When you are writing a business-to-business direct marketing piece, tailor each word, sentence and paragraph to fit the prospect. Compared to consumer direct mail, business-to-business direct mail allows the marketer to be much more innovative, much more personal. Yet, selling to businesses can be more difficult.

Business decisions are often made by groups rather than individuals. Therefore, the product must appeal to several different people who make decisions based on separate and distinct criteria: the end user thinks in terms of quality; the finance officer in terms of cost-effectiveness; and the president in terms of productivity and image.

To address the desires of each and every person involved in the decision-making process, you must include “hot buttons” in your letter. These are the things the buyer will respond to based upon his or her perceived needs.

For example, a well-known consulting firm recently did work for an office-space designer who was trying to reach commercial real estate brokers.

Through informal research, the consultant found brokers were not as concerned about the quality of the designer’s work as they were about maintaining a harmonious relationship with the client. So the firm developed a mailing campaign centered around the designer’s care and concern for clients. The techniques proved successful, as mailings generated a 20% response.

Because there is so much to explain in a business-to-business offer, a one-
page letter does not pull as well as a multi-page letter. The more information
in the letter, the more likely the letter will meet the needs of the various
decision-makers.

The top of the letter should have a compelling headline emphasizing the benefits of the product. At the bottom, should be
a handwritten postscript of twenty words or less, exhorting the recipient to act immediately.

It should mention a discount or time limit, or imply the prospect should increase his profits starting today. (It is said that most people read both the headline and the postscript before they read the body of the letter. So, if you lose the reader at either stage, you’ve obviously wasted your money.)

It counts for little that your letter is informative, your headline enticing and your postscript compelling, if the package doesn’t get past the secretary and into the hands of the prospect. This means you need an envelope that reflects the highly personalized message within. It should be personally addressed, if possible, with a return address that looks professional.

One expensive and highly innovative approach to business-to-business direct mail is to include a sample of the product with the letter, brochure or reply card. Samples can range from plastic cups to chocolate bars to tubs of popcorn. The possibilities are endless, making this one of the more creative areas in business-to-business marketing.

Cohan & Paul, for example, once sent a small replica of a fiber drum filled with peanuts, intended to sit on the prospect’s desk for at least three weeks, giving him a chance to think and re-think the offer. They mailed 1,000 of the drums at a total cost of $25,000 and received $2 million in orders.