Analysis

As the results of your Direct Mail piece come in, you’ll need to analyze its effectiveness. This will make it easier (and more cost-effective) to produce a successful mailer next time around. To make this analysis, you need to ask a series of simple questions:
•	How many responses are being converted into sales?
•	Is one method of fulfillment working better than any other? For example, are pre-paid reply cards working well, or did it pay for someone to telephone the respondent?
•	How long does it take for you to fulfill a response (i.e. send out what you’ve promised the customer?)
•	How long does it take to turn a response into a sale?

Using your responses

In addition to generating orders, another benefit of using Direct Mail is to generate information about your customers. It's very important to use this information wisely. That way, you'll know:

•	That your Direct Mail piece successfully hit its target audience.
•	That you can use that information to add to your database.
•	That you can create more effective mailers in the future.

Here are a few of the points that you'll need to cover:

•	Who on the mailing list responded?
•	Know who was receptive to your message.
•	Use that information to refine your target market profiles for the future.
•	What do you know about these respondents?
	Record all the useful information.
	If you need to know more, follow up with a telephone call or a simple letter.
	What did they actually respond to?
	Use your analysis (or a follow-up phone call) to discover exactly what it was about the mailer that caught their attention.

Further Analysis

If at first your campaign doesn't succeed - don't lose heart.

•	Some results may arrive instantly.
•	But the timing may not be right on the customer's part to buy your products.
•	Keep track of these respondents — they may decide to buy your product or service at a later date.
•	You should also look closely at the customers your mailer attracted — are they different from your existing customers? If so, how?
•	Collecting and analyzing this data will allow you to decide whether your campaign was a success.
•	Ask yourself: Did it meet its initial objectives? And if not, what can be done to ensure that the next one will?

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