Questions to Ask Yourself When Crafting the Offer

40% of a successful direct mail campaign is “The Offer.” As you’re generating your perfect mailing list, craft an offer that your audience simply cannot refuse. A well-crafted offer can truly make a campaign.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when crafting the offer.

What’s the plan?

Before you even begin, make sure that you have created a thorough plan regarding what you’ll offer, how it will affect business and what you’ll do to keep customers coming back. Some companies get discouraged after seeing a smaller ROI in the short term with generous offers. Remember that you are trying to gain and retain customers. If you see a response, grand or not-so-grand, keep pushing and creating a power-punch way to keep customers coming back.

What do they want and why should they care?

Entice your prospects! What will drive them through your doors? Make sure it is something attainable and achievable for both you and your prospects, with a compelling argument as to why they need to go with you. Make sure to conduct thorough research about the availability of data in your market. What can mailers tell you about customer behavior and data? Use that information to target your offer.

Is this offer going to be “the one”?

Test, test and re-test!

Don’t assume that you’ve put together the perfect offer at first until you tested it. Put yourself in the prospect’s shoes to determine if this is an enticing offer and never stray too far away from the drawing board. Once a winning offer has been found, stick with it but continue to re-test and evaluate the results.

How can I make my offer reputable?

If you are a new business or offering a new service, it may be tough to acquire full reputability with prospects. Try making your offer a trial offer. Trial periods and subscriptions are great ways to entice customers, as they receive an immediate benefit. Once you have customers in that trial period, make sure it is fruitful and worthwhile. You want to prove why they should continue with you past their trial.

How can they respond?

If customers do not have a way to respond, your campaign will not soar! Make sure to always have your contact information clearly accessible and readable on your mail piece. Take advantage of the many ways to drive responses, such as reply pieces, QR codes, PURLs, email responses, etc. There are some great technological offerings that are both creative and fun that may help you generate a response.