Author: Allison Zeger

Part One: Setting Goals for Your Site

When planning a new web site or analyzing your existing site, start with your home page. This is the online “face” of your company. The home page should provide an overview of what you do or offer, while beginning to establish trust with your new and repeat visitor. The content you choose to highlight on your home page will be critical to attracting a potential customer and encouraging them to explore the rest of your site.

Goals = Success
Setting clear goals will ensure an effective web site and help determine how your site should be designed.

Ask Yourself the Following Questions:

1. What is the goal of my web site?
2. What audience do I want to reach?
3. What are they looking for when they visit my site?
4. What action do I want my visitors to take?
5. What are the key messages I want to convey?

Effective Goals
An effective goal will tie directly to a customer’s needs and differentiates your company from your competition.

The following are examples of effective goals:

1. Answer the top questions my customers will ask.
2. Home page explicitly states what my company does.
3. The web site is organized and uncluttered.
4. The web site contains specific information describing my products and services.
5. Text contains critical keywords to ensure Search Engine Optimization.

by Janet Kemmet, Graphic Response

Based on recent statistics and studies, direct mail appears to be holding strong with a response rate of 4.4% compared to 0.12% for email (according to Bizo and Epsilon data).  Direct mail response rates are typically 10 to 30 times higher than that of digital.  As inboxes become more and more cluttered with marketing messages, direct mail remains the only media channel that puts your message directly into your customers’ hands, through a much less cluttered channel.  

Results of studies by the U.S. Post Office indicate, while participants had similar engagement to digital ads and physical ads, the individuals exposed to the direct mail piece (physical ad) experienced heightened excitement, as well as a greater subjective valuation and desirability for the items advertised.  This experience held true for millennials, as well.  The perception that millennials, raised with cell phones and tablets, would not be interested in something as ‘old school’ as direct mail, has been proven false.  It turns out a significant percentage of millennials like mail, with 95% of 18-29 year olds exhibiting a positive response to receiving personal cards and letters. 

With these encouraging studies, it is obvious Direct Mail remains a viable form of marketing to your customers.  While there are costs associated with the production and mailing of your piece, it continues to be one of the most cost effective methods of marketing for small businesses.  Be sure to integrate direct mail marketing with social media campaigns; reaching targeted audiences with a coordinated and consistent branding message.

Consider the following steps when developing your direct mail message:

• Make your direct mail memorable
• Ask your printer about “variable data printing” for a custom effect
• Target your message to the right audience
• Include a “Call to Action” offer