How important is it to you that your marketing efforts reach your customers privately so that your competition has no idea what you are doing?
It depends on the situation, right?
Not every marketing project requires secrecy.
There are times that your marketing campaigns should be directed to as many potential customers as possible.
However, there are other times when it is VERY important to keep your efforts secret.
Direct response mail marketing is stealth marketing.
Maybe you should be using it when you need the competitive edge that direct mail offers.
Now, when you do use direct mailing, you control how many people are “in on” your stealth offer.
It is very easy to limit that knowledge to your own staff and to the customers or clients who receive your mailing.
When you need to market quietly without alerting your competitors—perhaps for a new product launch, or a limited product offering, or a “special sale” targeting your most important customers—targeted direct response mail marketing is a great option.
In addition, direct response mail marketing allows you to try small marketing tests in your area. When you find a marketing effort that works, you can begin to introduce your company into other markets, thus creating an opportunity to grow your business.
Stealth marketing efforts are the complete opposite of general marketing.
When you market in trade publications and newspapers or through radio and television advertising, even social media marketing many more people will see your message. Sometimes this is okay, but be aware that this type of marketing is “out in the open.”
Your competitors know exactly what you are doing and how you are doing it. This can allow them to take advantage of your advertising and “counter-market” against it for their own gain.
When will you use the privacy of direct response mail marketing to keep your “special marketing efforts” secret?