by John Parkins
A business owner sat across from me a while back. Call him Jim. Jim was rolling out a new service and he had the whole plan worked out: "I want to let everyone know about it. Let's mail EDDM to every house in the area."
I said, "Jim, you realize most of those people probably won't be interested in what you have to offer."
"That's OK. I want to send it anyway."
So we sent it anyway.
The customer is always right. That doesn't mean the customer is always right.
That's how I run this shop. I'll steer. I'll guide. I'll show you the math and tell you where I think the money's going. But it's your business and your decision, and I'll print whatever you land on. This post is the steering part, written down, so the next Jim can read it before 5,000 postcards hit the press.
Bottom line up front: mailing 500 pieces to the right people usually beats mailing 5,000 pieces to everybody, and it costs about a fifth as much.
What is targeted direct mail, anyway?
Targeted direct mail is mail sent to a list built from data about who people are and what they do, not just where their house happens to sit. The industry calls the fancy version "behavioral targeting," which sounds like spy stuff but mostly means paying attention. Somebody just bought a house. Somebody has kids in a certain age range. Somebody's income or buying habits line up with what you sell. We can filter a mailing list on just about any demographic you can name and get really detailed with it. New homeowners within ten miles who make over $75K? That's a list you can buy.
EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) is the opposite. The post office delivers your piece to every single address on a carrier route. The new family, the retired couple, the rental that's been empty since March. Everybody gets one.
What does the "mail everybody" plan cost?
Real numbers from quotes I've actually given. 5,000 pieces to every door can run upwards of $3,500 with postage. A targeted run of 500 pieces? Around $750, and that includes buying the list.
Yes, the blast hits ten times the mailboxes. But if eight or nine out of every ten of those mailboxes have no use for what you sell, most of that $3,500 just paid for a quick trip to the recycling bin.
The smaller list also leaves money to mail those same 500 people again next month. Repetition is what makes direct mail work. Most businesses blow the whole budget on one giant send, get a quiet phone, and decide "mail doesn't work." The mail was fine. The list was the problem.
When does mailing everybody actually make sense?
When what you sell is something nearly every household wants. That's the short answer. A new restaurant opening up is the classic example, because everybody eats. A grand opening, a pizza shop, a widely needed commodity with broad appeal. If your honest answer to "who's my customer" is "pretty much every house within three miles," EDDM is a fine tool and some of the cheapest postage you'll find.
The trouble starts when the honest answer is "homeowners over 40 with a deck that needs refinishing" and you mail the apartment complex anyway.
Four questions to ask before you mail anything
- Who actually buys this? Not who could, in theory. Who does.
- Can a list filter find those people? Homeownership, new movers, age, income, kids at home. If you can describe your customer out loud, a list can usually find them.
- What's the real cost of the blast vs the targeted run? Get both numbers on paper before you decide.
- If 2 percent respond, which version of that 2 percent pays the bills? Two percent of the right 500 people beats two percent of a crowd that was never going to call.
This is the kind of thing our Print Squad handles every week at BeyondVivid Marketing Co. here in Lima, Ohio. We build targeted mailing lists and run direct mail campaigns for small businesses across Allen County and Northwest Ohio, and we'll tell you straight when the everybody blast makes sense and when it doesn't.
Questions I get about this
Is EDDM cheaper than a targeted mailing list?
Per piece, yes. Per actual customer, usually no. EDDM postage is cheap, but you're paying to print and mail thousands of pieces to people who were never going to buy. A targeted list costs more per piece and less per result.
How specific can a targeted mailing list get?
More specific than most people expect. Homeownership, age, income, kids, recent movers, even buying behaviors. If you can describe your best customer, there's probably a filter for it.
Who can help me with targeted direct mail in Lima, Ohio?
That's us. BeyondVivid Marketing Co. is a full-service marketing agency in Lima, and direct mail is Print Squad territory. We handle the list, the design, the printing, and the mailing for businesses in Lima, Allen County, and across Northwest Ohio.
And if you're sitting on a quote for 5,000 postcards right now, wondering whether you need all 5,000, that's exactly what a quick call is for. No pressure, no pitch. Reach out and bring the quote. (If the quote itself looks like hieroglyphics, I wrote a whole post on how to read one.)
As for Jim, his postcards went out to every house, just like he wanted. I don't know exactly how many survived the walk from the mailbox to the kitchen trash can. I have a guess.
