Get in Front of Customers With Direct Mail Looking for a marketing campaign that will get your name in front of new customers? Direct mail takes you right to their mailboxes.

Marketing aimed at customer acquisition has leaped to the forefront in 2005 as many companies move away from more generalized branding efforts toward programs that yield measurable ROI. Measurement and account-ability are today's watchwords, and a conspicuous increase in spending on direct-mail programs is the result.

Direct mail produces a relatively fast and measurable return, and it's a great prospecting tool. Here's a look at the best ways to use direct mail to win new customers.

1. Plan for large mailings. There's a big difference between a sales letter and direct mail, which is generally sent to lists of at least 5,000 at a time. Your lists must be large, since even good response rates may fall between 2 percent and 4 percent. There's another difference, too. Direct-mail campaigns are built around a single goal--an action your prospects must take in order to move farther along in the sales cycle. Not surprisingly, mailings that are designed to produce leads yield higher response rates than those designed to close sales.