Is Direct Mail Marketing Really Over?

With so much emphasis on email and social media marketing, it would be easy to think that direct mail marketing was done and dusted but some companies still swear by it. In spite of its out-dated reputation, direct mail can still be surprisingly beneficial to businesses that go about it the right way.

If you are fed up of having your marketing emails ignored, or you feel your social media marketing isn’t getting the results you want, you might want to consider trying something different. If so, it’s important that you approach direct mail marketing in the right way if you want it to work for you.

Here are some suggestions to help you get great (and often surprising) results from your direct mail marketing:

Make it stand out

With peoples’ physical mailboxes becoming less cluttered than their email inboxes, getting attention may be easier with direct mail, but it’s not a given. Your marketing pieces need to really stand out and grab the attention of the person receiving them.

Some businesses have been successful using scented marketing materials to make the most of the physical experience while others find sending a magazine style piece with valuable articles and images that evoke emotion have been successful. Whatever you decide, it’s important to make it interesting and stay away from the pushy sales pitches.

Personalise it

Just like your email marketing, direct mail marketing should be personalised. Birthday and thank you cards are a great way to personalise your direct mail and build relationships with your audience. For an extra personal touch you can even try handwriting your thank you and birthday cards. You might not make a direct sale from this type of marketing, but you are likely to foster positive relationships and build loyalty, which can translate into more business in the future.

Measure it

As with any other form of marketing these days, measuring your results is all -important. If you don’t track your results you won’t be able to see what is working and make changes accordingly.

It’s fairly easy to track the results from your direct mail marketing. Set up a specific landing page or email address for people to use. Specialised discount codes from direct mail promotions let you see who is taking you up on your offers and can help you evaluate how effective your direct mail marketing is.

It may not be the trendy marketing thing to do now, but direct mail marketing still has a place, especially in a world where email inboxes are becoming increasingly cluttered.

See at http://www.nextmarketing.com.au/2015/06/is-direct-mail-marketing-really-over/?

Jo Macdermott from Next Marketing works with business owners in Melbourne who require marketing support. Jo specialises in tactical marketing plans and campaigns that are pragmatic and make a lot of business sense.