Todd Schnick, Intrepid Group

Would it surprise you to learn that, by a significant percentage, people prefer to learn about new products via direct mail? It shouldn't. If done right (right message to the right audience) direct mail is the most powerful marketing tactic you can deploy in your marketing campaign to launch a new product or service.

Unless you plan to fail, one of your company goals is to build your business into a sustainable growth enterprise. As you have learned about over the last several months reading eMerge!, there are five core strategies for building a growth enterprise, and one of those is - simply put - maximizing the purchase of additional products or services from existing customers.

A new product offering from your business - delivered through direct response marketing - is an obvious solution to launching successfully.

Assuming the recipients of your direct mail are existing customers, you should have an understanding of the individual challenges your customer faces. (If you don't - you are in trouble!) As a result, you were able to position your product or service as an appropriate solution to combat their challenges - which is why they bought from you.

As I mentioned earlier, the key to building a sustainable growth enterprise is to maximize the purchase of additional products or services from existing customers. This is achieved by offering a product or service that FURTHER helps that customer solve their business challenges. Do not offer them a product or service that they do not need. This will be met with suspicion - and could injure your business relationship.

But if you present a new product or service as a further means to help the customer - that will go a long way towards building customer loyalty.

Let's talk briefly about some direct mail fundamentals that will make your product launch more effective. You need a strong headline - or hook to draw the customer in. Make sure your copy is strong and follows four concepts - that it speaks to one person, pushes some emotional hot buttons, that it says what you mean, and that it is conversational - and not technical.

Obviously, if you are marketing to customers - your list is less important than if you were marketing to find new prospects - but still important. Do not send one direct response marketing piece to ALL of your customers. Send more specific messages - targeted to specific customers. The more personal you are in your messaging - the more effective it will be. The customer ought to think that piece of mail is directed straight to them.

And as always, test and measure the results. And adjust accordingly once you see how your market responds. Failing to do that and you will fail.

Remember me telling you that a majority of people prefer to learn about a new products or service via direct mail? Why? Many reasons. One reason is that an unsolicited email is much less welcome than an unsolicited piece of direct mail.

But it is important to understand that you should be layering your product launch with several tactical options, including but not limited to driving traffic to a web site for further information and/or following-up with telemarketing - to name just two.

If you follow these concepts and strategies - you will accomplish a few things. You will go a long way towards building a sustainable growth enterprise. And two, your new product launch will BLAST OFF with great success!