The numbers are in, and the results are surprising. By shifting your focus from cost per mail piece to cost per attendee, you can actually magnify your evangelism budget for better results.
Let me explain. None of us are truly focused on the dollars spent, but on the people those dollars bring. By finding ways to get higher response rates on your evangelism marketing campaigns, you’ll get more people through your doors on the same budget.
Here’s an example: If you paid 30% more per mail piece, but received a 50% increase in response rate, you would get more people per dollar spent. You would spend 15% less to get each attendee, and get a bonus of 50% more people at your meeting.
By spending a little more up front, you get a return that exceeds your investment.
I know it sounds crazy. And yet we’ve seen it work consistently throughout 2014.
Better Marketing Gets Better Results
Okay, so what get’s you a better response rate? Answer: higher quality marketing.
At SermonView, we’re marketing professionals, not just printers. We include an intensive marketing consultation with every campaign, and that extra effort results in a slightly higher cost. However, the result is a significantly more effective mailpiece that draws more people through your doors, delivering a lower cost per attendee.
With over 100 mailings completed in 2014, the data show that 94% of the time, the higher costs of SermonView’s complete evangelism marketing system are more than offset by higher response rates. The end result: a lower cost per attendee. The bonus: more people on opening night.
With this knowledge, there are two approaches you could take.
Option 1: Maintain the Budget
If you have a fixed budget, then reduce your mailing area by 25% by removing the highest-income carrier routes and/or reducing the mailing radius. The end result will be 13% – 50% more people on opening night.
Option 2: Expand the Budget
If you have the flexibility, keep the same mailing area. The end result will be 50% – 100% more people on opening night.
Remember to keep the end in mind. Why does any of this matter? Because better marketing means more people on opening night.
Planning an evangelistic series in the next few months? Call us at 1-800-525-5791 to discuss how better marketing can help you improve your response rates, lower your cost per attendee, and reach a deeper, more diverse audience.