Effective Direct Mail Marketing Campaigns for Professional Practices & Small to Mid Size Businesses

Are you planning to launch a direct mail marketing campaign to promote your professional practice or small to mid size business? If so, here is a 7-step process that can help you to protect your marketing investment. This process is based on strategic marketing principles that can set your direct mail campaign up for success.

Define your objectives:

Identify how you plan to gauge the success of your direct mail initiative. Will it be deemed a success because of the number of new inquiries, the resulting sales revenue or improved loyalty? Ensure that you are able to measure results so that you can use them to plan future marketing strategies.

Project your return on investment:

Projecting the return on your investment will inform you as to how profitable your direct mail marketing plan is expected to be. Calculations should account for:

The number of pieces to be mailed.

The cost for design, development, printing and postage.

The projected buy rate and average profit per sale.

Identify your target market:

The success of your direct mail program is highly dependent on how targeted your mailing list is. Define your target market and build a database of prospective clients, or patients, that suit this criterion.

Select a vehicle:

Email and snail mail are both appropriate vehicles for a direct mail marketing campaign.
Pros and cons to consider as you select your mailing vehicle are:

How open your target industry is to receiving marketing material.

How available an email list or mailing list is.

Requesting permission to distribute promotional email.

Addressing email spam control mechanisms.

The cost savings an email campaign delivers on printing.

Determine the contents of your direct mail package:

Customize contents to ensure that they are relevant to, and focused on, your prospective client or patient. Consider including:

A personalized letter that communicates the purpose of the mailer as well as knowledge about the recipient’s unique needs.
Targeted marketing material, such as a firm brochure, that efficiently delivers impact.

Develop the contents of your direct mail package:

A well-designed firm brochure will, in just a few seconds, deliver:

Clear and concise key messages.

An attention grabbing and emotional connection with the reader.
A compelling offer that solves a problem for the prospective client or patient.

A powerful call to action.

Develop a follow up strategy:

The success of a firm brochure direct mail marketing campaign can be maximized with follow up calls and repeat mailings.


By following this simple yet disciplined approach to planning for your direct mail marketing campaign you will be able to maximize the return on your investment while also establishing a process for the continuous improvement of your future marketing efforts.

 Effective Direct Mail Marketing Campaigns for Professional Practices & Small to Mid Size Businesses

Are you planning to launch a direct mail marketing campaign to promote your professional practice or small to mid size business? If so, here is a 7-step process that can help you to protect your marketing investment. This process is based on strategic marketing principles that can set your direct mail campaign up for success.

Define your objectives:

Identify how you plan to gauge the success of your direct mail initiative. Will it be deemed a success because of the number of new inquiries, the resulting sales revenue or improved loyalty? Ensure that you are able to measure results so that you can use them to plan future marketing strategies.

Project your return on investment:

Projecting the return on your investment will inform you as to how profitable your direct mail marketing plan is expected to be. Calculations should account for:

The number of pieces to be mailed.

The cost for design, development, printing and postage.

The projected buy rate and average profit per sale.

Identify your target market:

The success of your direct mail program is highly dependent on how targeted your mailing list is. Define your target market and build a database of prospective clients, or patients, that suit this criterion.

Select a vehicle:

Email and snail mail are both appropriate vehicles for a direct mail marketing campaign.
Pros and cons to consider as you select your mailing vehicle are:

How open your target industry is to receiving marketing material.

How available an email list or mailing list is.

Requesting permission to distribute promotional email.

Addressing email spam control mechanisms.

The cost savings an email campaign delivers on printing.

Determine the contents of your direct mail package:

Customize contents to ensure that they are relevant to, and focused on, your prospective client or patient. Consider including:

A personalized letter that communicates the purpose of the mailer as well as knowledge about the recipient’s unique needs.
Targeted marketing material, such as a firm brochure, that efficiently delivers impact.

Develop the contents of your direct mail package:

A well-designed firm brochure will, in just a few seconds, deliver:

Clear and concise key messages.

An attention grabbing and emotional connection with the reader.
A compelling offer that solves a problem for the prospective client or patient.

A powerful call to action.

Develop a follow up strategy:

The success of a firm brochure direct mail marketing campaign can be maximized with follow up calls and repeat mailings.


By following this simple yet disciplined approach to planning for your direct mail marketing campaign you will be able to maximize the return on your investment while also establishing a process for the continuous improvement of your future marketing efforts.