Everybody knows that Santa is a big believer in having a good list. But he’s not the only one! For years, direct mail experts have agreed that your list (the people to whom you mail) accounts for 40 percent of your mailing’s success. While the means you use to reach potential customers may now include email and social media, the basic premise still holds true: Who you communicate with plays a huge role in the success of your marketing efforts.

For example, let’s say you sell pool supplies and you’re looking for customers. You want to reach people who have pools! People who don’t own a pool are simply not going to buy anything from you—regardless of how great your product is, how wonderful your offer is, or how beautiful your marketing presentation is.

Identifying the right audience is not always as simple as determining who has a pool and who doesn’t. The more specific you can be about defining your audience, the better chance you’ll have of making them an offer that appeals to them—and the more likely they are to respond.

Once you’ve identified the characteristics of your audience, you can enlist the services of a list broker to get the names and addresses of people who are likely to respond. Brokers have access to an incredible wealth of demographic information available that can help you reach the people who are most likely to respond.

Be aware that the more specific your list is (that is, the more defining characteristics you use) the higher the cost of the list. But the more qualified the list, the higher the probability of response will be. And the goal of successful direct marketing is not simply getting your message out—it’s getting a positive response to your message.

Let’s look at an example of how the quality of a list can impact the results of a mailing.

Let’s assume our mailer is selling pool supplies. The offer and the creative package are identical. One mailing uses a general (unqualified) mailing list that focuses on a ZIP code with a high average household income (people who might have pools). The other mailing uses a very specific mailing list that includes only people known to own pools.

Even though the cost of the qualified/targeted list was $1,000 more than the generic list, the net result was an increase of $14,000 in net profit-a pretty good return on the investment! While no one will guarantee that your response rates will go from 0.5% to 2% it is indisputable that-all other things being equal-a targeted list will out-pull a generic list every time.

Regardless of whether your marketing efforts include direct mail, email, or social media, a huge factor in your success hinges on talking to the right audience.

Sometimes we focus too much on how we do things and neglect why we’re doing them in the first place. Let’s be clear: How you market your company is important. Ignoring trends and new technologies is not conducive to growth.

However, you can have the most cutting-edge communication tools in the world. But if you don’t have something to say (or, more important: something worth listening to), it doesn’t matter. Conversely, if you’ve got a message people really want to hear, you can send it by smoke signal and they will respond.

Communication technologies are just tools. While it’s important to have good tools, what’s really important is how you use them. Regardless of what technology you use to send your next marketing message, ask yourself the following questions before you send it.

• Who is my audience? Are they really interested in what I have to say (or should they be)? Will what I have to say help them solve a problem or make their life better in some way (what’s in it for them)?
• Does my audience trust me/my company? Why should they?
• What (specifically) do I want my audience to do once they receive this message? Have I made it clear to them? Have I made it easy for them to take this specific step?
• How will I know if my message was successful? What specific metrics will I use to measure my results.

If you can’t answer these four questions, don’t send your smoke signal. Throw another log on the fire, roast some marshmallows, and take the time to come up with the answers.

It’s hard to turn around without hearing something about Social Media. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogs are everywhere. Businesses are hearing that if they don’t jump into Social Media, they’re doomed. But sometimes we’re so eager to try the newest thing that we overlook the value of some traditional marketing efforts.

Marketing your business today is not an either/or proposition. Your business should be taking advantage of the great Social Media tools that are out there. And if you continue to ignore them, yes, your business probably is doomed! But sometimes those new technologies need a little help from “traditional” methods. Just going “online” won’t solve all your problems.

One of the biggest challenges businesses face when going online is getting found. There’s no question that more and more customers are looking online to have their needs met. But how do potential customers even know to look for your goods and services? While Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has been used as a way to ensure that your prospects will find you, it’s not foolproof. And as search engines get smarter, it’s tougher to stand out. Sometimes an “old school” solution can help you get found.

Combining a very targeted direct mail with the web provides the impetus your customers need to seek you out—and find you—on the web. This is something we practice ourselves at TMR Direct. We recently did a targeted mailing (offline) to invite people to an event. The mailing directed recipients to a specific landing page on our web site (online), where they could get additional information and RSVP. And after the initial mailing, we sent out an email reminder (online) with a link to the landing page. We also talked about the event on Facebook and “tweeted” about it (online).

Why was it important to combine off-line and online methods? Not everyone we wanted to reach responds the same way. Some of our audience doesn’t use Twitter or Facebook at all. Some would never respond to a conventional mailing. And while it’s easy to delete an email or a Tweet, people still think twice about throwing away a card or a brochure—if it’s something they’re really interested in.

What’s best for you: Off-line or online marketing? We’d say, use both and track your results. Then adjust your methods accordingly. Contact us about ways you can integrate your offline and online efforts.

What’s your experience with offline and online technologies?

Most businesses are looking for more customers. That’s logical. More customers means more business. Customers don’t grow on trees. And they don’t (usually) just walk into your business. You have to go get them! But many businesses don’t have a clue about what they should spend to acquire new customers. Part of the reason is that they have never stopped to think about what their customers are actually worth.

Some companies use complicated calculations to determine the lifetime value of their clients. But you can use a simple formula that will give you a pretty good idea of what a customer is worth.

Let’s say your average customer spends $100 each time he or she does business with you. And lets say customers do business with you an average of three times a year. So your average customer spends $300 with you every year. If the average amount of time you keep a customer is ten years that means your customer’s lifetime value is $3,000 ($300/year x 10 years = $3,000).

Here’s a key question: What are you willing to spend in order to gain a $3,000 customer? Obviously it doesn’t make sense to spend $3,000 in order to make $3,000. And it probably doesn’t make sense to spend $1,500 if it takes you ten years to make $3,000. On the other hand, if you pinch the penny too hard, you won’t have any customers to worry about. Too many companies have no idea what a new customer is really worth, so they don’t know how much they should spend to acquire one.

First, do the math. Then start looking for the most effective and cost-efficient way to reach those new customers. Contact TMR Direct for some great ideas!

Questions or comments about how to figure out what your customer is worth?