Direct Mail: What's Old is New Again
Most people’s email inboxes can be described in two words - information overload. The average person receives too many emails to be able to give proper attention to them all. Companies are beginning to invest in training on priority management, or tools like this one to keep employees focused, and the marketing world is adjusting to people becoming overstimulated, over-informed and desensitized. "Email overload syndrome" is all too real in today’s world of overwhelmed consumers.
Similarly, calling someone can be just as hard. Just ask your sales reps. Often times sales and calls are automatically screened. You've probably seen the "scam likely" warning pop up on your phone. And there are many apps like RoboKiller that block sales calls from coming through at all.
So how am I supposed to reach prospects?!
One approach that still works is personalized marketing. According to Emarsys, “personalized marketing is the implementation of a strategy by which companies deliver individualized content to recipients through data collection, analysis, and the use of automation technology.” Examples of personalized marketing include video messages (check out these by HubSpot + Vidyard), social media marketing, "smart content," and much more. But one of the many personalized marketing strategies we’d like to explore today might surprise you: direct mail.
Like many trends that plateau and are considered forgotten, they eventually come back around (think of that record player that’s now a must have in your friends' living rooms). Direct mail is a perfect example of a trend making its comeback. Given the sheer amount of competing emails your prospects receive every minute of every day, it is very hard to get people to open an email, even with the best headline a talented marketing team can dream up. Competing priorities almost always push your email further and further down an inbox. A bundle of physical mail, however, needs to be picked up and sorted. With a smart direct mail strategy, it's one of the best places to make your first or next impression.
Direct mail allows you to present your content right up front for your prospect to see. Engaging graphics, a clever package and a good call to action makes all the difference. And that's where personalization comes in. Platforms such as Enthusem, for example, give you the option to personalize a postcard mailing with a custom logo, photo, or name on your postcard to make the mailer more enticing.
Another popular move is to add a custom code to the mailer that allows prospects to view a video message and invites them to take the next step like booking a meeting, downloading a trial, or whatever else fits into your campaign.
Via an integration with HubSpot, companies can automate the workflow of sending a series of physical mailers to prospects within a certain time frame, set up tasks for sales teams to follow up with prospects, suspend people from mailings, etc. The platform alerts marketing and sales every time a card has been viewed so your sales team can get in touch immediately.
How effective is direct mail as part of your overall marketing strategy? Here are 10 stats on the success of direct mail to help inform your opinion. As the article points out, it is crucial to combine your direct mailing campaign with online media to get the best possible response rate.
Courtesy of List Giant
If you’d like to learn more about incorporating an Enthusem campaign or other personalized marketing tools and programs, please feel free to contact us.