Direct Marketing For You

Tuesday, 26 July 2016

Direct Mail Marketing to Millennials - 5 Tips

Marketers are really starting to look at how millennials respond to marketing. In a recent study conducted by DigitasLBi, Razorfish, Tumblr and Yahoo, millennials will have a cumulative $1.4 trillion in spending power by 2020. Therefore, marketers need to pay attention to this group of people.

Because millennials are known as digital natives, many people thought direct mail was a bad way to reach them. However, this has shown itself to be untrue: Millennials like getting mail!

How can direct mail appeal to millennials?

Authenticity: All the messaging and imagery on your direct mail pieces need to be authentic and in sync with your brand. Show that you are consistent, responsible and transparent. Provide links to access more information about your company. Show your passion not only for what you do but the people in your organization that do it.
Accessibility: How easy is it for someone to reach you? How many ways to respond to your direct mail are there? If they call you will they reach a human or an auto attendant? The easier it is to respond the more responses you are going to get.
Human Appeal: Create a sense of connection with each individual, not only with personalization but through emotion. Highlight real people in your organization who are doing good things and remember to use a picture. When you humanize your brand you have a greater appeal.
Social Awareness: Showcase all the good things your company is doing for social causes. This goes beyond just donating money, which is seen as a token gesture. How are your employees giving back? Pick Charites that are in sync with your brand or that you and your employees feel very deeply about. Then tell everyone about the great things you are doing!
Technology: Since this group is very digital savvy, make sure that you are including technology in your direct mail. Not just QR codes, but more powerful NFC, augmented reality and more. Direct mail is a great gateway to online content and mobile devices. Millennials like interactive experiences, so give them that experience generated from your direct mail. Remember, they love to share good experiences with friends!

Millennials are great people! Targeting them with direct mail is not as big of a challenge as some people try to make it. Using the five techniques above will help you effectively communicate with and sell to millennials. Your direct mail should be inclusive and informative, not pushy. Keep you calls to action very specific with easy-to-understand benefits. Millennials view direct mail as more trustworthy than electronic communication, so make sure to capitalize on that!

Providing an excellent user experience across multiple channels is required with this target group. Embrace that and create fun, engaging direct mail that moves recipients online to landing pages, social media or whatever content you want. As always, make sure to track your responses so that you know what is working and what is not. Lastly, keep in mind that all millennials are not the same, they are individuals just like the rest of us and have varying wants and needs. Capturing their response information and adding that to your database is valuable. It will allow you to provide better offers to them in the future.

Get more recipes on http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/

Kirkwood Direct is largest service provider that offers comprehensive and effective end-to-end direct marketing communications solutions to their clients. It offers various services like Data Management/ Data Acquisition, Commercial Printing, Mailing Services, E-marketing and many more. Call (978) 642-0300 or visit site.

4 Effective Hooks for New Mover Direct Mail

According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau statistics, about 40 million Americans move every year. New movers are people who represent one of the most potentially valuable segments in life event marketing. They’re ideal customers, blank slates if you will, who are in the market for a dizzying variety of goods and services that can help them feel comfortable in their new house and neighborhood.

So, as a direct mailer, once you have up-to-date and multi-sourced mailing lists ready to go, how do you target this audience? How do you establish a relationship and begin building customer loyalty?

What prompted these questions is that quite a few of my relatives and friends have been on the move lately. I’ve been following how marketers have reached out to them as they settle in to their new homes. Based on some of those samples they shared, and some from Who’s Mailing What!, here are a few ideas on how to engage the attention of these prospects when they’re most ready to buy.

1. Offer A Discount
Many marketers entice movers with savings offers, from Bed Bath & Beyond, DIRECTV and IKEA, to Burlington Coat Factory, Budget Blinds and Crate & Barrel.

Pottery Barn is another one that’s great at this. This three-panel 5-3/4″x10-3/4″ self-mailer promoted the retailer’s free design services, for lighting, bedding, rugs, etc.

Three 15 percent off coupons were spot-glued to an inside fold, one for each of the company’s three brands (Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PB Teen). They can be redeemed at their brick-and-mortar retail locations, online and over the phone.

Along with sister brand West Elm, Pottery Barn also mails out the most recent version of its catalog to movers in a big envelope. Along with a personalized welcome letter, a discount coupon is included.

2. Tap Into EmotionThe big seven emotional copy drivers in marketing — guilt, flattery, anger, greed, exclusivity, fear, salvation — make people act. Greed’s an easy one to pick up on, as in this example from GEICO.

“[M]oving even a few blocks could affect your car insurance rate”, the letter warns. And what new mover, who has already spent a lot of money, can resist an opportunity to save $500?

Envy is not one of the big seven motivators. Nevertheless, it’s a good one in this context.

Think about it. An attractive lawn and yard are often considered an important part of one’s status and comfort in a new home. People want to keep up with the Joneses.

