According to Canada Post, “direct mail offers a sensory experience that triggers consumer emotions and action while maximizing attention and recall.” In fact, on average consumers spend 118% more time with a direct mail piece than with a digital marketing experience on their first exposure. And it makes sense if we stop and think about it for a minute. When you come home and check the mail, while you may be chatting with your partner or kids, you often have your full attention on what’s in your hands for at least a moment or two.
Most digital marketing efforts appear as emails that we potentially ignore, ads on websites which we scroll past quickly, or perhaps bus station ads or digital billboards which we also view for a split second as we pass by. But a tangible piece of direct mail is something we physically need to decide what we’ll do with and therefore we spend more time with it. Direct mail marketing is still very relevant, and we’re going to explore a few ways to get creative and get your brand noticed with them.
1. Drive Digital with Personalization
While direct mail is still relevant, we do ultimately want to continue driving most traffic online to your company’s website. This is where customers and potential customers can self-serve and make purchases, and ultimately complete their buyer journey. Give your customers a reason to go to the website. One way you can drive this traffic is by personalizing the mailer to the customer. If you’re a pet food store and this is a customer who has shopped with you before for their dog, put a picture of a dog on the mailer, and call the customer by name to promote that a new store is opening, for example. People are much more likely to read mail that is specifically addressed to them. Personalizing direct mail also breeds loyalty amongst your customers as they begin to feel like they’re an important part of your business, and feel valued by you.
2. Keep Customers Coming Back with Specific Promotions
Treat your customers well, and they will sell for you! It’s as simple as that. Happy customers tell others about their experience and bring new business in. Segmenting your customers based on how much they’ve spent with you over what period of time can lead to a loyalty mailer with special coupons and promotions. In terms of driving customer engagement, drive customers to a landing page to fill out a survey about what they love and what could be improved about your brand or store, and take the advice! Customers who feel that they are being heard are much more likely to be loyal to a brand. Offer a discount to those who complete the survey. You can also drive to digital even further by offering a special promotion to customers who post and hashtag your brand on social media. Create ambassadors out of your best customers!
3. Use Unique Imagery and Cuts to Get Your Message Across
Most direct mail marketing postcards tend to be standard-sized, and straight-edged. Get noticed with creative cuts and designs! You can do anything with mailers these days so most time should be spent on designing them. If you’re a food brand, for example, cutting a bite mark on the side of the mailer could be a great attention-grabber. Don’t be afraid to be bold with large imagery if it makes sense. You want to be the stand-out mailer amongst the rest of the mail your customer receives on any given day.
You can also add a physical element to the mailer such as a sample size version of a new product or a product that you’re promoting this month. People love free samples so as long as you’re segmenting your market appropriately and deciding which customers are worth sending it to, it can be a worthwhile investment.
Print Three works with Prime Data, a Canada Post Expert Partner, to make sure that all mailers are done correctly and get into the hands of consumers quickly.
At Print Three, we’re more than just a printer. We are your direct mail marketing specialist company. If you’re looking for creative mailer ideas, please contact us to discuss your goals and we can help make them happen!