Is EDDM right for your business?

What’s the best way to use direct mail to attract new prospects to your business? It depends on the nature of your business. 

If your target audience is based on a certain demographic, industry or job title, purchasing a list can help you reach a highly targeted audience with laser-like precision. But if your ideal audience is concentrated in a specific geographical location, the U.S. Postal Service’s Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) program can help you cost-effectively reach them.

What is EDDM?

EDDM enables you to send eye-catching messages to individual neighborhoods, based on postal carrier routes, at a fraction of the cost of direct mail – as little as $0.05 per mailed piece. It’s ideal if you want to blanket the area in the vicinity of your business.

EDDM works best for local businesses that sell to consumers, such as retail stores, doctors, dentists or chiropractic offices, landscaping firms, HVAC firms and other types of professional services that tend to attract customers from a limited geographical area. The Postal Service enables EDDM customers to do some targeting, based on age, income and household size. 

One of the biggest advantages of EDDM to local businesses is that you don’t need to purchase a mailing list. The Postal Service automatically generates one based on the carrier routes you select. 

Why is this valuable? Many small business owners avoid purchasing mailing lists because the process can be so intimidating. They must first select a list provider. But they may not know how to evaluate list quality and focus. They must then wade through thousands of business categories and sub-categories to identify their target audience. Making matters even more complicated, many business owners don’t have a clear idea of the demographics of their ideal customers. As a result, many small business owners don’t invest the time required to source and purchase mailing lists.

Maximize the effectiveness of EDDM

Here are a few tips to get the most out of EDDM:

• Be sure to include a small map to your store or location on your postcards – or provide a QR code that will take recipients to a directions page on your website. Don’t make them work hard to find you!
• Experiment with several types of promotions and calls to action and track which one has the best response rate. Then do more of that and less of what isn’t working for you!
• Use a mailing partner to set up and manage your EDDM campaigns for you. The Postal Service has very specific requirements about the size and layout of your postcards, the locations of mailing addresses and indicia, the maximum size of mail bundles and paperwork for each carrier route you select. A mailing partner like Heritage Printing can save you time, labor and hassle.
• Sending a single piece to the carrier routes you select rarely generates the results you expect. Repeated mailings will get the attention of recipients and will build memorability and trust for your brand in their minds.
• Use unique coupon codes, URLs or specific EDDM-only phone numbers to track which routes produce the best results.

Just remember: If you’re trying to reach customers and prospects who are located within a few miles of your business, then EDDM is probably a good fit. If you’re trying to appeal to a specific industry, job title or other demographic profile, then a purchased list is your best bet.

If you haven’t tried Every Door Direct Mail to promote your local business, now’s an excellent time to try. It’s the most affordable way for any small business to get your messages into the hands of your local audience.

Download our EDDM eGuide to learn more about this service, how you can benefit from it and some idea-starters to get your creative juices flowing. 

Contact Heritage today to discuss your direct mail needs.