Best day for direct mail?

Pizza Shop Talk The Think Tank
1

I just sent out my first batch of menus today using my own postal permit. It was a lot easier than I thought and I’m saving a ton on postage. I asked the postal guy how long until I can expect to see my menus hit the homes. To my amazement, he said tomorrow. Ok :shock: , that was about a week earlier than I thought he was going to say. I guess maybe I should have asked him beforehand. My bad.

So, I beefed up my staff starting tomorrow and am expecting a surge. I hope that guy is right.

For future reference, now that I know it’s only a one day turnaround for me (I’m lucky to have a PO sorting station in my home town), what is the best day to have my direct mail pieces hit the homes for best results? I’m inclined to say, Thursday or Friday, so that I can really have a huge weekend. But operationally, I would rather have the volume spread out over the whole week. So maybe Monday or Tuesday would be best.

What day do you prefer and why? Thanks in advance.

2

I always avoid Monday and Tuesdays because those are the days all of the magazines and married mail hit, and you are likely to be lost in the shuffle. I aim for Wednesdays. I drop my mailers at the destination post office as well, so they always go the next day.

3

I am certainly not a mailing expert but I have always been told that Thursday is the day that you want your pizza direct mailings to hit. I have yet to really test this but my understanding is that a Thursday in home date will double or triple any other response.

If you are worried about beefing up staff for your mailing hitting, I hope you either have a great offer or are mailing a whole bunch. For a generic offer you will be lucky to get a one or two percent response over the long term. For every thousand you mail, expect 10 or 20 orders over a week or more depending on your offer. Unless you get nutty with the offer you will probably not be setting record weeks.

Bulk direct mail will gain you some long term customers, but unless you are mailing a whole bunch, I would not expect to have to fill your schedule with extras before it hits.

4

Agree wed or thurs.

5

With the post office how can you pick the day…It was always my understanding that the PO had 3 days to deliver once they got the drop in their office…And every PO seems to interpret the rules a little bit differently…

6

Great thread, here is a mix of my experience along with that of national survey results…

"A recent study by Vertis Communications in Baltimore found that 46% of adults responded to direct mail. 72% of adults said they have replied to direct mail pieces that contained a “buy one, get one free” offer. This means direct mail pieces that include an irresistible offer will get results. Also, it indicates that the word “free” is more appealing to people than a discount. The study found that 63% of people have responded to direct mail that offered a percentage discount on a purchase. This also indicates that you should include an offer in many, if not all, of your direct marketing pieces.

57% of women age 35-64 want companies that they’ve indicated interest in to follow up with direct mail pieces that are personalized for their needs. 38% of men age 35-49 prefer generic direct mail pieces when they’ve indicated interest.

85% of women age 25-44 read direct mail pieces. If you’re sending direct mail to households, it’s best to address them to the woman living there. You’ll have a better chance of your piece being read, and she’ll probably relay your message to her husband or others in the household after reading your piece."

My Experience Working w/ Hundreds of Pizza Shop Clients:
In general, direct mail marketing delivers a 0.5% to 3% response, which is considered a good response ratio across the board (medical, automotive, insurance, etc).

The common response rate for the pizza restaurants I work with (for what it’s worth) is 5% to 15% (this is for 11x17 Menu Mailers w/ coupons). My philosophy, people love pizza, eat it every week, and all you have to do is give them a reason to call.

Here’s some more info regarding “when to send” mailers…
-Never send direct mail from June 15-August 15. In the US summer vacations make this period a “dead zone”.
-Fall: Best from 8/31-11/15 (school start to one week before Thanksgiving)
-Winter: 1/15-3/15 Excellent
-Spring: 3/15-5/1 Excellent
-Summer: 5/1-6/15 Excellent

These are the generally accepted best date ranges to mail. Luckily for pizza shops, direct mail year round is valued by customers and the “dead zones” are not nearly as important.

For more information or to target the # of homes, apartments, and businesses in your area you can visit the link below and enter your Zip Code (scroll down page). Hope this helps!

http://www.taradel.com/target_solomail.aspx

-Chris

7

The biggest thing I noticed about Direct Mail is that you will see that big sales boost when you send out to that same route the second time around and every time after that.
In my case I set weekly sales records over 30 times last year starting in February. That is when my direct mailings started the second cycle.

As far as what day…I have been using the same day for over 16 months. Tuesdays. I think it is time for a change. Calling Mailwise solutions now! :smiley:

8

Where do you print your post card?

9

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