With the rise of digital marketing technology, most small business owners have put more focus on social media, SEO and email marketing as an efficient way of connecting and engaging with potential consumers. It’s common to hear that in this golden age of digital, paper is dead.
When it comes to direct mail specifically, it seems rumors of its demise have been exaggerated.
Direct mail offers consumers a powerful way both to connect with loyal customers and to generate new leads. With print having a 75 percent higher brand recall than digital, you start to understand the power of this often-overlooked means of outreach. Simply put, direct mail matters because when you have the power to put your brand in the right people’s hands, you have the power to make your brand irresistible.
As a small business owner, here are 5 valuable advantages that direct mail offers you, as a complement to your existing marketing strategy.
1. Delivering value. You’re the new florist on the block, and you want to lead people into your shop with a $5 coupon just in time for Mother’s Day. You’re a 50-year-old pizza shop that’s getting squeezed out by a big chain, and you want to welcome back customers with a BOGO offer. There’s no shortage of ways that direct mail can deliver value for your specific business and for consumers who are on the hunt for a great deals. According to one study, 93 percent of people said they would use paper coupons in 2018—up from 88 percent in 2017.
2. Standing out. The dimensional nature of direct mail lets you add a level of production value in a manner that no ephemeral digital ad ever could. Premium paper stocks, creative design, special inks and even eco-friendly materials are all ways to project your brand’s values and personality. From postcards to trifold brochures to catalogs, think about how you can use direct mail to stand out and get noticed.
3. Establishing loyalty. Throughout the years, you’ve developed a list of your most valuable customers. Maybe it’s just sitting there. Maybe you’re unsure how to capitalize on this information. Direct mail gives you an opportunity to take that list and turn it into a goldmine for reaching out to the people who matter the most to your business. A special mailer that gives them “inside access” or timely updates can go a long way toward solidifying loyalty—the holy grail of any small business.
4. Building local cred. Big-box retailers and giant corporations are everywhere. Ecommerce is disrupting the notion of who exactly it is we are doing business with every day. In this day and age of faceless and impersonal businesses, direct mail lets you re-remind your neighbors that you’re a vibrant and relevant part of your local small business community. For many people, that local angle is a serious criterion for how they choose who they do business with.
5. Intelligent targeting. One of the reasons direct mail has previously gotten a bad rap (we’re all familiar with the term “junk mail”) is that the technology wasn’t in place to make sure that your message got into the right people’s hands. But that landscape has changed. You now have the power to reach exactly those people you need to reach, minimizing waste and inefficiencies. A couple tactics to consider –scale out and expand upon a specific demographic based on your most valuable customers or tap into an affluent neighborhood by zip code. When your mail reaches the right audience, it becomes a purposeful piece of communication with staying power.
Whatever your marketing need, Stylite Media is here to help your business grow. Contact us today!
Leo Covey
