Direct-Mail

Tracking results is easy with a direct-mail campaign because salon operators already know who should have received the ads. Direct mail allows salon operators to easily track the results by creating a call to action. This means the customer must bring in the mail piece to take advantage of a special offer or promotion. Salon owners can place a code on the mail piece that requires the person to relate the code to take advantage of the offer.

Small-business owners also can put different codes on different mail pieces to indicate specific demographics of the list or different geographies. This allows the mailer to track the results accurately to determine the effectiveness of a particular part of the mail campaign or the overall campaign. Be sure to provide the recipient with an easy way to respond, such as a telephone number, e-mail address or business reply envelope.

Direct mail probably is the most cost-effective marketing tool available for salons because it is scalable to the budget available and there are a host of options available that affect the cost.

Studies have shown that every $1 of direct-marketing expenditures generates $11 of revenue. Experts agree that successful direct mail is writing, designing and targeting your offer and/or services in a way that makes them irresistible, understandable, credible, applicable to the recipient, and easy to respond as well.

Small businesses are successful with direct mail because they often possess huge amounts of historical data on their existing customers, and want to leverage this data to target customers more effectively for upgrades, new product launches, etc. It has been around forever and it’s the one form of direct marketing that lawmakers aren’t trying to outlaw.

E-mail, telemarketing and fax blasting are forms of direct marketing with legislative restrictions.