In a world run by social media, a traditional marketing campaign will still win new customers for your business. If you’re investing in marketing for the first time, you might assume that you should focus on digital channels, like ads via Google or a strong social media presence.
These advertising channels can certainly produce excellent results, but it takes a lot of commitment on your part. Approaching things half-heartedly isn’t usually effective. The first thing to do is find out what works.
And never underestimate the power of mailing campaigns.
The Traditional Marketing Campaign Is Effective Again
That’s right: this article is about snail mail, ink, and old-fashioned paper. In fact, perhaps because of the inundation of digital advertising these days, mail order marketing’s effectiveness rate is at an all-time high.
The Association of National Advertisers has collected marketing data for about 20 years. Response rates to mail-order marketing are higher than ever. Compared to its existing digital marketing counterparts, mailing campaignsgenerate more feedback. On average, you can expect to get 5 to 9x better results than e-mail, social media, and paid search marketing.
Almost 80% of consumers say they trust mail when making a purchasing decision. Sending brochures and flyers to potential customers is one of the most trusted ways to win new business.
Choosing Traditional Marketing Measures
Choosing the right marketing platform is only one piece of the puzzle. You also need suitable material for the right person at the right time. When it all comes together, traditional mailing campaigns work for many reasons. They’re unique, tangible, personal, and appealing. This gives you an extraordinary opportunity to stand out and get noticed. Of course, you don’t want to send the usual boring flyers or brochures.
Preparing Your Traditional Marketing Campaign
As with any marketing project, there are a few things that you need to do up front to ensure the campaign is as successful as possible.
Step 1: Develop the profile of an “ideal customer”
First, invent your absolute dream customer. Who would you most like to work with?
This “Ideal Customer Profile” (ICP) always refers to a customer group and not to specific, individual companies. Here are a few important characteristics that might be relevant when creating the ICP:
- Industry or cross-industry
- Number of employees (entire company and individual locations)
- Sales volume
- Budget for using the services you offer
- Location
Answering these questions helps you discover the customers your service is designed for and the customers you’d like to work with in the future.
Step 2: Make a list of companies and key contacts
Before sending your flyer or brochure, set up a system that tracks hard work, and create a list of companies that closely match your ideal customer profile.
This step requires the most research. It pays to create a super-specific list to avoid unnecessarily wasting time and money.
Step 3: Decide how you want to monitor your progress
If you’re not already using customer relationship management (CRM) software to track customer and prospect interactions, keep it simple and start with a spreadsheet. The software or spreadsheet allows you to remember when you sent what, to whom, and the result.
Mailing campaigns achieve notable success despite low numbers, so keeping track of the progress and success of the campaign this way doesn’t require a lot of time or effort.
Step 4: Set a follow-up timeline
One of the biggest secrets of success in almost any marketing campaign is follow-up. Try keeping this process as simple as possible.
Use the same program or spreadsheet you use to track progress. Set the times when you will check in with your mail recipients. This can be e-mails, phone calls, or second mail delivery.
Direct mail marketing is a terrific way to get exposure for your business. But to tap into that source, every piece of material you send out needs to be relevant.
Mail Your Way to Success
Remember, whatever you send is directly associated with you and your business. If the traditional marketing material sent falls short of its target or is simply not eye-catching enough, what impression is left of your company?
Consider the contents of your flyers or brochures. A unique mailer will stand out and set you miles apart from all the other advertising floating around. So, don’t hold back, have fun, and think unconventionally.