TruGreen mailed a variation on one of its typical mailings promoting its lawn treatment services. The front panel of the self-mailer shows a woman peering over a brick wall with the caption “I wish my new lawn could look like my new neighbor’s lawn. I better call TruGreen.”

Get more recipes on http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/

7 Simple Direct Mail Ideas to Drive Local Business

To find and keep customers, local businesses have a lot of options available, with direct mail still at the top of the list. According to BIA/Kelsey, a research and advisory firm, in 2016 direct mail will constitute 25.6 percent of local market ad spending (out of $146.6 billion).

For some marketers, shared or co-op direct mail programs are a good way to go, and the U.S. Postal Service’s Every Door Direct Mail program has lowered costs for others.

That said, as the director of Who’s Mailing What!, I’m bothered that I see a quite a lot of solo direct mail that misses opportunities to really stand out well in the customer’s mailbox against efforts from national and big regional brands.

Based on some of the best local mail from my files, here are some good design and copy practices local companies can use to drive traffic to their doors.

1. Sell Benefits, Not Features
This is basic marketing, and it can’t be said often enough: you need to explain to customers not just what you do or what product you have, but why it should be important to them.

In this example, a postcard mailed by Shreiner Tree Care describes one of its pruning services: “Proper thinning and pruning improves the safety, health and beauty of your valuable trees.”

Bonus: The mailer puts a personal face on the company by showing the names, photos and emails of two of its arborists.

2. Tell Them What You Do
Let’s face it: There are just some tasks we can’t, or won’t, do ourselves. Whether it’s housecleaning, painting or plumbing, we rely on local businesses to provide these services.

To build confidence in the customer’s ability to choose from a variety of service professionals, HVAC contractor A.J. Perri mailed a postcard listing “21 Individual Operations we Perform on Your Furnace.”

3. Deliver Essential Information
Another contractor, Affordable Water Heaters & Plumbing, mailed this giant (6”x11”) yellow sticker. When applied to the front of one’s water heater, it starts doing its job.

On the left side is a list of things to look for to avoid trouble. Most of the remaining surface area tells the prospect what to do when an emergency arises, and in California, that means earthquakes. Helpful arrows point to vital parts of the water heater and its connections. This allows the homeowner to assess any problem as well as describe it to the company, whose many local phone numbers are listed across the bottom of the sticker.

Get more recipes on http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/

Talking Baseball … and Direct Mail?

They’re not exactly two things that you would think go together, but when I got a postcard from my hometown Philadelphia Phillies in the mail, I knew it would make for a good story. Or maybe two.

So here’s the deal.

For a couple of months, I’ve been providing direct mail pieces from Who’s Mailing What! to my colleague, Ashley Roberts of Printing Impressions (a sister brand of Target Marketing) for use in her video series on PI XChange. The only requirement is that they demonstrate an interesting printing technique.

This postcard jumped out at me for several reasons.

First, it came from the Phillies, my favorite team. I’ve always been a fan, even if it sometimes has meant a lot of time waiting for them to jell into a pennant contender again.

Second, the printing. I love the spot gloss that was applied in spots on the front.

Third, the clever messaging. It’s promoting game tickets to a business audience. Yes, business and pleasure are two things that definitely go together.

Anyway, long story short: I showed this mailer to Ashley, and we agreed that both the printing and marketing audiences of our brands might be interested in learning more. She did all of the legwork, getting all of the important information on who designed it, who printed it, and how.

Last week, we and our great video production crew were privileged to be guests of the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia. We talked with Tina Urban, the team’s Director, Graphic Production, and got more insight, as well as the nitty-gritty details about both aspects of this mail piece. And we got to wear our Phillies gear!

Get more recipes on http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/

Top 5 Reasons People Don't Trust Your Direct Mail Marketing

Direct mail marketing is considered the most trustworthy marketing by recipients, so why wouldn’t they trust your direct mail? There are actually many of reasons for this. We will focus on the top five reasons, as they are the most common.

1. Superficial/Unbelievable Content

People don’t want to be misled. It makes them very angry. Your message is your brand promise — it cannot be vague or open to interpretation. This also includes over promising — bait and switch tactics are very bad.

How To Fix It: People buy from companies they believe. Be direct and specific with your headlines, calls to action and copy. Be realistic with your statements and promises. Authentic and direct messaging is the best way to build trust. Do what you say and say what you do. Under promise and over deliver is your best bet.

2. Too Busy

You have included too much information for them to process. It’s too hard to figure out what they need to do. It gives them a headache just to look at it. It appears that you are trying to throw information at them and may be hiding something in all that copy they don’t want to read, so they throw it away.

How To Fix it: Use less copy with bullet points for a quick scan. Be specific in your call to action on what you want them to do and why they should do it. Use fewer images and make sure that they work with not only your branding, but also with the copy and tone of your message. Clear and compelling messaging is necessary to make the right impression. You only have a few seconds before you end up in the trash.

