A Guide to Direct Mail Marketing

A business needs to market well for its success; there is no getting around this. It helps your business to stand out, driving sales and fostering a better sense of brand recognition in its consumers. There are a number of marketing strategies that a business can use, including both digital and traditional methods. Direct mail is classed as a traditional method of marketing, and it can be effective when done properly. Keep reading to learn more.

Direct mail marketing refers to any physical correspondence that a business sends to potential consumers in the hopes of securing their business. It could be a leaflet, flyer, pamphlet, letter, essentially anything that is mailed to them. Direct mail campaigns can offer a high return on investment when used properly. This guide to direct mail statistics by Lob further proves this. Lobs themselves are a great resource for direct mail campaigns. They offer you a greater level of control over the campaigns and provide tools like address verification to ensure that your mail isn't wasted on the wrong parties or empty properties. 

In an increasingly digital world, shouldn't direct mail campaigns be outdated? It may surprise you to learn that direct mail campaigns can be as effective as any digital marketing methods. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, direct mail marketing is often more interactive than other forms of marketing. It produces tangible results, a physical piece of marketing that a consumer can hold. This often means that they are more memorable than other forms of advertising – especially online; social media ads often get lost in the shuffle, and consumers become desensitized to them. 

They also benefit from a feeling of nostalgia; there is often an emotional response attached to receiving mail it reminds people of getting birthday cards or letters from loved ones. While it seems that everyone is on social media, this is not the case, and so direct mail campaigns can help you to reach a wider audience than you would otherwise. However, a wholly digital approach to marketing can mean that you are alienating potential customers and missing out on profits. 

Direct mail marketing offers businesses the chance to get creative. Some businesses integrate direct mail with digital marketing for an increased reach. For example, your mailers could include a QR code that leads to a website or a discount code for them to use in your store either physically or online. More than this, your mailers themselves can be as creative as you like. The design and content are up to you; the opportunities are truly endless. You don't have to stick with what you know; you can mix it up. The shape, color, content offers you the opportunity to let your imagination free. 

Finally, there is less competition when it comes to direct mail. While the online marketplace is truly saturated with competitors, this is not the case when it comes to mailers. Think about how many mailers you receive on any given day; it is probably substantially less than the number of online ads you see. As a result, direct mail campaigns are much more likely to stand out, especially if they are eye-catching and creative. They are more likely to consider the mailer, and as a result, your business can make an impression; even if they don't need the goods or services you are offering right away, you are more likely to come to mind when they do.

While the benefits of a direct mail campaign are now clear, you might be wondering how to create such a campaign. There isn't really a formula when it comes to creating and implementing a direct mail campaign. The specifics will depend entirely on your business and your goals. That being said, there are a few pieces of advice that can help. Firstly, you need to define your target audience. Who is your product aimed at? This then helps you to focus your efforts. Conducting some research on your target market can save you money in the long run despite the initial costs because it helps you to tailor your campaign to ensure that it captures their attention. 

After defining your target market, you might be tempted to rush in and start sending out your mailers immediately. This is not necessarily wise. Instead, you should try sending out a few test batches to gauge the reaction of your audience. To do this, your mailer needs to include something that can be used to track its engagement, like a coupon, discount code or contact information. Give it some time and assess how successful the test has been; you can then decide whether to proceed with the campaign or whether it needs any adjustments before rolling it out properly. 

All mailers need to contain some form of a call to action. This is often what is used to track its success too. Using what you know about your audience, you need to decide what you want them to do upon receiving your mailer and define that for them within it. For example, you could ask them to take a survey, scan a code, follow a link, or include a coupon or code too. This is what drives your consumers' engagement and helps make your marketing effective. 

Often, the mailer that you send out will provide one of the first impressions of your business; you need to ensure that it is good. That means checking, double-checking and triple-checking your design before having them printed. The last thing a business needs is to be sending out sloppy misspelt content. You need to ensure that it is well written, which means no typos or grammatical errors. Ask for a second opinion; sometimes, other people can catch things that you've missed. 

After you have rolled out your campaign, you need to continue to track its success. Keep a record of who responds to your mailers and create a database of them. You can then use this to follow up with them. In the future, you can use this information to narrow down your recipients. It ensures that your mailing list is made up of people who are more likely to be receptive to your marketing efforts. 

Finally, while there is no doubt that direct mail campaigns are effective, it doesn't make sense to favor them over all other methods. The world is going digital, which means that most businesses would benefit from an online presence. The best marketing strategies combine elements from all approaches. This means that ideally, your mailer should have some links to your online presence from your website to your social media channels. As mentioned above, QR codes are great for this. 

It should now be clear that contrary to popular opinion, direct mail is nowhere near obsolete. On the contrary, it still holds a lot of potential; it just needs to be approached properly. Direct mail is one of the oldest forms of marketing, but it has stood the test of time, and it remains effective in bridging the gap between businesses and consumers. If you are looking to shake up your marketing strategies, then it is definitely worth considering a direct mail campaign. You simply need to do your research, prepare properly and get creative.