Direct Mail – The 5 Second Rule

What do you do when you go through your mail each day? If you don’t know then observe yourself next time as you are probably not much different from the people going through their mail that you are trying to reach.

Our mail is propelled through a door slot and is often scattered in the entrance way so my system is different than someone who has a mailbox, but I do end up stacking my mail prior to going through it just like I describe below. Postal workers will tell you that they have a system for stacking the mail for each address that goes something like this:

Take the biggest piece of mail such as a magazine or large envelope on the outside with the rest of the mail sorted by size and wrapped inside and then band it together with an elastic.

Therefore the 5″ x 7″ and 4″ x 9″ postcards are almost always at the back of the pile and the No 10 envelopes with bills in them are in front of these larger pieces. 8-1/2″ x 11″ sheets folded in three and 4″ x 6″ postcards get stuffed in with the bills in envelopes and are lost. Mail delivery people will tell you that the bigger pieces always go at the back and are most effective because they stand out in the pile. So are you sending bigger pieces?

What is the 5 second rule?

You have 5 seconds or less to make enough of an impact on the reader that they will either set aside your direct mail for reading later or flip it over while they are looking at it.

Are People Reading Direct Mail?

The following facts are sourced from ‘The Letterbox Factfile’ produced by the Direct Mail Information Service.

• On average, consumers are likely to receive 14 items of direct mail every 4 weeks.
• If you are an AB household, (the wealthiest socio-economic group) it is likely to be 18 items, whereas a DE household (the least affluent) receives 12 items.

Do you open it?

You might be surprised to find out that on average, 60% of consumer mail is opened and 40% is read.
37% of consumers said that they had responded to Direct Mail at least once in the past 12 months. This means that 63% didn’t respond despite receiving between 144 and 216 items across the year.

Read Outstanding or Can’t Stand It to learn how you can increase your chances of being one of the successful direct mailers.

How Consumers Choose a Realtor

You might find the results of this survey by House Values in the U.S. interesting.

To start with, 76.39% of the home buyers and 79% of home sellers surveyed used a real estate agent during their last purchase or sale. Of those who did hire an agent, the majority of home buyers chose their agent based on the following criteria:

• Experience and honesty
• Knowledge of the area

Home sellers selected their agent based on the same criteria as above with many of them adding that they had also worked with this agent in the past.

So how much time did these consumers spend interviewing and selecting an agent to work with?

52.1% of sellers take only one day to interview and select a listing agent, and tend to choose an agent earlier in the process than buyers.

61.8% of buyers select their agent in one to three days, usually later in the process than sellers.

What are the top reasons why a buyer or seller decided to retain a real estate agent:

1. To complete paperwork and offer legal advice
2. To negotiate with other interested parties
3. To provide access to homes on the market

So how can you adjust your marketing to stand out?

• Be an expert in the area you are marketing in and consistently demonstrate this knowledge in your marketing.
• Constantly stay in touch with clients so they think of you first when they are looking to buy or sell.
• Maintain and constantly update your web site as a source of information about the area and the market.
• Reinforce the importance of interviewing more than one agent to ensure they are finding the best agent for their sale or purchase.
• Demonstrate your market knowledge with market updates for the area.

Visual Aid Ideas

Do you find yourself looking for the perfect picture to represent an idea? I don’t remember where I found this list, but here are a few metaphors to consider:

army helmet or flak jacket – protect, fight, dig in for a struggle, ‘call to arms’, a rallying call for a special effort

baseball bat or big stick – x theory management, autocratic management, bullying, harassment

beachball – rest, relax, take a break, take your holidays, and ensure your staff do too

clock/watch – time, and time management, scheduling, planning

egg-timer – get on with things, the sands of time…

rock - search (leave no stone un-turned)

spectacles - vision, inspection, scrutiny, apply your intelligence

textbook - research, facts, evidence, know your facts, product knowledge, understand the detail

binoculars or telescope – field research, competitor intelligence and information, forward planning, looking ahead, probing for answers, vision

brick – strength, robustness, durability, reliability

bucket of rocks, pebbles and sand – time-management ideas and the ‘big rocks in first’ story

builder’s hard hat – building (compiling information, assembling facts, evidence, etc), also obviously safety, being properly prepared and equipped for the job.

camera – respect people’s privacy, avoid work encroaching/impinging on personal lives

cardigan, pipe and slippers – ageism, respect the knowledge/experience/feelings of older workers, avoid stereo-typing people and making assumptions about age and character

carrot – incentive, motivate, reward, motivational styles and methods

chef’s hat – preparation (of anything), mixing, blending (teams, etc), selecting ingredients (identifying and choosing quality components, people, suppliers, methods, etc)

conductors baton - orchestrate, co-ordinate, manage, timing, time-management, turn up the volume or tempo, and anything else related to managing resources and timescales

juggling balls – creativity, juggling tasks and priorities (keeping all the balls in the air), using different parts of the brain, relaxation and stress-prevention, fun, practice makes perfect, dexterity

loaf of bread and pack of butter or margarine – stick to the basics, ensure you do the ‘bread and butter’ business/activity

If you are having a tough time thinking of the right image contact me for a complete list.