A Question with No Good Answer

"What Type of Response Rate Can I Expect?"

It is the question we field the most and it is also the toughest question to answer.

Clients always want to know exactly how many phone calls their mailing will generate. Unfortunately, there is no good answer, as there are just too many variables involved. For example, if you sell pet grooming services and send out a postcard mailing to everyone in a particular zip code (many of whom don’t even have pets!), you would likely receive just a handful of phone calls.

However, you could expect more responses if you mailed the postcards only to pet owners. You would receive even more phone calls if you offered a substantial discount on your services!

You see, when it comes to direct mail, it isn’t about how many people respond to your marketing, it’s about targeting your audience and your return on investment (ROI). Your ROI is the true measure of success in any direct mail campaign because you are focusing on how much revenue is coming in, not how many phone calls you get after mailing your postcards.

Here’s why your ROI is so important: You could send off 10,000 postcards and only get 10 people to call you back, which would look like a mere 0.1 percent response rate. However, of those ten who called, you may get five who turn into long-term clients, giving you business for life - which pays off greatly in the long run!

Let’s take a closer look.

John owns a pool care service. He charges $100 a month for weekly pool service and chemical treatment. To get more business flowing his way, John decides to send out a postcard mailing. He spends $800 to print and mail 2,500 postcards to homeowners with pools. Out of those 2,500 postcards, 12 call him to ask about his service and six actually hire his company to service their pool. So, John will generate an additional $600 per month ($7200/year) in revenue for his one-time investment of about $800.

As you see, you cannot judge a successful marketing campaign by the number of responses. It is far more important to generate more revenue than it is to receive more phone calls. Responses mean nothing unless money and business back them up. Positive ROI is what businesses should look for, not percentage-based response rates.