Direct Mail is Not Dead, But it Needs Help

As digital marketing proliferates in the modern market space, many have been proclaiming the death of direct mail. The arguments are plenty: people don’t open their mail anymore, they are hesitant to provide their personal address, consumers’ mailboxes are getting cluttered, and the targeting options are much more limited than they are in digital marketing.

But not so fast. Despite the haste to declare it done, direct mail refuses to go away. In fact, if done right, it can still be a significant part of your marketing strategy. That’s not to say that the arguments above against direct mail are false. But with these three tips, you’re better poised to obtain a steady increase in customers via direct mail.

Target Well and Be Personal

Instead of sending a direct mail piece to your entire customer database, filter out only those for whom it makes sense to receive this specific piece. If a former customer hasn’t bought anything in a while, maybe they need a reminder that you’re still there. A frequent customer may appreciate a ‘thank you’ offer, while a new customer may want further information about your products. The better your audience suits your message, the more likely you are to get a result.

Integrate Your Message

Don’t just send a direct mail piece that includes a store or service coupon. Instead, send them to your website, let them know about your blog, encourage them to participate on your social media channels. In other words, connect your direct mail to your inbound marketing strategy in a meaningful way. The same is true for the reverse direction as well. Your social media audience may be interested in receiving a special offer in the mail, so give them the opportunity to sign up for mail sends right there on the network.

Track Your Results

Of course, you won’t know whether a marketing strategy works until you see the number. As a result, it’s imperative to track the results of your direct mail campaign. Services such as HubSpot offer the opportunity to create tracking URLs, which you can include on your mail piece to find out how many people actually followed up on the direct mail piece. QR Codes, though disputed, offer similar track-ability. Armed with these statistics, you can make sure that your next direct mail campaign will be even more successful.