Tips For A Successful Direct Mail Campaign

It has often been said that the success of a direct mail campaign can be broken down into three primary components:

1. The mailing list or target audience
2. The offer or incentive for the customer to buy the product
3. The creative package or communication message conveyed in the overall package

If you are a small business owner, an entrepreneur or an independent contractor, you should have a marketing or business plan to use as a guidepost/compass to lead your business' day-to-day activities.

Your plan does not have to be elaborate, nor does it have to be set in stone forever. However, it should specifically define key information including your target market and value proposition, as well as tactical ideas and action steps you will take in order to acquire customers and/or increase sales.

Here are 10 basic components to include in a Marketing Plan:

The Difference between Marketing and the Marketing Department

Marketing and the Marketing Department are two different things. Marketing might best be defined as all organized efforts, activities and expenditures designed to, first, acquire a customer and, second, maintain a customer. (It should be added — at a profit.) The Marketing Department is a unit of organization, traditionally charged with carrying out specific tasks that are deemed to be "marketing" (such as advertising, market research).