The toughest job you face as a B2B direct marketer is reaching your prospect with your message. Reaching C-level executives is particularly difficult because they employ mailroom staff and executive secretaries who screen their mail, or your mail, depending on how you look at it. So unless your direct mail lead generation letter or postcard or self-mailer stands out from the rest, it won't reach the desk of your potential client.
That's why dimensional mailers are one of the most effective ways to reach elusive prospects with your sales message. A dimensional mailer is simply one that has more than two dimensions. Unlike a letter, postcard or self-mailer, it has three dimensions. Dimensional mailers are usually boxes, but they can also be sturdy envelopes that have something three-dimensional inside. These kinds of packages are also known as "lumpy mail."
Dimensional mail is effective because it stands out. It gets attention because it doesn't look like everything else that the executive is receiving that day. Dimensional mail is also effective because it always gets opened. I am confident in predicting that no one who receives a box 36 inches long, 9 inches wide and 5 inches deep, bearing the prospect's name and job title on the top and an intriguing headline, is going to pitch the box in the trash unopened. Innate human curiosity is too powerful for that.
TIPS FOR PRODUCING DIMENSIONAL MAILERS
ADVANTAGES OF DIMENSIONAL MAIL
DISADVANTAGES OF DIMENSIONAL MAIL
EXAMPLE OF A SUCCESSFUL DIMENSIONAL MAILER
Continental Resources generated a 30% response rate by mailing a remote-control dinosaur to technology executives (without the remote control). Prospects got the remote control and batteries when they booked an appointment with a Continental sales rep. To see the mailer, click here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter and lead generation specialist who helps business owners and marketing managers generate leads, close sales and retain customers using business-to-business direct mail lead generation. Learn more about his creative direct mail writing services (including dimensional mailers) and sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.sharpecopy.com.
© 2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the author" message).
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