The Least Expensive Direct Mail Program Available, but is EDDM Right for Your Business? 

Last year the USPS launched Every Door Direct Mail, or EDDM, which offers businesses an inexpensive, un-targeted direct mail advertising option. USPS did an awesome advertising campaign to attract small business owners, and it does deliver to “every door” as promised. But now that some of the newness has worn off and the kinks have been worked out, is it a great marketing option for your individual business or marketing goals?

What Is EDDM?

According to BizReport, up to 85% of customers will come from a 5-mile radius from the point of business or event.

With that in mind, Every Door Direct Mail is a way to deliver direct mail to every door in a given area and saturate the businesses and/or residents in surrounding region. This is very similar in comparison to traditional postcard mailings that use an “occupancy” or “current resident” mailing list, that offers no specific demographic choices. With EDDM, there are three (3) general demographics to work with – age, income level and household size, but you cannot be very specific in targeting your audience with this criteria. You select a zip code or a specific postal route, and you “mail”to each and every address in that selected area. Another substantial difference from traditional direct mail marketing is that EDDM is hand-delivered to each individual post office based on the postal routes chosen.

What’s The Benefit?

Cost. Plain and simple. The USPS offers EDDM for as a low as 17.5¢ per piece. That’s less than half the price of Bulk Mail, and less than a third of the price of a First Class stamp. If you’re looking to blanket an area with your advertisement, and you’re not particularly concerned about only delivering to targeted groups, a fifty percent cost savings may suddenly make direct mail an affordable and viable option for you. Also, even the smallest EDDM postcard–with its larger size and having no mailing panel, offers substantial space for you to relay your advertising message or company information.

What’s The Catch?

USPS does have some requirements if you want to take advantage of EDDM. The biggest one is you have to take your mailing to the local post office yourself. This may be difficult if you are covering an area out of towns or even, out of state. Fortunately, USPS does offer shipping options, for an additional cost.

There are additional requirements for the size and format for the mail piece, and how the pieces need to be bundled  and labeled, when you drop them off. This isn’t as strict as with traditional direct mail marketing, but it can be time consuming.

Another obstacle in working with EDDM, is in dealing with the individual post offices and postal clerks themselves. Unfortunately, the USPS has never been totally “user friendly” for direct mail marketing and working with EDDM is not different. EDDM is still a fairly new program, not all of the postal staff are trained on USPS EDDM requirements and your card can be challenged on every drop off trip.

If you do feel intimidated by all of these requirements, you can still take advantage of the savings of EDDM. There are a number of direct mail printers or marketing companies who offer EDDM services. They know the formatting requirements, and will make sure your mailings are compliant and delivered to the post office. Often the costs associated with these services are still low enough where your business is saving money over using Bulk Mail.

Is EDDM Right for your Company?

Every business owner would like to cut costs in half. But that doesn’t mean EDDM is right for every business. If your business targets a very specific customer base, EDDM may not be for you. For an example, a lawn or tree trimming service probably wouldn’t want to send to every address in an area if a large percentage of households are apartments or condominiums where the residents aren’t responsible for mowing the lawn or trimming the trees.

However, consumer based businesses that offer special promotions, are particularly well suited for EDDM, such as:

• Auto Mechanics
• Carpet Cleaning
• Car Washes
• Computer Repair
• Dental Offices
• Dry Cleaning
• Fitness
• General Retail
• Lawn Care
• Restaurants
• Real Estate
• House Cleaning
• Insurance Agencies
• Pest Control
• Security Services
• Pharmacies
• Barber Shops, Salons And Spas
• Tax Prep
• Urgent Care
• Veterinarians

Not every advertising tactic is ideally suited for every business, but there are quality options available, ones that can be customized to meet your marketing needs. Contact 360GS, to explore Every Door Direct Mailing and if it is good choice for you.