How to Get Attention From Executives with Direct Mail

Many business leaders who contact us are trying to solve the same problem: they need to connect with executives, and the strategies they’re using just aren’t working.

For instance, their print marketing is drawing little response, if any. Their phone calls aren’t being returned. In-person drop-ins by their salespeople aren’t leading to impactful conversations. Their PPC ads aren’t producing the kind of results they want, and their ads on radio, podcasts, and TV feel too expensive.

It’s at that point when they start looking for alternatives and tend to discover video mailers.

Executive Outreach Has Changed

A few years ago, many companies had never heard of video mailers.

That’s no longer the case.

Awareness has grown. There’s more information online about them, and they’re more visible. 

That doesn’t mean every business already understands them well, but it does mean the conversation about them has shifted.

More specifically, instead of, “What’s a video mailer?”

The question more often now is, “Can this really help us connect with executives?”

What Prospective Clients Really Want to Know

When executives, owners, salespeople, and marketers ask about video mailers, most of their questions are rooted in one primary concern:

Will they actually move the needle?

That question shows up in different words, such as:

• Will video mailers outperform other outreach strategies?
• Will they help us actually engage executives?
• Do they shorten sales cycles?
• Are they worth the cost?
• Who are they really best for?
• Can you show us who else is using them successfully?

As intelligent as those questions are, we’ll address each of them in the following sections.

Will Video Mailers Actually Move the Needle?

Consistent feedback from our clients is that video mailers usually outperform other strategies.

For instance, in a testimonial you can read on the MediaFast Testimonials page, Joshua Sellers from Radian Flex wrote:

“Thank you for all of your help on these. They’re starting to arrive to customers and we already have meetings set up to discuss the product.

Some comments we’ve received:

“I’ve received RadianFlex amazing brochure with built in mini display. Is that because I’ve
attended the Webinar? Do I need to return it or that’s for me to keep? It’s really neat. I’ll pass this along to my team, probably best “brochure” I’ve ever seen. Thank you!”

Dana Glaze, Marketing Director at TaxConnex, was even more specific when she wrote, “Used the Video Mailer as part of an ABM campaign and it always gets great responses!”

And a salesperson from CornerStone OnDemand said, “I have been trying to get a hold of (this) company for months now with no luck. Then I sent their CEO the video brochure mailer and he all of the sudden called me to set up an appointment! Yay!”

Basically, the strongest answer to this question is what clients report after using them.

How Do Video Mailers Compare to Other Forms of Outreach 

Standard direct mail still gets opened sometimes, but it gets glanced at, set aside, and forgotten more often than not. What’s more, print alone often falls short because it doesn’t immediately create enough interest to hold attention or lead to a real conversation.

Video mailers change that by combining the physical presence of direct mail with the engaging power of video.

That matters because video mailers not only deliver information, but they also create a stronger delivery experience.

In a nutshell, the secret to their success lies in their ability to capture attention, hold interest, explain messages more clearly, and make content easier to share.

Compared with email, they’re harder to ignore. Compared with ordinary print, they’re far more engaging. Compared with many dimensional mailers, they’re more controlled because the video delivers the message instead of asking the piece itself to do all of the work.

Most importantly, when compared to other forms of outreach, video in a hand-held format like a video mailer tends to be far more compelling than motionless content.

Do Video Mailers Actually Engage Executives?

Yes, video mailers have proven to be highly effective at engaging executives, and that’s one of the main reasons why we have so much repeat business.

For example, Jane Mercer from LocalPRO Realty said she landed a high-value listing partly because of her presentation and partly because of the video brochure she mailed, noting that the customer was very impressed.

Also, Richard Perry from MadLab Entertainment Group described using MediaFast’s video brochures to market a TV show to network executives and emphasized his company’s success being mostly because of the premium impression they created.

Those two examples illustrate the point.

Executives are busy, selective, and difficult to engage.

However, video mailers actually interest them because they help messages feel more important, polished, and worth giving attention.

They also create stronger first impressions and give targeted prospects something they can review and share without needing an internet connection or another meeting.

Do Video Mailers Shorten Sales Cycles?

