Direct mail question (please help!)

From my testing, it's always best to just use business owner's name.

I "usually" rip up my mails and throw it away before even opening it if it's addressed to my business and it looks spammy.

Make it look like a mail you're sending it your friends. I even use funny post stamps like Simpsons. It works really well for me.

I would suggest you address it to "Whom It May Concern",though it may not sound nice.
Its always good to address the recipients by their names but since you have non and must address it to someone then you have to take desperate measures to achieve your goals
Good luck

I would suggest that you look for the name, it is more personalized that way and the chance of it being opened has a higher chance. Like Chris said, if it addressed to my business name, it automatically signals spam.

You don't send it until you know a name.

You can look at the chamber of commerce, also search articles written about the business.
And if you have to you call in and ask for a name. With that one sometimes you can get creative...play the role of potential customer and ask a few questions, and in that process you ask their name.

Here's the straight dope:

Business owners get a fair amount of junk mail. It doesn't matter if the envelope is addressed to "first name last name" or just "the owner of xyz company." If it looks like junk mail, it's going to get tossed.

So your challenge is to make your envelope look either #1) official or #2) personal.

A few ideas:

If I get an envelope that looks like it's from the government, it's getting opened. Doesn't matter if it has my name or just "to the owner of xyz inc."

Or, here's another idea:

Instead of doing the boring and bland "To whom it may concern" address the promo like this...

"To the poor sap who owns xyz inc..."

(Letter could talk about the difficulties of owning a business in 2013, how everyone is against you... etc. Play on their pains.)

So to summarize, it doesn't matter whether you have the owners name or not. It's 2013 and every crappy direct mail promo from every mega-giant-credit card company has the owners name. Having the name on the envelope is not an advantage any longer.

It's all about making the envelope look personal or official. Hell, make the envelope look like it's from a hit man. Make it look like it's from a mistress. Just make it interesting and it will get opened. Make it look "professional" and you're screwed.

If you can't find the name via LinkedIn just give them a quick call and ask. With pratice getting a DM's name is easy peasy.

Never shy away from picking up the phone, it keeps you sharp.

One way to avoid the hassle of figuring out how to address your sales letter is to use a postcard.

Won't suffice in all circumstances but as a lead generator a postcard works well.

You can get a decent amount of sales copy on a 5 x 8 postcard.

and if you're doing it locally, you can use every-door-direct mail, and use the largest post card they mail out.

EDDM works great, especially if you have a good offer.

However, EDDM is a blanket mailing, targeted to carrier routes. You can target homes or businesses in an area.