Cut through the clutter with a creative twist on direct mail
Integrated direct marketing campaigns consist of coordinated promotional efforts that send a consistent message across multiple marketing vehicles to individually target specific consumers more directly. Because consumers gain information from a wide variety of marketing vehicles and media sources, it is important to cut through the clutter and reach your audience through a variety of channels.
Consumers are overwhelmed by marketing communications so you must make sure to create communications that are timely, relevant, creative, interesting, personalized and contain value. It’s important that promotions contain a unique personalized message, multiple touch points (such as email, mail, or website), one-to-one marketing, and interactive components.
Promotional objectives to consider for an integrated direct marketing campaign:
• Create Awareness
• Stimulate Demand
• Identify Prospects
• Retain Loyal Customers
• Combat Competitive Promotional Efforts
• Reduce Sales Fluctuations
The Direct Marketing Association credits Dimensional Mail as the number one most effective and track-able advertising method with a 5.59 response rate compared to telephone (2.53), catalog (2.24), and direct mail (2.15).
Integrated direct marketing campaigns can consist of any of the following services: personalized direct mail, list acquisition, email, program analysis reports, dimensional mail, promotional items, customized flyers, envelope websites, personalized URLs, generic URLs, web page, online survey, and variable data.
I recently designed an integrated direct marketing campaign that consisted of a dimensional mailer, variable data, promotional item, website initiatives, and customized flyers. My campaign was themed so that it was relevant to my prospects and timely in terms of our economic recession. The package had a label on the box with a variable and posed a marketing uestion to my decision maker.
It wasn’t until they opened the box and saw the contents inside that they knew who had sent the package; and by then I had them hooked. They were already cooing over the goodies inside, personal touch, creative presentation, and information included about how to increase their business with my products and services. The informational piece discussed our differentials, directed them to our website for more information, and included a call to action that offered a gift card to a popular dining establishment if they set up an appointment. The package stood out from the typical direct mail clutter and caught my customers’ attention right away.
The most important part of an integrated direct marketing campaign is to analyze performance, follow up, and get feedback. Did prospects respond to your call to action (i.e. call for an appointment)? If not, consider sending a follow-up mailer, email, or make a phone call to be sure they received it. How successful a promotion is depends widely on the quantity and quality of the feedback you receive.
My campaign has had a 36% response rate so far and was a tremendous return on my investment! Ask yourself, what was the response rate for your last direct marketing campaign? Do you know what your ROI was?
Amanda Moore
Watch your marketing grow your business!
I thought to get this blog rolling I would share our marketing strategies for 2009. These ideas have been compiled from our corporate headquarters, other colleagues, and trial and error from 18 years in the business that we have customized to fit our specific marketing objectives.
PIP Printing and Marketing Services is part of a large franchise that boasts hundreds of locations throughout the United States and we are lucky to have many extended resources. Corporately we have repositioned our brand, marketing strategies, and advertising efforts. With an updated new look, tagline, and message we are rolling out many new marketing and branding tools such as new brochures, business cards, stationary, and branded materials.
We are participating in a monthly direct mail campaign. Direct mail is important to our business as it allows us to reach out to current customers and prospects. Direct mail keeps our brand in front of our customers and regularly keeps them aware of our products and services. Our direct mail efforts are successful due to our cultivated mail list and consistent follow up efforts.
Our customer service representative is always trying to cross sell or up sell our current customers to inform them about our extended products and services that they may not be aware of. At the point of sale she will mention a complimentary product or perhaps a service they may not know we offer. We make sure to plant the seed with every customer, send them back to the office with a brochure, and follow up to offer more information.
For the first time ever, our particular location has created an integrated direct marketing campaign. This campaign combines several of our products and services into a unique marketing strategy specifically aimed at acquiring new customers. The campaign incorporates promotional items, graphic design, digital services, variable print, database management, mailing services, website, and fresh baked cookies! The program targeted specific prospects and required aggressive follow up efforts and has brought in a 30% response rate so far.
PIP Printing will unveil our long anticipated new website in the second quarter. The new site will have an updated look, interactive feel, and personalized touches. The new site will have a reverse approach to the typical marketing efforts and will tie all of our new and improved branded materials together.
An aggressive and outside sales force pounds the pavement the old fashioned way. New prospects are targeted with cold calls, phone calls, and knocking on doors.
We spent the first few weeks of the New Year combing through our current mail list to verify and update our contacts. This guarantees that our marketing efforts are reaching the right people and we are not wasting precious marketing dollars.
Networking and participating in community activities allows our company to spread brand recognition, meet new colleagues, and give back to our community. We actively support and participate in groups such as the Kiwanis Club of Tampa, Tampa Bay and Company, and The Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
Most importantly, we try to analyze the success of our marketing efforts. This can be as simple as asking every new customer how they heard about us. Or as elaborate as creating a personalized URL or special landing page to measure response to integrated direct marketing campaigns. It all comes down to ROI and no matter how simple or elaborate, it is important to know which of your marketing efforts are successful and which are not worth the money spent.
None of these efforts are guaranteed to be successful but with the combined approach, proactive marketing, and consistent follow up efforts we are seeing results.
Amanda Moore