In many cases, yes, video mailers do shorten sales cycles. Not because the format is magical, but because it helps recipients understand, revisit, and share messages.

In fact, one of the biggest advantages they produce is helping messages move through internal discussions while staying consistent and easier to review.

That attribute alone is what often shortens sales cycles.

Plus, video has the ability with sight, sound, and motion to quickly create familiarity and boost trust.

As a result, when the right people understand a message faster and when a compelling product like a video mailer keeps circulating internally, the time between conversations often becomes shorter.

Why Are Video Mailers Worth the Cost?

When prospective clients ask this question, what they’re often really wondering is:

• Why not just send our videos on an iPad?
• Why not run LinkedIn ads with links to our videos?
• Should we just build a microsite and drive traffic to it?
• Why not just spend more on PPC?
• What can we realistically expect from the investment?

In other words, they’re not comparing video mailers to more common outreach. They’re actually comparing them to marketing budget alternatives. And those are completely valid thoughts.

Considering those thoughts, here is our response:

Video mailers aren’t just highly effective because they’re different. They work so well because they combine physical presentation, video storytelling, and targeted engagement with the right people in an appealing format.

This type of marketing is premium because it’s controlled, targeted, and repeatable.

Also, because it’s dynamic, it can act as:

• A door-opener to executives
• A premium follow-up after meetings
• An accelerator for decisions
• An engagement strategy to connect with hard-to-reach prospects

These points illustrate why questions about cost should not be based only on cost per piece. To be more accurate about what truly matters, questions should be based on cost compared with other ways companies try, and often fail, to connect meaningfully with executives.

What Is the Best Way to Use a Video Mailer?

Video mailers aren’t broad-reach tools. Instead, they’re best for targeted prospects.

A good way to think about them is not as a wide net, but as a precision placement tool.

For instance, they’re most effective when companies know who they want to reach and why. That might mean targeting only their top 50, 100, or 500 prospects rather than a larger audience, but as stated previously, it’ll be with a more effective strategy.

Also, based on experience, video mailers make the most sense when a message is about a product, service, opportunity, or experience that carries high value. That includes executive outreach, account based marketing campaigns, product launches, invitations, direct mail messages, customer retention, onboarding, and fundraising.

On top of that, they’re usually best for companies who understand the benefits of increasing their perceived value more than email, print, or broad digital ads usually can.

Who Else Is Using Video Mailers?

Companies who use video mailers are typically ones who understand that buyer behavior has changed.

People still read. However, they also overwhelmingly prefer video when they want to absorb information quickly or understand something more clearly. Then if it makes sense, they’ll dive deeper.

Plus, video adds emotion, story, clarity, and relatability. It also makes messages easier to review and share with others when multiple decision-makers are involved. That said, simply including it in emails or providing links digitally or in print isn’t nearly as effective.

And finally, when it comes to making wise choices, companies who use video mailers have usually asked themselves something like:

What do we consider expensive when it comes to outreach — cost per piece, or cost to get results?

Why Direct Mail Works Better When It Plays Video

When attempting to reach executives, the goal is rarely just exposure. It’s also to create a reason to have a conversation.

That’s why sending a video mailer to executives in direct mail performs differently.

Instead of sending another flat printed piece like most executives have seen hundreds of times, a company sends a message that starts instantly, carries its own explanation, and feels more substantial than the usual outreach clutter.

Effectively, video turns direct mail into a stronger experience rather than just another printed communication piece.

That experience alone is often the difference between being ignored and drawing a response.

Final Thoughts On Getting Attention From Executives

Executive outreach is harder than it used to be. Why? Because more strategies exist and decision-makers have learned to tune out the noise, making attention harder to earn.

In response to that, many companies have started looking for something more targeted, memorable, and effective than the same old mix of print, email, calls, and drop-ins.

To fill that need, video mailers have proven to be highly effective.

When used to engage targeted prospects, they often create stronger engagement, better internal sharing, real conversations that happen sooner, and better campaign results.

If your goal is to finally engage executives who haven’t been responding to your usual strategies, a video mailer may be the solution to your challenges.

If you’d like to experience the impact of a video mailer in person, click this link to request a FREE SAMPLE.