Over the past few years, numerous thought-leadership articles have highlighted the many benefits of direct mail marketing. The most immediate and obvious of these benefits include consistently high open-rates, increased customer brand confidence, and developing and strengthening trust-based relationships with new and established customers alike. The upside of employing direct mail are clearer and stronger than ever, and is magnified when direct mail is part of a multi-channel marketing strategy.
Between constant phishing campaigns, high-profile hacks into government systems and consumer databases, and the rise of “fake news,” consumers are understandably wary of digital offers and unsolicited emails. Because of this, physical mail (aka “snail mail”) can go a long way toward projecting consistency and trustworthiness.
In this article, I’ll further explore what it is that makes direct mail so effective and offer some tips on using it as part of a multi-channel marketing strategy to help you build personal, trust-based relationships with your clients and prospects at a time when public skepticism is high and trust in institutions is low.
1. Personalize direct mail to make emotional connections
While setting up an automated email campaign is certainly quick and easy, it isn’t the most effective way to build credibility and customer trust—especially with new customers and leads. In part, this is because email feels inherently impersonal when compared to physical mail. To this end, one of the best things you can do to ensure the success of your direct mail campaign is to personalize and tailor your message to create a sense of connection between your brand and the recipient.
The goal of effective marketing is to engage customers directly on an individual level to move them toward taking some action. This means that impersonal and generic sentiments and salutations simply won’t cut it. When a mailpiece is as carefully targeted and personalized as possible, it communicates to the recipient that you understand them and their needs.
Part of what makes direct mail such an effective marketing tactic is that it is easy to utilize the basic principles of tactile marketing which tap into the underlying emotional aspects of sales to create an emotional experience and bond between sender and recipient. Additionally, physical mail recalls the nostalgia for a time when our inboxes weren’t overflowing with digital ads and offers, and receiving physical mail was still an event.
In the age of digital oversaturation, marketing studies consistently show that people enjoy receiving physical mail. Sure, in the early days of the Internet email was a novelty (does anyone remember the “You’ve got mail!” announcement?) but today the reverse is true. A piece of personalized physical mail that seems to be a novelty is perfect for standing out by bucking the digital trend.
2. Create brand confidence with high-quality customer experiences
For almost every business, providing a consistently top-notch experience to customers that leads to sales, retention, or referrals is key to success. Moreover, while virtually every major business has invested in crafting a curated online presence, far fewer work to engage customers in any way but digitally. Sending something tangible and physical to your clients and potential customers is a great way to project trustworthiness and create confidence in your brand and company. From a psychological perspective, a piece of tactile marketing collateral sent to customers gives them an “anchor” and helps them to think of your business as more than just a website. This is especially key during social distancing.
Sending a piece of engaging direct mail such as a pop-up card is a great way to demonstrate legitimacy and build trust with your target audience while also reinforcing consistent branding across multiple media. When you prepare your marketing collateral for mail-out, the goal should be to produce something with high brand recognition and an easy to understand message that truly represents your company and that is personalized and tailored to the recipient.
By engaging customers in meaningful ways across multiple channels, you are signaling that clients can expect a consistent, high-quality experience with your brand. After all, consistency is key to establishing trust, and a piece of personalized direct mail will go a long way toward creating a positive brand experience.
Sending something tangible and physical to your clients and potential customers is a great way to project trustworthiness
3. Offer your customers something of value
The effectiveness of direct mail also makes it the perfect medium for re-targeting prospects who might already be on your mailing list, but who haven’t yet made a purchase. Fundera.com recently compiled some informative statistics on direct mail that highlight the exceptionally high open and response rates, which makes this form of delivering your message an attractive option for converting prospects to customers. Whether you’re highlighting a specific product feature, offering content to get the most out of your product, or sending out notice of a sale or special, the key is to always provide the recipient with something of clear value.
It’s also important to note that with the right piece of direct mail, the value can reside in the physical marketing collateral itself. For example, when you send a dynamic Awesome 3D Card, you can rest assured that it will be passed around and shared with colleagues as opposed to being immediately tossed into the wastebasket, which helps to further propagate your message and increase the likelihood of being seen by more people in your target audience.
Delight, Impress, and Surprise with Awesome 3D Cards
When I founded Awesome 3D Cards, I did so to help my clients tap into the power of tactile marketing, and especially pop-up cards, to spark meaningful customer interactions that also strengthen emotional connections and create organic opportunities for further engagement. My goal was to give businesses a tool to delight, impress, and surprise customers and prospects thereby facilitating marketing efforts to build deeper client relationships that contribute to business growth.
In the coming year, I look forward to providing continued content and additional tools to help you connect more effectively with your customers. Check back regularly for more tips on using direct mail and tactile marketing to establish trust-based client relationships, or contact Awesome 3D Cards today to schedule a free consultation.
way to Harlow!