10 Tips For Direct Marketing Success
Creating the right direct marketing program for your center, on budget and on time.
Randall Shearin

A coupon mailer, like this one from Foothills Mall in Tucson, Arizona, can drive traffic by offering consumers an incentive to visit the center.

Shopping centers often rely on direct marketing programs to target their immediate trade areas. Vic Dodier, president of Scottsdale, Arizona-based Dodier & Co., has been doing shopping center marketing since the 1970s. His marketing and creative services firm specializes in programs for shopping centers. Shopping Center Business recently spoke with Dodier to find out what makes a successful direct marketing program. Here are 10 tips that developed from our conversation:

Target Your Audience

Direct mail campaigns have to be targeted to a specific market. Going in a 2-mile ring around your center may be targeting the wrong crowd. The retail mix that you have and the products that your retailers are featuring on the direct mail piece must hit the demographics of your mailing list. This may mean skipping the 2-mile ring, and starting after 2 miles, says Dodier. “If you are an upscale center and your market isn’t the consumer that lives closest to the center, you need to look at areas that have high income levels and have an additional qualifier, such as age, to refine the list.” Look for hidden markets as well. In markets like Los Angeles, marketing to middle and upper income Spanish-speaking households has become a way to differentiate centers. Make sure your retailers can respond to a particular market before creating programs that tailor to them.

Set A Budget And Stick To It

This direct mail promotion by Geneva Commons in Geneva, Illinois, showcased the events at the center while providing coupons to recipients.

There are enough options with direct mail that a good marketer can make any budget work, says Dodier. “You can spend a little money or a super large amount, depending on the kind of center and the kind of program you want,” he says. A regional mall with 150 stores to promote will spend more than a strip center with 10 tenants. Malls reach a larger trade area whereas strip centers generally target a 2- to 5-mile radius. Mom-and-pop tenants at a strip center are also going pay lesser common area maintenance (CAM) charges than large national tenants at a power center, lifestyle center or regional mall. A mall may send a mailer to 75,000 households, where a strip center may target a minimum of 10,000. At the strip center level, ownership should expect to spend between $8,000 and $13,000 on a direct mail campaign. This price would include coordination of retail incentive offers, design, postage, mail list and mail house distribution.

Plan In Advance

The further out a center plans, the longer they have to develop a budget. How far out should you plan? When you plan your annual marketing plan, you should budget for the amount you want to spend for an effective direct mail campaign. If ownership hits you with the idea for a holiday campaign, in order to sufficiently have enough time to go to retailers at the corporate level, you will need about 12 weeks from the start time until the piece arrives at consumer’s mailboxes. Coordinating efforts with retailers’ corporate offices takes time. Mailing also takes time. To save money, most pieces are mailed bulk rate. The post office requests a minimum of 2 weeks for delivery when mailed from a local market.

Save Money With Shared Campaigns

Many national center owners create what is known as ‘shared campaigns.’ This involves the development of a single piece of creative that is altered slightly for each center. For instance, an owner may have 10 centers. When the creative for the shared campaign is developed, only the center’s name and some modifications have to be made. All the pieces are printed at the same time, they are all the same format and they are printed in similar quantities. It is a money-saving idea that large owners can take advantage of. “Sharing design elements and look is fine as long as the pieces are going to different audiences. With a shared campaign, each center is also able to customize the piece with their own events and their own level of incentive from retailers,” says Dodier.

Don’t Just Think About The Consumer

This fold-out brochure from Greenway Station in Middleton, Wisconsin, features events and coupons for consumers.

Create value with your direct mail campaigns. If a center is in a highly competitive environment, retailers might be lured to your center by the fact that you market their stores through direct mail. Having a direct mail program could mean the difference between locating at your center, or going across the street where there is no marketing program. Vacancy rates can also be affected. “If the program is helping to drive traffic and sales to retailers that will lower the opportunity for turnover since sales will be better that are participating in the program,” says Dodier. In most cases, retailers are not funding the programs — the developer pays for them through the marketing funds.

Catch The Eye

Dodier recommends creating a piece that will stand out from most mail. The use of the four-color process, the size of the piece and the paper that you use will be important in catching the consumer’s attention. Retailers will submit photography for you to use so photo shoots aren’t necessary.

Timing Is Everything

“Almost 100 percent of the centers that we work with do a direct mail campaign around the holidays,” says Dodier. You should target times when shoppers are ready to buy and utilize the retailers where they will shop — jewelry tenants at Valentine’s Day, gift shops at Mother’s Day, golf tenants at Father’s Day. Another school of thought some marketers subscribe to is to use direct mail to create shopping trips during slow shopping times. “If you are in a highly competitive market where consumers have 100 choices, a direct mail campaign with a special offer will make them drive to your center,” Dodier says.

Don’t Expect A Miracle Response Rate

This fold-out mailer from Village Pointe in Omaha, Nebraska, was timed for fall shopping and features events taking place at the center, fall fashion available and 10 coupons.

Creating mail pieces that have the ability to track the response is a necessity to know what your return on investment is. This can be done through retailer offers or individual coupons. When measuring the response, keep your expectations in line. If the offers in your mailer aren’t that great, don’t expect a great redemption rate. If you are giving away something worth $25 for free, expect mass turnout. On average, the return rate for direct mail pieces is minimally 1 percent. That is, if you mail 10,000 pieces with a fair coupon, expect 100 redemptions. Remember, if you offer an incentive from a retailer, you will have to work with the retailer on the expectations for the number of redemptions. You are also relying on the retailer to report the redemptions to you. “Gift with purchase” offers that are handed out by customer service centers are easier for management to track. Trial and error may also help: Dodier advises buying two mailing lists (for two different trade areas with similar demographics) and trying the same piece at separate times to see which area has the better response rate.

Watch The Obstacles

Vic Dodier, president of Dodier & Co.

You may want to target a high demographic area that is located 9 miles from your center so you design an elaborate mailer to attract them. But remember, there are obstacles in the way of your center in those 9 miles. There could be another center 2 miles further north of the market with the exact same retailers you have. There could be horrible traffic between the area and your center. There could be events in town during your promotional period, which keep residents closer to home. Dodier advises driving the market and making sure it is clear of obstacles. “Otherwise, the money spent on a campaign is money down the drain,” he says.

Use A Variety Of Media

Direct marketing isn’t just direct mail. Outdoor advertising, coupon flyers, local publications, the Internet and direct mail all drive traffic to centers. All media have their own benefits to the center. Direct mail, because of its physical presence, is one of the few areas where centers can track results through coupon redemption. “You can really understand what is being delivered in terms of sales and traffic because of direct mail,” says Dodier.


©2007 France Publications, Inc. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of this article contact Barbara Sherer at (630) 554-6054.