If you are planning a direct mail marketing campaign to a corporate clientele you might wonder if you get the best results by mailing your copy to an individual by name or to the position they hold.
It actually depends on the quality of your list and the people you are trying to find.
If you have developed in-house direct marketing lists and keep them current, whomever is on your list is probably still with their company, so you should send your mail directly to them.
However, if your list is old and you haven't been cleaning it out periodically there's a good chance that many of the people you are trying to reach are no longer with the company. Anything you mail to them will either be tossed (and they'll still be on your list) or returned (in which case you should remove them from your list). Although it's possible, it's unlikely that mail will be forwarded to them.
The bottom line is if they have been replaced their replacement might perceive your mail as an insult. And that's not a very good way to start a business relationship.
If you are unsure of the quality of your list, why not consider replacing people's names with the positions they hold?
For example, if you sell office supplies, you can address your mail to the "Office Supplies Buyer". If you work only with the top people in a corporate hierarchy, you could address your mail to either "Secretary to the President" or to the "Office of the President".
And don't be afraid be a little playful. If you sell a computer repair service you can address your mail to "The Person People Go to With Computer Problems" or simply "Computer Expert". Odds are it will both get to that person and be remembered as well.
To do this effectively, put yourself in the place of the person who sorts the mail. If you were that person, what title would get you to send your mail to the party you want it to go to?
If you buy your list from a direct marketing list company the quality of that list will be directly related to the quality of the company you are working with. It pays to go with the best.
Click here to find out how to get high quality direct marketing lists. Or go to http://www.MartinWorldwide.net/index.php and get the results you want today. Wendy Moyer is a professional writer.