The Learning Center
AKA... The Blog
AKA... The Blog
While there are many things you can do to successfully market your business today, the “old fashioned” printed material method hasn’t been completely abandoned. Direct mail has proven to be successful for many, but is it working effectively for your business? If you find that you’re struggling with a direct mail campaign, there are a few things you can do to turn it around and make it beneficial for your business.
Despite what you might have been told, businesses continue to use direct mail for a reason. Although it’s less quantifiable than social media networks and website analytics, direct mail has been shown to have an impressive response rate. According to the Direct Mail Association (DMA) Response Rate Report of 2015, direct mail response rates outperform that of all digital channels. The report states that direct mail receives a response rate of 3.7% in comparison to email which receives one of 0.1%. The only thing that ranks higher than direct mail is a telephone call, coming in at around 9-10%.
Believe us when we say you should be using direct mail initiatives in addition to your digital marketing efforts. If you’re struggling to get your campaign to show signs of responsiveness, don’t give up. Just make an adjustment. Take a look at the suggestions below in order to improve your direct mail campaign.
You’ll get to know what’s working by observation. Ask, what’s working for me? What’s working for others? You’re most likely receiving some sort of direct mail to your mailbox, so why not use it to your advantage? Take a look at the materials you’re getting from other businesses and analyze their campaigns. Are these other businesses able to get their message across in an appealing way? Look at if their message matches the marketing materials they’re using, or if there’s something that’s not working. Pinpoint what that is and learn from the mistakes of others. As an effective business owner, you should be taking these simple opportunities to learn about what your future plan of action.
It’s important that you’re not wasting money by sending out marketing materials to people who’ve shown no interest in what your business is doing. Make sure you’ve gathered a mailing list from your target audience and not just anyone whose information you were able to get your hands on. You’ll be able to keep your mailing list up to date by including a return address on your mail, so you’ll be able to see whose information has changed and can update the list accordingly.
Once you’ve gathered contact information from the right crowd, put thought into what they’d enjoy receiving in the mail. How will it benefit them and your business at the same time?
When are you sending out your direct mail pieces? Is it at a calculated time of the year or a seemingly random occurrence? Direct mail campaigns work especially well when they have a purpose. If your direct mail pieces are going out around the holidays or a special event, this is a good way to include promotions to generate customers and revenue. Timely campaigns are very effective because it’s easier to assign them a purpose.
By different methods, we mean the types of things you choose to send to your target market. Go with us for a minute and imagine that you have an unlimited budget (an unlikely scenario, but we digress). Without having to worry about expenses, what would you send out to your audience? There are so many options when it comes to direct mail marketing, such as:
Since direct mailing methods are harder to measure when it comes to their individual effectiveness, view this as an opportunity to test the waters in order to see which direct mailing pieces work best for what your business wishes to achieve.
If you’ve created brochures and are looking for greater distribution, why not mail some to your target audience to see how they’re received.
If this option is cohesive with your business, you might be able to do your distribution through the mail in order to the most loyal members of your audience.
3-Dimensional packages/envelopes have been shown to perform well because they spark the curiosity of the consumer and stand out amongst the typical direct mail advertising campaigns. They’re likely to be opened because people want to know what they contain. If you’re going with this method, be sure that what you’re providing your audience with is useful. Remember, no one wants to open a promotional piece only to realize there’s nothing in it for them.
Titan Web Marketing Solutions based in Murfreesboro, TN provides Graphic Design Services to businesses throughout the United States. If your company needs print design help Contact Us today.
Titan Digital provides marketing services to businesses all throughout the United States. If your business needs digital marketing help Contact Us today.