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In the age of digital technology, it makes sense for businesses to follow their customers online. The pandemic has shown that customers are ready to embrace digital communication and interaction strategies. Therefore, a digital marketing plan is a no brainer to build success. Indeed, digital marketing offers a unique tracking advantage for marketers. It is not only easy to monitor, but digital metrics can rapidly show areas of improvements, strengths, and weaknesses in your marketing strategy. For marketers with a strict budget, trackable metrics guarantee accurate ROI calculations to reach the audience online. The bottom line: it makes no doubt that online marketing can drive income, brand awareness, and market growth.
Yet does that mean businesses should ditch their offline marketing campaigns? After all, when the average customer can receive over 90 emails every day, it’s fair to say that your email campaign could go unnoticed. Direct mail, on the other hand, can help your brand stand out from the crowd. Indeed, print advertising engages a high emotional reaction, as it requires 21% less cognitive effort to process and can drive around 30% ROI. Here’s how to make the most of your DM campaigns and maximise your budget.
Your database is not optimised
Unlike emails, the process of sending direct mail is more fastidious. Consequently, it should also be considered more attentively. Too many companies waste their budget sending communication to the wrong recipients. You can’t run a successful DM campaign without a professional mailing house that can validate addresses in your database. Incorrect addresses and duplicates are some of the most costly shipping mistakes for a DM campaign. They are the equivalent of spam and undelivered data with email campaigns.
You don’t know your customer personas
Every marketer is familiar with buyer personas. However, buyer persona strategies typically focus on tailoring online content to the right audience group. Audience segments are equally relevant to DM campaigns. While it can be expensive to tailor-print each DM communication, defining high-level segments can help bring nuance to your message. For instance, you could identify new buyers, returning customers, and those who have not yet purchased from your brand to send different offers and packages.
Your timing is off
Contrary to common belief, timing doesn’t only relate to email campaigns. Timing is everything when it comes to DM. The company needs to identify and anticipate busy seasons to spread out efforts throughout the year. Additionally, time-sensitive content, such as a limited offer, should be sent well in advance so the audience can prepare.
DM specialists also recommend focusing on days in the middle of the week: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, when the audience is more likely to check and act on it. Mondays are often too hectic and Fridays too close to the weekend.
You don’t link it to your digital activities
Online and offline marketing campaigns can work alongside to improve your results. You can direct your DM audience to a specific landing page, which lets you track activities and monitor behaviours. Similarly, referring to social media profiles could also encourage new people to check online content. Needless to say, branding and design have to remain homogenous across all platforms.
DM campaigns are here to stay. While they may feel outdated compared to digital marketing, the tactile interaction with direct mail can improve brand awareness and engagement. When they are well made, DMs are memorable, successful, and can even support digital growth.
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