Salon Start-up: Direct Mail

There are countless advertising mediums available to business owners today, from print advertisements and billboards to radio jingles and television commercials. Of all the mediums available, direct-mail marketing is one of the most popular, due to its ability to produce new customers and generate repeat business. Case in point: 77 percent of non-customers reported that direct mail was what drove them to complete credit-card applications online, according to a survey by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

So, what exactly is direct mail and why is it such a great marketing method? In its simplest form, direct mail is a marketing effort that uses postal mail to deliver printed promotional pieces to a targeted audience. It encompasses a wide variety of marketing materials, including brochures, catalogs, solo mail postcards, cooperative shared-mail envelopes, newsletters and more.

"The popularity of direct mail derives from the fact that the marketer has the ability to track and measure the effectiveness of each direct-mail piece, and they know specifically what kind of return-on-investment they’re getting," says Steven Gray, COO of Money Mailer, the Garden Grove, Calif.-based direct-mail company. 

 In addition, direct mail is:

Flexible —highly customizable mailers have the opportunity for unique, personalized impressions on each piece.
Targeted—higher response rates are generated by mailing to a more targeted audience.
Cost-effective—your advertising dollars go further because your targeted message goes directly to the people you want to reach.
Tangible—customers can hold your direct-mail advertisement, referring to your message as often as needed.
Personal—you have direct contact with a prospective customer the minute your mail is read.
Time-sensitive—mail can be sent to target households the week of a new salon opening, event or sale.
Creative—you are only limited by your own imagination in creative execution.