Junk mail, everyone gets it, and everyone hates it. Not only is junk mail terrible for the environment, but sometimes a vital message can get lost in the shuffle. Because of this, many small owners do not even think of using direct mail to help their businesses.
This is a shame as the right direct mail campaign may be one of the most cost-effective ways to get new customers or increase profits. That is right, even in the age of ubiquitous internet, snail-mail remains a crucial tool in your marketing bag of tricks. With that in mind, here are some ideas on how direct mail can work for your business.
How Direct Mail Can Work for Your Business
Targeting YOUR Customers
Every marketing campaign is competing for attention from your customers. It does not matter if it from your business or your competitors; everyone is trying to achieve the same thing. As such, using direct mail is a way to switch up your approach. This could help you stand out.
One reason for this is that the United States Postal Service is one of the most effective delivery organizations in the country. Every day the USPS delivers more than 187 million pieces of first-class mail to homes and businesses – including many hard to find addresses from coast to coast and beyond.
Beyond this, the data you have on your current customers can help you start to build your mailing list, and from there, you can look at demographic data based on zip code to determine how to identify those potential customers who have not to find out about what do you.
Running a direct mail campaign is more than just using envelopes, it is a scientific approach to targeting your customers, both current and future, and keeping them informed about all of the great things you are doing.
Stand Out from the Crowd
There is a straightforward truth with mail – everyone needs to check their mailbox. If they do not, then the letter and catalogs and bills will just accumulate to the point that their mailbox will explode. Well, figuratively and not literally.
As such, you have a captive audience when running a direct mail campaign. This does not happen when you use Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to get your message out there. Only direct mail gives you this advantage.
But you do not want to hold your breath on someone reading what you send, so you need to make sure your mailer stands out from the crowd. This could be accomplished by using a colored envelope to stand apart, or maybe you can invest in a beautiful photo or some other graphic that will get the recipient’s attention.
Remember, you have only a second or two to make an impression, so make the most of the time you have by offering something which your intended audience must stop and take a closer look.
Go Beyond Gimmicks
Yes, the gimmicks mentioned above will help you to get attention. But if you want recipients to heed your call to action, then you need to give them a reason to do so. This can happen by making your offer as attractive as possible, or even using the opportunity to raise awareness for a worthy cause in your community.
Also, remember to add a QR code to your mail as this will help to bridge the digital gap by forcing recipients to scan the code to access your offer online. Tools such as these have become accepted by customers, and it could be a great way to motivate your customer to act on your offer.
Measure Results
If you do not measure the results of your marketing campaigns, then you might as well be throwing money out of the front door of your business. You would probably have more success if you started handing out dollar bills to passersby.
Just because direct mail is not online does not mean that you cannot measure results, many direct mail providers have developed tools to measure delivery times and as mentioned adding a QR code as part of your call to action will help to increase your ability to track the effectiveness of your campaign. While not everyone will buy from your business just because they received something in the mail, you do want to know why they reacted and how you continue the conversation.
Small businesses often overlook direct mail, but the USPS is one of the best ways to get your message out to current and future customers. If you have not thought about using direct mail to grow your business, then you should. Doing so will help you reach your customers, stand out from the crowd, go beyond gimmicks, and, importantly, measure results.
