5 Important Direct Mail Lean Principles

First of all, what is Lean? It is a systematic way to reduce waste without sacrificing return on your investment. So how can we apply the lean concept to direct mail campaigns? First you will want to look at both customers and employees. Lean is a great fit, because you can save money with a lean direct mail approach. Reduce internal costs and increase customer response. The more you save, the more you make. Are you ready to apply the five lean principles to your next direct mail campaign?

Direct Mail Lean Principles:

1. Define The Value: This is extremely important. You need to determine what value your product or service has for your customers and prospects. Look at your company from the eyes of your customers. When you can easily identify all the benefits to them you are able to convey your value. Your customers and prospects buy the value of what you sell, not the product or service you are selling.
2. Value Stream: Now that you have identified the value you need identify all the steps it will take to create the best direct mail piece to target the values. You can create a map of what needs to be done and who will be doing it. Ideally you can identify any congestion points and plan around them before you execute your campaign. This will decrease the amount of time and frustration with actual campaign creation.
3. Flow: After you have identified all the potential waste points and worked out a plan, you are ready to make sure the plan will flow smoothly without bottlenecks or other issues both internally and for customers receiving the direct mail pieces. The quicker you can start the campaign the sooner you are making money. You should also create flows for each campaign stream such as retention, acquisition and events that trigger marketing communication to customers and prospects.
4. Pull: This is where it gets fun; you have created the system to expedite your direct mail campaigns. Therefore you are ready to provide mail pieces as people are ready for them. You can have triggering events that have you send mail to your customers and prospects such as when a product or service is about to change or a customer reaches a time period which would require them to buy from you again. The customer needs, pull the mail pieces to them based on the campaign flows you have created.
5. Perfection: Now that you have the steps in place you need to continually work to perfect them. By checking in with people at each step you can identify more problem areas and ways to improve them. You can then look at your direct mail results and improve them with better data, targeting and offers. This is a continual process to keep your mail performing better and better internally and with customers/prospects.

This process is probably a new way of looking at planning and executing your direct mail marketing. Most of the time we are running behind and throw mail campaigns together at the last minute then wonder why we are not getting the response rates we planned on. With this process, you are trying to create more value for your customers and spend less time and money creating it. Are you ready to get started? Need some help? Contact us today! We are glad to help!