Here’s the good news – the research questionnaire run via this news group and the Hamilton House Mailings web sites shows that significant numbers of the companies that mailed schools in the autumn 2007 term got a response rate that met or exceeded their expectations.

The bad news is that an equally significant numbers of firms that mailed schools in the term were disappointed with the response rate they got.

Satisfaction levels were fairly consistent between media. With solo mailings 50% met or exceeded expectations, with email mailings 48% met or exceeded their expectations, while with shared mailings 31% met or exceeded expectations.

Solo mail was the most used process (57% of companies) among respondents to the questionnaire, followed by email (38%) and shared mail (21%). Solo mailings were the most likely to gain satisfaction.

In terms of what the mailings intended to do, most firms reaching schools attempted to sell directly to the teacher through the mailing (68% in solo mailings, 66% in shared mailings, 57% in email campaigns.)

There are two possible explanations for the satisfaction/disappointment figures. The first is that disappointing direct mail results can be caused by over-ambitious expectations – if you expect to get a 10% hit from a mailing and only get 4% you could be disappointed, but you may well have got a result that many people would be enthralled by.

Sadly this over-expectation does happen quite often – we regularly have people telling us that they can break even at 6%, and we’re telling them that this is unlikely to happen, and that they shouldn’t do the mailing. But many proceed anyway, often via a different company – and of course most are disappointed.

Secondly, the figures can also suggest that differences in the way in which material is presented to teachers has a major impact on response rates. We have had numerous situations in which mailers and e-mailers have presented us with text and design which we have advised them to change, and we’ve then managed to generate much higher sales levels than the client has previously achieved.

Such an approach can account for the fact that although many were disappointed, others felt their expectations had been exceeded. Indeed 14% of those who emailed schools were in this group. They didn’t just meet their expectations, they got a pleasingly higher response rate.

Even though these figures reflect disappointment on the part of many direct marketing firms, I think the percentages should be highly encouraging to anyone who has failed to get the results they wanted from a mailing. There are many more firms out there who are getting great results, and the solution must be to follow their methods and approaches.

Certainly in terms of the amount of mail reaching schools there is unlikely to be any let-up. Despite the disappointments for some, 86% of solo mailers, and 66% of emailers are planning to try again next term. However only 42% of shared mailers said they would be mailing again.

The survey was undertaken by Hamilton House Mailings plc in the last two weeks of November 2007 among subscribers to the Education Marketing news service and readers of the web sites www.hamilton-house.com and www.educationmarketing.org.uk Many thanks to everyone who took part.

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