In today's competitive marketplace businesses need to make an impression in order to get ahead. At Printing Solutions, we understand the importance of getting your customers' attention, and our job is to help you get there by providing the tools you need to get started. Direct mail marketing is one of those tools, and it can be a simple yet powerful way to spread your message. Recent direct mail statistics show that postcards, letter packages, and catalogs are proven to be effective for business to business mailers. Therefore, direct mail advertising is a smart way to grab the attention of your target market. It has been said, that it generally takes multiple "touches" with a potential client before a long-lasting business relationship is solidified. There may be exceptions to this rule, however it does make sense to be sure that solid communications exist in many forms in order to keep your brand and messages fresh in peoples' minds. Social media, email marketing and many other technology enhanced methods are gaining ground in terms of use today, however in a recent study of 1000+ marketing professionals Marketing Sherpafound that direct mail is still very relevant. In fact, 79% of those surveyed found direct mail marketing to be effective or very effective. They concluded that while it may not have the "flash" of social media, direct mail should be part of a larger marketing strategy and that its role is vital in helping to connect your various marketing ideas together by providing a physical reminder of what your company has to offer. Direct mail advertising can take on many forms, but the idea still remains the same - target a specific audience with relevant, custom and value driven content in the medium they are most comfortable with. Your goal is to make sure that once received, your mailer will be read and ultimately acted upon - and that's why planning and design are both very important. At Printing Solutions, our most common form of direct mail is the custom postcard, however we also offer other products from letterhead to brochures togreeting cards that are also ideally suited for direct mail as well. When planning your direct mail marketing strategy, you should consider the following;1.Be sure to define clear and specific goals for your campaign. For example, do you want to generate phone leads, Facebook "likes", new customers to your website or something else. Remember, you can't have everything at once so tackle one objective at a time to help maximize your results.2.Decide which product is best to deliver your message. For example, if your goal is offer holiday or birthday wishes and a coupon to your most loyal customers - a custom greeting carddelivered at just the right time may be more meaningful to the recipient than your standard postcard.3.Use direct mail to generate leads, then use follow up to close sales. Your direct mail message should lead readers to your website or other sales process if they are interested in more information. Presumably, those measures have already been created to close the sales - use your mailings to lead them where you want.4.Do not use a cheap mailing list just because it's less expensive. It is wiser to put time and research into uncovering the best mailing list to use. The most effective lists are usually not the cheapest however the extra time involved will reward you with a better response. Once you have defined your project, we recommend a simple, 4-item checklist when creating your design. The objective is to make sure that you are not saying too much, however at the same time you are saying just the right thing. