How do you measure the Response in Direct Response? How do you measure its effectiveness?
You could just stop all other marketing campaigns, give it a three-month cooling-off period, and then send out your DM piece. Then wait another three months, and watch what happens. Once that's all smoothed out, you're ready to test something else!
But there are probably better ideas, huh? Here are a few I thought of recently:
1. Ask people to SMS or text-message their code to a special phone number to see if they won something, or for a discount. This would measure reach.
2. How cheaply could cell-beacons be produced? Something like RFID tags, but with enough power to reach a cell tower, once. The mailing (or any other product, for that matter) could have a hard plastic piece that you have to break open to get at the contents. That piece could contain a small battery and transmitter with a precoded message, so when the switch is flipped, it makes the call and sends the message. That would give you a time and location of the 'open event,' too.
3. If not cell beacons, could something ping for open, wireless networks? Computer products might be opened in enough places with nearby network access for this to be meaningful. (But probably not.)
4. Just ask people to call -- and assure them that no human will be at the other end. Just a quick, "type in your number" kind of thing.
5. The ubiquitous "warranty registration" card -- but prepopulated! Don't ask for all that extra information. Just ask people to drop it in the mail. Netflix has perfected the art of the easy-return envelope; something like that could allow people to return a card or other token very simply.
I like the cell beacon idea the best. I wish I could patent it. I also wish I had a ranch in Montana.