How to use direct mail effectively

There’s more to direct mail than meets the eye. Used properly, it can make a huge impact on the effectiveness of your company’s branding and marketing. It’s powerful, flexible and can be used to precisely target prospects whom you may not be able to reach any other way.

For years, digital marketing has hogged the spotlight, while direct mail has been pushed to the fringes of marketing practices. But digital marketing only works if you have a prospect’s email address or if they have opted in to follow you on your social media channels. In today’s privacy-obsessed world, that data isn’t easy to get. 

We work with many companies that only have minuscule email and social media lists – perhaps a few hundred current customers and people with whom they’ve had sales conversations. That’s not enough to grow a business!

In addition, because so many marketers are overwhelmingly focused on digital channels, it’s hard to make your messages stand out there. Customers are overwhelmed and their attention is fragmented. The amount of background noise that your messages must rise above is about to get even louder, now that AI makes it easy to churn out a massive quantity of so-so content.

In contrast, very few marketers are using direct mail to communicate with prospects and customers. That makes it easier for your messages to stand out in their mailboxes. Plus, direct mail enables you to tell a bigger, more compelling story that is more memorable than most digital posts. That makes it the perfect tool for building brand awareness and a distinctive customer experience.

With direct mail, you can purchase lists of your ideal prospects – focused on the industry, job titles, demographics and geographic locations you want to target – and deliver highly targeted, personalized messages to them. 

Direct mail can even become more powerful when it’s combined with digital messaging. For example, you can create a series of postcards that drive prospects to a landing page, where they can register for an event or a webinar, or download a special report. 

Many people have a perception that direct mail isn’t trackable. But that’s not the case. Incorporating a tracking number into a QR code enables you to determine who responded to your offer. Once these prospects have registered online, you can continue to communicate with them digitally and continue to build relationships with them. 

Direct mail is also incredibly flexible. As we just explored, it can be used in business-to-business settings to identify and attract many new prospects. But what if you’re selling to consumers? Using tools like the U.S. Postal Service’s Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM), you can easily saturate a neighborhood or other targeted geographic area with mailings to promote your local business.

If you haven’t been incorporating direct mail into your marketing campaigns, now is an excellent time to start. Contact Heritage today to discuss your marketing needs.