Email versus Direct Mail Marketing: Which Works Better?
26 Mar 2013 1 Comment
in Marketing TIPS Tags: Direct Mail, email marketing, promotional products, variable data printing, VDP
Email or Direct Mail?
As more businesses and marketers have turned to email marketing, it is fair to wonder if direct mail marketing still works as effectively as it once did.
Email marketing is a good way to stay in touch with customers and prospects. Just like social media marketing, it has its place in the marketing mix. However, a downside to the massive increase in marketing emails is that only an estimated 19% are even being opened (according to the Direct Marketing Association).
Direct mail marketing still works, and it works very well. However, marketers cannot just create any type of campaign and expect it to be successful. Here are some tips and suggestions from the pros:
- Keep specialized lists, and target each with the right message. That means no mass-mailing everyone the same message and offers. This requires a bit more preparation but will generate the best responses because you are offering the right message to the right audience.
- Instead of mass quantity, think quality first. Fewer, better-targeted and better-crafted mailing pieces are more effective than regular, lesser-quality pieces. Print & Copy Factory offers Variable Data Printing, which is very smart and effective way to target your key prospects.
- Think lumpy mailings. People still enjoy receiving freebies, so include a logo pen, pencil, tiny Frisbee, mini-DVD, or mini-CD card with your contact info on it. Although these types of mailings can be more pricey, the retention and response rates can pay a handsome ROI on the investment. Check out our promotional products website, with over 800,000 items you can imprint your logo on!! www.YourMarketingResourceCenter.com
- Be creative. People still enjoy programs that offer discounts or a gift with repeat purchases. Set up a loyalty rewards program that ties a buyer’s repeat purchases with discounts and rewards. Then announce it with a direct mail campaign.
Head to the link below to learn more information from the Small Business Administration (SBA), or sign up for a free direct mail class that we offer every month… Then start setting up your next direct mail print campaign with Print & Copy Factory today!
Marketing Takes a Holiday
13 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Design, Discounts, Inspirational, Marketing Tags: ASI, blogs, Direct Mail, promotional products, sent postcards
fun promotions for the winter
If you’re planning a winter getaway or are already thinking about a summer retreat (and really, who among us isn’t thinking about summer already?), here are a few ideas to help you take your marketing with you on the road….
- Hold a sale. We’ve all seen ads with the idea of “the boss is away, so we’re having a sale” or something to that effect. Have fun with it, and make it memorable.
- Send postcards. Bring the names and addresses of your top customers with you, and send them postcards from on the road. Or send postcards back to the office, and have your employees post them in a common area where everyone (customers included) can see them.
- Blog about it. Along those same lines, post regular updates to the company (and/or your personal) blog, with lots of photos and details about the things you’re doing on your trip.
- Encourage involvement. Ask your customers to send you updates when they go on vacation, then post them to a display at work or as guest posts on your blog.
- Have some fun. Bring along an item related to your company, such as a shopping bag or mug with your logo on it, or a fun object like a garden gnome or stuffed animal wearing a company shirt. Then take pictures of the object sitting in front of popular tourist attractions.
- Make a promotion/game out of it by encouraging your customers to do the same thing on their trips or by having people guess where these photos of your “mascot” were taken. If you have your customers take their own photos, supply them with the “mascot” to take with them on their trip, and offer an incentive for participating (such as $x off their next purchase for each photo they provide).
