Mailing coupons, invitations, and other business promotions is a great way to increase sales, grow customer count, boost membership sign-ups, etc. Even though many companies have opted for cheaper, less effective email marketing, direct mail campaigns continue to rank as one of the most powerful ways to reach a local audience.
Like any marketing initiative, direct mail requires serious analysis and planning to ensure that your company is getting the biggest bang for its buck. How can you ensure that your direct mail campaign will be a success? In the article below, the experts at Impact Mailers explain how and why some direct mail programs are more successful than others.
Finding a Carrier Route to Match Your Demographic
Every business has a target demographic or audience they are trying to reach. For local businesses like restaurants, gyms and auto service centers, research shows that as much as 90% of sales come from residents that live within a 20 minute drive. In other words, a majority of your business’s clientele lives within a 5-10 mile radius of your location. What does this mean? It reveals that your marketing dollars should be invested at the local level, trying to reach the consumers in your specific area that want your product or service.
But sending direct mail to an entire zip code could be costly and inefficient, so it is generally more effective to target specific postal carrier routes within a larger zip code. For instance, a lawn maintenance company wants to send its advertisements to homeowners, not apartment complexes. A highly successful direct mail program will target mail carrier routes that visit this specific audience. Similarly, a pediatric dentist might send a majority of its direct mail advertisements to family-friendly areas of town, rather than downtown areas of young professionals.
Making It Personal
With today’s technology, making personalized advertisements is easier than ever. An Impact Mailer can incorporate individual messages to every recipient, making consumers feel a special connection to the business. For instance, a card or coupon could address the consumer you are trying to reach by name or offer unique images that are catered to that audience.
Even more importantly, Impact Mailers utilize digital printing technology that can create unique bar codes and membership ID’s for recipients. A card that was at first an advertisement for your business can quickly turn into a ‘frequent diner card’ or ‘VIP Member’ card for your loyalty program.
Promote Something Irresistible
There is a reason that coupons show up in your mailbox on a daily basis. It’s because consumers are mindful of cost and are more interested in a product when they know they are getting a good deal. One of the easiest ways to kill a direct mail campaign is to forget to offer a promotion.
Something as simple as a ‘buy one, get one free’ campaign is a great way to generate interest in a product that consumers wouldn’t typically consider. For businesses like gyms that require memberships, offering a sign-up discount or ‘one-week free’ promotion is the perfect way to tell consumers that they’ve found a great service at an even better price.
Cutting Through The Junk
Perhaps most importantly, how are consumers supposed to find your direct mail advertisement in a mailbox full of clutter? The simple answer: make it different than every other paper advertisement in the mail by using plastic postcards. This solution might seem overly simple, but it actually works. When consumers lift a stack of mail, plastic postcards have a distinct weight and rigidity that reminds them of the credit cards and gift cards in their wallet. In other words, there’s an intrinsic value in something that is printed on plastic in the shape of a credit card.
Boosting your sales could be as easy as starting a direct mail campaign, but it’s important that it is done correctly. Call the direct mail experts at Impact Mailers for more information about designing your local marketing initiative today.