Email has become a prime territory for spam, and marketing contact through this medium has become rather devalued. Because of this, direct mail has come to be seen as quite a novel approach in comparison. Direct mail performs very well in other in other arenas, and so it’s easy to fall into the assumption that direct mail will do the same in business-to-business contact.

Often, though, the fact is that direct mail is not always effective, especially in a complex sale. This is made worse by the misuse of the medium. Direct mail has its limitations, and must be used appropriately in a marketing strategy. To reach the executive decision-maker, you should target a small, specific audience and use direct mail as a follow up contact, not as an initial contact.

Direct mail may have its limitations, it is not as flexible, immediate, or economical as e-mail. But if it is used with a high level of personalization and targeted to the right people, it becomes a novel method of contacting your prospects.

Most mail arrives as an A5 or DL envelope with a letter inside. Although this may seem old fashioned, a short, personal, well written letter can be very effective if used sparingly and as part of a larger plan.

The most commonly made error in a direct mail campaign is a poorly chosen target audience. It’s very important to have an accurate, qualified and up-to-date database. The database needs details of the right people in the right companies.