News & Insights

How to Re-engage Your Customers with Direct Mail

01 June 2016
By Kim Sullivan

In a recent post we discussed whether direct mail (DM) is still an effective marketing tool for businesses. While digital marketing is extremely useful and businesses like NGP Integrated Marketing Communications will be able to help you with digital strategies, the importance of direct communication is still evident. Based on the evidence it is clear that DM is effective as it provides access to a wider range of demographics and the sheer fact that, due to the over-use of email marketing, DM is experiencing a resurgence. Businesses are synchronising direct mail software with analytic and marketing management software like a HubSpot Mailchimp integration, research more into how this type of integration could improve your business in many areas.

Maximising the Lifetime Value of a Customer
One of the most important success factors for any business – particularly one who operates in a B2B environment – is customer retention. Repeat business increases the lifetime value of a customer, increasing the ROI of all marketing efforts.

But how do we ensure a customer is retained, beyond providing high quality products and services?
To explain how direct mail can aid in customer retention, let’s take an example from a far newer medium – digital marketing. Many digital marketing channels do not have a direct ROI attributable to them because, due to the number of touch points with the customer, it’s difficult to attribute sales to any particular channel. But does this mean companies don’t rely on social media or content marketing to drive sales? Absolutely not, because tools like these help to promote brand awareness which, in turn, increases customer trust and loyalty. Take a look at a site like https://www.salesforce.com/research/customer-touch-points/ to see how companies keep in touch with their customers. This point of contact is very important for brands and their consumers.

Direct mail can be used in the same way. We offer a gentle reminder that our brand still values them as a customer and that we potentially have a great offer for them. Combine this with personalised offers or re-marketing and you have an extremely effective way of retaining your customer.

How to Ensure Your Direct Mail Re-engages Your Customer:
Offer a discount or Promotion – Your direct mail should offer a range of high-quality information, but it should also add value beyond its content. There is a reason that companies the world over continue to use discounts as campaign tools… because they’re still effective! Offering a special offer may just be the incentive your customer needs to stick with you. Remember, by using variable data printing (VDP) each customer or group of customers can have their own discount code, meaning the success of your DM campaign can be tracked incredibly accurately.

Targeting – Targeting a direct campaign means two things – both the accuracy / relevancy of your mailing list and the personalisation of the material itself. VDP can be used to personalise each letter, but when it comes to your mailing list remember that more is not always better. Be sure to mail only those who have expressed an interest in your product/brand, or those whose profession or demographic implies a direct interest. When it comes to existing customers, we can be confident that they are relevant leads, so personalising their messaging makes them feel appreciated as a customer, increasing the likelihood of retention.

Integrate Strategy – Don’t isolate your marketing efforts. Investing in an array of marketing channels often provides synergetic results when executed properly. Leveraging messaging used in other channels helps to further increase the brand awareness and trust mentioned above. If your existing customers and potential customers alike are consistently reminded of the services you offer, they are more likely to purchase (again).

QA / QC – Using an experienced direct mail company will ensure than the materials themselves are all to a high-standard, but remember to check and triple check all of the content. Once your customer receives your marketing materials through their letter box, any errors in grammar or spelling can be disastrous for your brand.

If you adhere to the above guidelines and keep all of your messaging on-brand, there’s no reason why you can execute the perfect direct mail campaign and maximise the lifetime value of each and every customer. Beyond that, why not use direct mail as an acquisition channel too! Contact us today to find out how.

At Positive we provide the complete direct mail solution. From data cleansing and management to personalisation, printing, stock management and delivery.

All of our services are carried out on site to provide a seamless, cost efficient and high quality campaign.

Call us today to discuss your next direct mail campaign on 020 8544 5500 or email hello@wearepositive.com

For further information visit our direct mail page.

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