One of the worst mistakes that direct mail marketers still make is targeting the wrong prospects. That should no longer be an issue, contends Warren Hunter, chairman and CEO of DMW (dmwdirect.com), because of the power of technology. He says segmentation profiles and models provide sophisticated ways to ensure that you get the right offer to the right prospect. Moreover, he believes the combination of search engine optimization metrics and new direct mail marketing techniques with old-fashioned common sense leads to more targeted offers.

Here are three other costly direct marketing mistakes cited by Hunter, and how to avoid them:

Old-fashioned direct mail is hot again, but the “rules” have changed to meet changing consumer habits. To ensure success, you need to know what’s working and what’s not in direct mail marketing. Find out by downloading your free copy of The 5 Best Direct Mail Marketing Ideas of 2010 without cost or obligation.

1. Not knowing your audience. To generate qualified leads, you must first know your audience. That means knowing the needs, wants, preferences, and behaviors of individual customers and prospects. Expand your thinking to consider new generational attitudes, as well as consumers’ media usage patterns and expectations.

2. Not testing your creative. Test your creative efforts in all direct marketing channels, including search, mail, email, print ads, inserts, broadcast, and all Internet environments. Then, to ensure maximum return on your investment, continue testing against established controls.

3. Failing to personalize the communication. Executed properly, with relevance and sincerity, personalization can greatly improve your overall response rate. It also directly addresses the “What’s in it for me?” requirement of effective direct marketing.

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