The Role of Direct Mail in a Multi-Channel Marketing Strategy

Marketing is a broad discipline. With countless different strategies and channels available in this day and age, it can be difficult to determine where to invest your marketing budget. Thankfully, there are certain strategies that will provide value for almost any business. Direct mail marketing ranks near the top of this list.

Direct mail marketing refers to the practice of sending physical mail directly to customers or potential customers – it’s been used since the days paper was invented by big and small companies alike. In this article, we’ll explain the role of direct mail as part of a multi-channel marketing strategy and how it can help you grow.

Customer Acquisition

Despite all the advances in marketing, direct mail still ranks as one of the most reliable ways to acquire new customers. It’s cost-effective, scalable and easily customisable. In order to make the most impact with your direct mail, creating attractive, high-quality mailers is vital. Find business printing solutions offered by providers who have a reputation for excellent work and who are able to produce the volume of mail you need to send out. Choosing the right printing partner takes time and effort, but a high-quality mail flyer can be the difference between a recipient becoming a paying customer and simply tossing your mail in the trash.

Once you’ve optimised your process of creating promotional mailers, direct mail marketing can supercharge your customer acquisition. Your mail should include a brief pitch explaining what your business does and why people should buy from you. While your space is limited by the size of the paper you use, you can include a QR code to link to your website, where you can show customers your full range of products or services. With direct mail, you can also target a very specific audience, since you can decide precisely which residential areas to send mail to.

Customer acquisition is a multi-channel process. Adding direct mail marketing to your arsenal can rapidly increase your number of first-time purchasers and spur growth.

Brand Building

There are plenty of ways direct mail can be used as part of an omnichannel branding campaign. First, you can build brand awareness by utilising your unique brand elements, including font style, signature colours and slogans. Ensure that these elements are consistent across all your marketing channels.

Another way to maximise the brand-building effects of your direct mail campaigns is to include free merchandise. Some examples of merch you can include with your mail are custom stickers, pens, wearable merch and fridge magnets. Adding a few free gifts to the promotional mail you send out gives recipients something by which to remember your business for a long time.

Integration with Other Channels

One of the greatest benefits of direct mail marketing is that it’s compatible with a host of other strategies, so adopting it won’t require a complete overhaul of your marketing plan. As mentioned, the most direct way of integrating direct mail with your digital efforts is to include a QR code that directs to your website or a specialised landing page. Another way to incorporate direct mail into your overall strategy is to include promo codes in your mailers that can be used via your site or mobile app.

This can help enter the recipients of your direct email into your marketing funnel. Once on your website, you could provide a discount for subscribing to your newsletter, so you turn them into a warm lead and can continue to market to them through their digital platforms. Despite the evolution of technology over time, digital mail has stayed in fashion among marketers. It’s not hard to see why: sending out mailers is easy, effective and can be used to supplement various different marketing strategies.

Advertising to a Broad Range of People

Whether you’re starting a new business or are running an established firm, it’s vital to keep in mind that customers come in all shapes and sizes. Some respond best to digital advertising, while others will be more receptive to traditional channels like direct mail. Your best bet is to spread your marketing spend strategically across many different channels.

Direct mail is also an incredibly versatile marketing strategy. Everyone receives mail, so as long as you come up with mailers that stand out and immediately grab your audience’s attention, you can use direct mail to reliably build brand awareness among your target market. Gain, if you design and print to a high quality, recipients will be more likely to keep them in their house, or use your magnets for their intended purpose.

Promoting Live Events

For much longer than digital marketing, direct mail has been used to promote local events. If you’re a business that makes use of event marketing to grow your audience base or build loyalty among current buyers, sending physical mail is a fantastic way to make people aware of your event. This is especially true if your event is more location-focused, like a suburban street fair, an opening of a local store or trade services.

Simply building awareness is not the only way that sending out mail can increase attendance at your events. Receiving a physical invitation also adds a personal touch that can’t be replicated with an email or SMS message. Alongside this, you can customise your invite to include a QR code linking to a page where recipients can RSVP.

Event marketing is a great way to spread the word about your business and encourage loyalty among existing customers. For businesses looking to draw big crowds to their events, direct mailing provides a personalised way to inform their target audience about these events.

Sending it Off

Direct mail can be a powerful tool for any business, given it’s done correctly. Even newer companies without a large marketing team can reap the benefits of direct mail marketing by outsourcing to advertising agencies if required. In this piece, we’ve covered some key ways direct mail can be used as part of your overall marketing strategy, and it’s super easy to get started and give it a go for yourself.