Why Direct Mail?

By profiletree
direct mail works

As small and local businesses continue to navigate the complicated demands of a global pandemic, the UK’s exit from the EU, and the ever-expanding world of digital commerce, it’s never been more important to think about which marketing channels are right for your business. At Tricord we believe in the value of direct mail marketing campaigns: highly visible, boasting great response rates and easily tailored to the potential customer, targeted direct mail marketing continues to offer a host of benefits to your business’ marketing strategy.

So whether you’re aiming to generate new customer leads for your business, establish brand recognition and loyalty, increase your sales coverage or generate repeat orders, direct mail marketing campaigns are a great way to go.

Here are some of the reasons why:

1) It’s FAMILIAR

“I enjoy getting postal mail from brands about new products.” Do you agree? According to research conducted by Epsilon, 59% of people do.1 For many customers, a printed letter or card sent directly to their letterbox is more comfortable than the alternatives: there’s nothing technical or confusing about it, the business’ address is easily visible, and unlike with online adverts, there’s never the risk that it’s carrying something hidden or harmful. As a result, direct mail contact has the immediate effect of lending a trustworthiness to your brand that would be difficult to achieve through online advertising alone.

2) It’s PHYSICAL

It’s not just the safety and security aspect that makes it appealing – direct mail is also tactile and visible. Research suggests that human beings process information better using physical objects than we do from the information alone; paired with modern printing technology, direct mail allows you to utilise different textures, raise text, use 3D objects, and employ a whole host of creative solutions to reach potential customers. Even a printed letter by itself is something to turn over in the hand, fold, stick to the wall or file away for future reference, and this all contributes to brand recognition. The evidence speaks for itself: direct mail is proven to yield a higher rate of response than email campaigns.

3) It’s EFFECTIVE TARGETING

The targeting options available for direct mail marketing campaigns are vast and useful. Not only the material design itself, but also the mailing lists, are adjusted for specific audiences – making sure that whether they’re a loyal existing customer or a prospective new one, your targeted audience is getting the offers which matter to them.

Begin with a saturation mailing list, targeting all of the addresses within a given area. Then, refine your targeting by excluding certain types of addresses (businesses for example, or P.O Boxes).

Next, you can refine your targeting even further by including or excluding addresses based on other median data: age or gender, homeowners or renters, income level, house value, household income, number of children, hobbies and years of education are just some of the more common options. These targeting options can then be aggregated to build your final list.

4) It COMPLEMENTS ONLINE MARKETING STRATEGIES

While at first glance the two may seem to be competing strategies, in fact digital marketing and direct mail campaigns are often used to bolster one another, and they can be very effective together; the most successful marketing campaigns always have more than one tool in their box.

Let’s take just one example:

Customers respond well when their direct mail gives them a way to participate. In the run-up to Christmas in 2014, the company 97th Floor in Utah sent a direct mail package to all their clients, containing a $20 bill and a holiday poem.

On the other side of the poem was a scannable QR code, taking clients to a video encouraging them to spend the $20 on someone less fortunate.

The video further encouraged clients to post what they had done on social media using the hashtag #20helps – resulting in greater coverage for their brand. And the best part? They got to help some people along the way!

So…to conclude, why Direct Mail?

Many of us receive countless of emails every week in the course of our busy working life. If we’re honest, very few of these stand out. By contrast, how many letters do you get through the door on the average week?

Flyers, leaflets and mail dropped to the door give the customer something physical – something creative. It creates a greater impact than any other type of marketing alone, it boosts brand recognition and loyalty, and it’s a sure-fire way to connect your customers to your business.

In a market that increasingly seems to be moving online, retaining that off-line connection through targeted direct mail marketing is vital to keeping your finger on the pulse of a broad customer base, bringing the personal to your customer’s door.

Interested in knowing more? Reach out to us for a customised quote and print samples and let’s get your direct mail marketing campaign underway! If you are considering Why Direct Mail and would like to talk to us about this – do reach out today!