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Marketing should be about the customer
Direct marketing is in the midst of some exciting opportunities because the Internet and new technologies have made direct marketing stronger. For example, marketers can include USB flash drives inside physical mail to drive up interest. There are also other areas physical mail benefits from technology.
Consider some of the following statistics, courtesy of Compu-Mail: Direct mail marketing has 43 percent of the total local retail marketing share, and young adults are some of the most responsive to mailing campaigns, as 92 percent of younger shoppers turn toward direct marketing for help making purchasing decisions. Contrary to popular belief, physical mail is just as important as virtual advertising.
With many tools and methods available, direct marketers and printers must continue to take advantage to appeal to consumers even more, even if it means changing common advertising mindsets.
Rethink the marketing angle
According to an opinion from What They Think? contributor Jennifer Matt, some printers produce marketing materials following a certain formula. Typically, case studies are created that highlighted the vendor, not the customer. Matt argued this is an ineffective way to highlight the web-to-print software solutions. Instead, brochures and mail material should highlight the customer, and the benefits they saw after employing print MIS systems.
"Our current marketing focus is overly fixated on the tools to distribute our marketing content (email solutions, social media solutions, and marketing automation systems, etc.) and not focused enough on the content itself," wrote Matt.
That content, it turns out, is within the reach of printers. These companies just have dig deep within their customer base to find those compelling stories to highlight the many benefits of web-to-print solutions.
Utilize data-driven marketing
Printers and marketers can obtain excellent content by simply communicating with customers and consumers. A business is defined by how products and services help the customer, and as a result, finding that content does not have to be difficult.
Stories can also be found deep within the depths of data sets. These days, data-driven marketing is almost a necessity. In July 2014, Compu-Mail revealed 70 percent of Americans believed direct mail to be more personal than digital materials. Analytics can help reveal this personalization by combing through the history of the consumer, and market trends.
Proper utilization of data requires some necessary steps at first, such as organization and comprehending what the data contains. It may seem overwhelming at first, but the benefits will be worth the early confusion and sense of being overwhelmed.
According to CIO senior writer Tom Kaneshige, marketers must learn to distinguish good data from the bad. Organizations utilizing data-driven marketing should decide what needs to be achieved from the anylzation of data.Therefore, printers and marketers can discover what the customer wants and adapt to their needs.
For example, printers may be able to find trends - through data analysis - among a very specific set of web-print-users, or those looking to implement similar solutions. The vendor can then market personal stories and customized material to build better relationships with existing, or potentially, new customers. Customers will notice the effort put into personalized marketing, and as a result, the marketing will resonate even greater.
"70 percent of American believed direct mail to be more personal than digital materials."
Timeliness is key
Personalization in marketing campaigns can go a long way, but time must also be considered. According to an Aflac survey, U.S. workers spend approximately four hours researching new computer purchases. Marketers have a short window to dig through data, personalize mail and send it to the consumer to help guide research. Once the mail is delivered, marketers can almost guarantee the physical mail will be opened, as 77 percent of consumers sort their their mail almost immediately. To help ensure fast and accurate delivery, printers and direct mail marketers should utilize address verification software to ensure customers are promptly receiving their personalized mail.
Direct mail is a powerful tool still widely used by consumers to help make decisions. To further help cultivate those relationships, marketers and printing companies should strive to create personalized content. That material may be revealed through data analysis or customer communication.
