Digital marketing is now more critical than ever, and its importance is only growing. But there’s one crucial aspect that many people leave out of digital marketing: Direct Mail.
One of the greatest direct mail draws is that it’s tangible. Great graphics, oversized format, custom cards can all boost your business and generate value and quality. Keep in mind that the mailbox is less competitive than online ad spaces, and your message will be noticed. Direct mail is often set aside or put on the refrigerator for easy access at a later date when electronic information is often forgotten or lost. Studies revealed that for every $167 spent on direct mail marketing in the United States, marketers could expect to sell about $2,095 worth of goods in return.
Traditional and digital marketing don’t have to be enemies. Both of them have their distinct advantages that can help you get more for your marketing dollar. Here’s how:
Increase in Marketing Frequency
While studies vary, the consensus is that a person needs to have seen 7 to 20 messages before they take action based on that message. Direct marketing research reveals that direct mail campaigns are most successful after at least three subsequent mailings to the same target list. By showing digital ads to the same recipients of your direct mail campaign, you’ll be able to achieve more frequency in your message at a much lower cost than additional mailings.
You can catch people throughout their day
Pairing print and digital marketing maximize potential customers’ chances of making meaningful contact with your brand at a certain point throughout their day.
Your ideal customer might read the morning paper before work, glance at websites and social media at the office, and check a smartphone app on the way home. You can’t always predict which touchpoints will be the winner, but having a consistent print and digital message will improve the chances of one of them paying off.
Digital makes direct mail trackable
Coupons, special offers, “code words” all allow for easier tracking of your direct mail campaign. However, direct mail won’t be attributed to bringing in the customer if someone doesn’t use the coupon but patronizes your business anyway.
This is where digital retargeting with geofencing can help.
The technology behind it may be sophisticated, and the concept is simple. Digital retargeting with geofencing allows you to stay in control of your business by showing your ad to consumers who pass by your store, a competitor’s store, or another pre-defined area.
Digital retargeting also allows you to track the number of people who have been exposed to your ads and then visited your physical location.
Through displaying a digital version of your ad to the same people who received your direct mail, you will be able to track how many people entered your business with or without a direct mail coupon.
Using Digital Analytics to Enhance Direct Mail
Digital marketing can also be useful in gathering consumer data to build a successful marketing strategy. Business owners can better understand their customers using analytics. In turn, that information can be used to create a more powerful direct mail campaign.
The analytics can show where your customers live, what they are interested in, where they visit, which messages cause them to take action. Data allows marketers to target their customer base better using direct mail. By knowing which images and text resonate best with potential customers online, you can apply the same to your direct mail campaign. This information will allow you to send the right message to the right audience.
In our digital world, traditional direct mail marketing is often pitted against digital marketing in a battle where only one medium emerges the champion. In reality, online and offline marketing offers advantages, and many successful businesses leverage a smart mix of the two. Traditional direct mail and digital marketing are not meant to oppose, but to complement each other. Direct mail alone can do a lot of good, but why not make it even more impactful by adding a matching digital component.
