAGE / OFFER
A carefully planned offer tucked inside the right message is key to evoking response. The message must first capture the emotion of your audience, and have a compelling business case or case for support. It must answer the question why they should care!

CHANNELS
The options of delivering the message can be mind-boggling: traditional postal mail, electronic email, direct advertising, social networks, etc. But the right mix of these options will optimize and lift your response rates to new levels.

TIMING
Reaching the right audience, with the right message, through the right channel at the right time, completes the direct marketing recipe. Having the right amount of frequency also ensures your message will be noticed.

RESULTS
1 + 1+ 1+ 1 = 8
Just like cooking, the individual ingredients are not delectable on their own. When prepared well with the right mix of direct marketing ingredients, they will yield highly leveraged results.