[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]As a marketer, your ideas, copy or design have a limited amount of time to make an impact on your target audience.

For successful direct marketing, you need to get it right first time and every time to ensure you retain your audience’s attention. However, many marketers, advertisers and businesses as a whole make some common mistakes that have an adverse effect on the copy that they supply to their audience.

Copy needs to be kept relevant and should always be of interest to your consumers. Knowing your audience is key to direct marketing success, but if you fail to engage with consumers then your marketing strategy will have little or no impact. You could then be left with a hole in your marketing budget and zero return on your investment to show for it. [/cs_text][x_custom_headline level=”h2″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”false”]Common direct marketing mistakes[/x_custom_headline][cs_text]One of the worst things you can do is make your marketing too expansive, trying to please everyone often ends up pleasing no-one. Choose your target audience and make your marketing personal to them. Using customer surveys and consumer purchasing history is a great way to gain knowledge on what type of consumers you have and what promotions and special offers might appeal to them.

Quality should always be one of your biggest considerations. When a consumer receives a low quality and poor looking piece of marketing literature, they are unlikely to pay any real attention to it and will often dispose of it without even glancing at the offers. Quality materials and print do not necessarily always mean increased costs. It is possible to source quality materials at competitive prices.

Whilst it may be tempting to simply flood the market with your brand, products and offers, be careful not to push your presence too far. If consumers identify your mail as a nuisance then each and every mail you send will be a waste of time. Identify what your consumers would prefer and this will often make your marketing more cost effective.
[/cs_text][x_custom_headline level=”h2″ looks_like=”h4″ accent=”false”]Following up your marketing[/x_custom_headline][cs_text]Lastly, why spend all that money on direct marketing and then neglect to follow up your potential leads? It is good direct marketing practice to keep a database of consumers you have targeted and where possible you should make contact after a period of time to attempt to convert those leads into sales.

Keeping in touch with your existing consumers is key. Never lose sight of your existing client base in favour of finding new business as you may lose out altogether. Clever marketing involves a careful balance of the two, client retention is just as important.

Thanks for reading our blog post, which was brought to you by Baker Goodchild. We are more than happy to discuss any aspect of this post and how we can help your business. Also be sure to visit our Facebook or Twitter accounts online.

Image Credit: Embajada de los Estados Unidos en Uruguay[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]