4 Top Reasons to Use Direct Mail to Help Build Your Brand

It would be best to build brand awareness when you start a business or revamp its image. So what’s the best way to do this?

Direct mail!

Not only is it what your customers want, but it’s also incredibly effective. Research shows that 73% of customers prefer direct mail over other marketing channels! And according to the Data & Marketing Association, in 2019, the average response rate for direct mail campaigns was 9%, and consumers engaged with 96% of direct mail.

So, why not take the plunge into direct mail?

Direct Mail is Terrifically Tangible

Unlike digital marketing and social media, direct mail requires you to touch it.

You may think digital is the way to go because people are always online. But the reality is that they are bombarded with online ads that they tend to ignore.

Direct mail, on the other hand, requires the viewer to pick it up and read it to take action, whether it’s throwing it away or hanging it on the fridge. 

Furthermore, this tangible experience is significant in trust-building. It acts as social proof of your brand authenticity, which is excellent for your awareness-building marketing efforts.

Displays Your Expertise

Delivering whitepapers, reports, guides, newsletters, etc., to customers, without a call to action can help you grow awareness and develop trust.

Sending this type of content to customers sets you up as the expert. They will create an image of your business that causes customers to turn to you when they need your expertise.

Shows Your Audience You Know Them

Direct mail can pinpoint the right people at the right time.

Brand awareness means you know your target audience and get suitable marketing materials in front of them at the right time.

Direct mail is perfect for this as you can mail it out at the right time and send it to a targeted audience.

Improves Recall and Builds Trust

A growing body of evidence suggests that consumers trust direct mail because of the unique way that paper-based advertising connects with the parts of the brain that control how we feel and remember things.

A 2015 study by Canada Post showed that direct mail marketing “requires 21% less cognitive effort to process and elicits a much higher brand recall” than digital media. This helps build trust and recall.

Direct mail also involves more emotional processing than other channels, which is essential for memory and brand associations. As a result, your customers will remember your efforts more when you send direct mail.

When you use direct mail, you boost your image and build brand awareness. And when it’s time to create something new, you know where to go. Contact us today!

How to Do a Direct Mail Marketing Campaign on a Budget

Even with a tight budget, you can still run a direct mail marketing campaign with a great return on investment (ROI).

If you focus your campaign, design the mail well, and perfect your mailing list, investing in direct mail can be a wise choice for your company’s budget.

Here are five steps to ensure your direct mail is effective while sticking to an affordable budget. 

Step 1: Choose the right product or promotion to market

It’s best to start crafting your marketing campaign with a specific goal.

Your company can use direct mail marketing for advertising a new product, a popular service, or even an update or improvement that you’ve made. 

Promoting something specific that will interest most of the public is wisest. Considering this will help your marketing dollars further increase the likelihood of people taking action after seeing your print marketing materials. 

Step 2: Refine your target audience

80% of consumers are more likely to purchase after seeing an advertisement that they feel is relevant.

Thus, advertising to only a specific subgroup of potential customers can help keep your direct marketing budget low while getting you the best possible ROI. 

Understand the demographic of most of your customers so that you can seek out and target more prospective customers with your direct mail marketing. 

Step 3: Use mailing promotions to keep costs down

Direct mail postage doesn’t have to drain your company’s budget!

Make sure to research different options available to you since your mail is part of a marketing campaign.

Multiple mailing services like USPS offer discounts for companies sending out ads in bulk. Take advantage of these deals; they could help you save up to 4% of your company’s direct mail cost. 

Step 4: Create a straightforward message

If you want your company’s direct mail marketing to be effective and cost-efficient, it needs to elicit a response from the consumer. 

The best way to do this is to include a clear call to action (CTA) within your ads. Time-sensitive offers and coupons are a great way to hook prospective customers. Make sure to include contact details so the customer can connect immediately.

Your CTA could be anything- asking the customer to send a reply, use a coupon, buy a product, or visit a website. As long as it’s simple and engaging, it has a bigger chance of increasing your ROI. 

Step 5: Track your responses.

If you’re spending your company’s budget on a direct mail campaign, you want to see what works and what you could do differently next time to improve results.

Include a unique QR code or personalized URL on your print ads that will send customers to a designated webpage and allow you to track responses. Then look at the sales made and the number of coupons used to adjust your campaign so that your money is only being spent on the most effective ads. 

Contact us today to help you craft the perfect message, design the most compelling visuals, and make the most of your print marketing dollars! 

3 Top Tips to Get Inside the Mind of Your Customers

Don’t you wish you could read minds? That would make marketing so much easier. 

But it’s not possible, or is it?

There are some legitimate ways you can get inside the minds of current and potential customers. Take a look at the top three ways to do this.  

3 Top Tips to Get Inside the Mind of Customers

1. Talk to Your Customer Service Representatives

Customer service staff have the inside scoop into what customers want and need.

Interview them to find out what customers are calling about, what issues need to be resolved, and what products are the most popular.  

Here are some sample questions to ask your customer-service employees.

• What expectations and disappointments did customers express?
• What improvements did customers want?
• What value were customers hoping to find, and what price were they willing to pay?

2. Analyze the Data 

You probably have spreadsheets of data and information on your customers’ buying habits.

Take a look at these carefully. 

Are there certain times of the year when they buy certain items? Decipher their buying habits and then reach out to them on their timetable. Finally, make sure your offer is compelling.

3. Do Spy Work 

Go to social media sites you think your customers are frequenting.

Dig in and learn about who they are and what they’re trying to achieve by using your product. See what you uncover. 

Where would you turn to find help for your issues? Hopefully, you will learn what customers want. Then, by aligning your goals with theirs, you can improve customer communications and make sure you’re focusing on the right things. 

Now you have tools to get inside your customers. First, make sure you approach them consistently and effectively. Most people need to see your business message seven times to get a response. Keep knocking on those proverbial doors. 

And when it comes to using this information to reach your customers using the printed word, trust us to get the job done right. We go above and beyond to make you succeed. 

Check us out today!