How to stay ahead with direct mail
The evolution of marketing over the last few decades has sent the once simple industry into the throes of complicated multichannel strategies. Yet, even in the midst of this exploding progress, the traditional method of direct mail still holds true.
The trick with advertising today is that strategies are no longer one-dimensional. Campaigns are less blanketed and generic, and instead marketers use resources to construct smaller, targeted strategies that can reach out to a specific, predetermined demographic on a variety of platforms.
Alone, direct mail may not be the juggernaut it once was. However, including the medium as a significant portion of a business's overall advertising effort can be lucrative. As Tom Foti, manager of direct mail and periodicals for the United States Postal Service, recently told Fox Business, "Direct mail is a workhorse for generating leads, traffic and sales."
Purpose
Before an organization can embark on an effective direct mail campaign, it's imperative to first establish a reachable goal, such as determining a number of new clients or promotional purchases. The medium can help achieve acquisitions, build relationships, boost sales and communicate with stakeholders.
Follow up
Most direct mail strategies will include an initial mailer followed by silence. Unless otherwise indicated, businesses should assume that everyone within their identified audience is a potential customer. Companies can get a leg up on the competition by sending out follow-up mailers. According to Under 30 CEO, an online resource for young entrepreneurs, every individual direct mail campaign should include three mailers.
Personalize
As alluded to earlier, the age of the generic mailings is dead. It's all about connecting with customers on a very basic level. Direct mail gives companies the opportunity to do just that. With an understanding of what audience a business is hoping to target, materials can be tailored to appeal specifically to them. Perhaps customers prefer handwritten envelopes or a particular color. Some companies have found success playing with different scents, and others have taken to including small prizes in their mailers. The increased texture often catches the recipient's attention.
However prepared a business is for direct mail campaigns, not adopting best practices to handle logistics could still mean the difference between a successful and failed initiative. Investing in mailing software can help companies streamline postal operations, automating a number of the more labor-intensive aspects of the process.