Most consumers are currently experiencing their annual post-holiday hangover, which often means for business owners a (hopefully) temporary lull in production. Customers are still in the process of reluctantly peeking at their credit card bills with one eye opened and probably aren’t crazy about the prospect of spending a whole bunch of money in January.
Rest assured – your customers aren’t going to be in hibernation forever. The best thing you can do for your business in the beginning of this (and every) new year is to set goals and pay attention to expected trends so that you’re ready to pounce on every opportunity you’re presented with in 2019.
Direct mail marketing is often mistakenly perceived as a medium that is in a perpetual state of arrested development – after all, how many innovations are going to occur in the world of print?
Although it doesn’t look like businesses are going to be sending holograms through the mail anytime soon, it is a mistake not to keep yourself informed when it comes to current trends in the direct mail world. These projections will absolutely play a big role in informing any marketing moves you make in the upcoming year and give you an idea as to where your budget dollars should be allocated.
Here’s why direct mail is going to be key in 2019 and how you can make your direct mail strategy successful:
- Direct mail still ain’t dead. If you frequently read our blog articles, you already know that we’ve addressed the implication that direct mail is a dead marketing platform several times over. We don’t want to beat a dead horse, so we’ll keep this short: you’re simply misinformed if you’re still embracing the narrative that direct mail is an antiquated marketing tool.
- People will stop being impressed with personalization. Customers are going to come to expect that promotional material they receive – especially in their mail box – is personalized. This means that if you’ve been trying to save a buck or two by addressing all of the people in your audience as Friend, Chief or Bucko, it’s probably time to make an update, as these types of mail pieces are going to be considered obsolete and subsequently disregarded as junk mail.
- Omnichannel marketing is the new standard. People are evolving and becoming increasingly lazy consumers. Convenience is expected and your audience assumes they’ll be able to pick-up where they left-off on any format they can use to access your brand. Integrating these marketing channels and creating a cohesive customer experience is what is going to keep you relevant in 2019. Use direct mail to encourage and inform customers where they can reach you online and ensure the message is the same on each platform.
- People are growing wary of digital advertising. Consumers are becoming increasingly tech-savvy. People are sick of being constantly inundated with ads and in turn, adapting accordingly by implementing more sophisticated ad-blockers. We certainly aren’t asserting that you should give-up on digital advertising entirely – the ability to show the right prospects a timely, well-placed digital ad is an invaluable tool. However, with heightened expectations (see #3) and our increasingly skeptical view towards ads, you’d be remiss not create a little room in your budget for direct mail to compensate for people in your audience who are actively going off the digital reservation.
To be successful in 2019 you need to zig when your competitors zag. This absolutely means looking at the possibility of dedicating more of your budget to direct mail and communicating with your customers on a personal level. Direct mail can be the push that your customers need to get off the couch and start spending money again in the early months of 2019.
Ready to start your next direct mail campaign? We can help! Capture more customers and grow your business — contact us today!
