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Reasons why you should invest in direct mail marketing

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A survey from Mail Print found that 70 percent of people who received direct mail from a business they stopped engaging with encouraged their relationship with them. Do you have customers who for one reason or another stopped engaging with your business? When you look at direct mail examples such as the one by Land Rover who used a balloon in a box to invite 100 customers to the opening of their Liverpool showroom you’ll understand why direct mail is still effective. On the end of the balloon string was the marketing message and event invite, making the follow-up sales call a welcomed experience.

The benefits of direct mail marketing are obvious to marketers who have tried different approaches in their marketing. Everyone knows digital ads are easier and cheaper to set up and are likely to be forgotten. When you do something that clearly shows you have gone the extra mile, people notice and they definitely take a mental note. Plus, having a physical reminder of your business with your customers will definitely keep your business top of mind.

What is direct marketing?

This sort of marketing refers to any type of physical correspondence that business owners send to their customers. The aim is to get them to respond positively which normally is them patronizing your brand. This marketing method can be used by both b2c and b2b direct mail marketing campaigns. All you need to have as a business owner is an identity, a call to action and of course a means of contact. Be creative but ensure that the gist of the message reaches your customers. You can use the following common forms of direct mail:

  • Newsletters
  • Catalogs
  • Brochures
  • Flyers
  • Packages
  • Coupon envelopes
  • Postcards
  • Business cards
  • Toy cards

Direct mail is tangible

If you research how effective direct mail marketing is you will find studies such as the one by Epilson-a marketing company- that found that 59% of consumers said that they enjoyed receiving direct mail from brands about new products. This attests to the fact that physical mail caters to the human need for connection through the 5 senses. Your direct mail marketing strategy should incorporate creative ways of connecting to the human senses and so the visuals (sight), texture (touch) and where possible even the smell should cater to this. You can get over email fatigue by targeting high-intent customers with creative and personal direct mail.

It lets you effectively target ideal customers

The best way to send any marketing message is to send it to people who actually want to hear from you. Otherwise, you waste a lot of promotional items on people who will not even look at them.

Determining the right audience depends on your type of business. As Edward Nash, the father of Direct Mail puts it, when it comes to identifying your target market, “There is only one common denominator that you can count on – interest in your product” (Nash, 2000, p. 56). In addition, a couple of questions you may need to answer to determine your specific target audience include:

  • Gender
  • Age
  • Income level
  • Education level
  • Homeowner or not
  • Car owner or not
  • Kids at home
  • Employed or not
  • Similarities of your current customers
  • Unique attributes

The better way to do it is to use 5 main audience segmentation methods to help you effectively target more qualified prospects and maximize your marketing spend.

  • Location specific
  • People stats
  • Business stats
  • Hobbies & Traits
  • Customer segmentation

People appreciate effort

One of the best direct mail examples is the one by a playschool chain, Planet Kids, who created an invite to announce their Annual Day celebrations which was given to parents through their students. The ‘hand puppet’ idea was born from an A4 sized paper which was so engaging with students enough for them to pass their excitement onto their parents.

You can never go wrong with such creative ways of direct mail design. Personalize your mail to make it more of a gift than mail. This can be done easily by 4OVER4s die-cut printing and hassle free direct mail services which will do a great deal in providing unique prints as well as saving you time and money.

Bears more influence over buyer decisions

A study by the Data & Marketing Association in 2018 reported response rates of 9% for those previously engaged with a brand and 5% for prospects. These rates are in most cases higher than email marketing which goes to show that physical mail has significant influence over buyer decisions. However, one of the best direct mail marketing tips is that you must align yourself to your customers’ thinking. Make sure you ask yourself the following questions before sending out your mail:

  • Is my brand well represented?
  • Is my brand offering a solution to the customer’s problem?
  • Is everything clear and compelling enough including the call to action?

Direct mail is creative & versatile

It’s easy to express your creativity in a unique way with direct mail as with the example of mailers sent to mark World Water Day. A mailer was sent out to companies and the press where the letter inside could only be read when held under water – proving that water really is the source of all knowledge.

It is clear to see that direct mail marketing can provide results that no other form of marketing can, especially if you compare it with digital ads. It’s all about knowing who your target audience is and offering the right solution, applying creativity, giving a clear call to action and having a print partner who can bring your direct mail ideas for marketing to life in a cost effective way. With our Direct Mail service we will print your products and mail them too! All you have to do is design your product and send us your list of addresses to get them sent out. Have you come across any interesting direct mail marketing examples, what caught your attention?

Story by Olivia Jennings

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