3. Dated

When was the last time you updated your design? If you have been sending direct mail for years, many times the control piece ends up being the same as it was in 1995. That’s not good. The impression you give with an outdated look isn’t nostalgic — it’s suspicious. This can be especially true of letters. Don’t be an old school form letter. You will end up in the trash.

How To Fit It: Check your copy for out of date wording. Does it flow like 2016 language or do you need to change it? Look at your competition. How does your direct mail compare to theirs? Make sure you have relevant information — these days information gets old quickly.

Get more recipes on http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/

3 Great Ways to Pose a Question in Direct Mail

Sometimes, even when you think you’re a very detail-oriented person, you realize that there’s something else that’s escaped your attention. Take the direct mail that I read every day. I’ve made lists of all kinds of features that our Who’s Mailing What! database doesn’t capture, but I never started one for direct mail that asks questions effectively.

I could think of a few examples off the top of my head, almost all of them in teasers. But I had to do some serious digging through my file folders to begin to get a handle on what works well in creating reader involvement, and eventually, inspiring action. And although I’m not close to being done, here are some early observations on what I’ve found.

1. Appeal To Emotion

This is a no-brainer. It’s pretty common across all verticals to leverage one of the seven main copy drivers (guilt, flattery, anger, exclusivity, fear, greed and salvation).

Here’s a postcard from Volvo that taps into fear of hitting a runner moving across the front of your vehicle. “Are your brakes ready?” it asks. The promotion is for a multi-point brake inspection, so that your car is “ready for whatever comes your way.”

I have to mention this. A membership renewal effort from the Republican National Committee begins with a question that’s good at inspiring some guilt: “I don’t want to believe you’ve abandoned the Republican Party, but I have to ask … Have you given up?” This letter is a long-lived Grand Control, in the mail for over 15 years.

2. Make the Reader Curious

You have some information to provide about your product, your service, or your nonprofit. To attract the attention of the prospect, you can make them want to know more.

This teaser question from Consumer Reports on Health, “Do you make these 10 common mistakes about your health?”, is a variation on one originally written by Max Sackheim for a mail order course more than 80 years ago: “Do You Make These Mistakes In English?” It’s been copied by lots of others, mostly unsuccessfully, over the decades.

Get more recipes on http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/

How to Win With Political Direct Mail

Direct mail can be a powerful tool for your political campaign. It influences not only the opinions of voters, but their actions as well. For many years now, the majority of political mail has been on the attack of opponents. Some have gotten downright nasty, not just in direct mail channels either. Sure attack ads work, but mixing in a combination of informative direct mail with the attack pieces can enhance the candidate’s or proposition’s overall appeal. There are other channel options out there, but they are not anywhere near as effective as direct mail. Unlike a business that is selling products or services and has the ability to sell them over a long period of time, political mail needs to convince people quickly to either support or not to support a candidate or a proposition.

How can direct mail help a political campaign?

1. Targeting

Choose your audience specifically. You can select types of voters you need to send to based on party affiliation, frequency of voting, gender, location and so much more. Reach out to only the people you need to in order to get the most bang for your buck.

2. Integrated

Including QR codes and PURLS (personalized web pages) that take people to landing pages with more information is a good idea. An even better idea is to create an experience for them. Get creative so that you build engagement as well as a desire to share that experience with others. Make sure everything you do is mobile friendly. Consider using videos online for voters to get to know the candidate or the proposition.

3. Influential

Mail is viewed as the most trustworthy marketing channel. Take advantage of that, as well as the tangibleness of direct mail. Add texture and coatings to enhance your message and get people to enjoy the feel of your mail piece. The more you get people to interact with your direct mail, the more influence you have on them.

4. Variable

Direct mail using variable data printing allows you to send different messages to different people in the same mailing. This can be used to not only change out text, but also images to make a greater impact on each individual. When you are able to appeal to each individual you have a greater impact on them.

5. Analysis

Direct mail is very measurable. Knowing what is working and what is not allows you to make changes quickly to your next mail piece. Do not be afraid to try new things, but make sure you are analyzing the results.

Direct mail is powerful when done correctly. There are some pitfalls you need to avoid. The first major one is to stay within postal regulations. After you design a piece, send a PDF to your mail service provider to review before you print. They can tell you of any problems and save you the extra postage. The next pitfall is your list. Make sure that you are targeting the right voters — otherwise you are just wasting money. Finally, your message needs to be clear, concise and tell people exactly what you want them to do.

Now, more than ever before direct mail can create experiences that no other channel can. You can enhance direct mail with Augmented Reality, Near Field Communication, QR codes, textures and more. Use these to really make your mail piece grab attention and get results!

Get more recipes on http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/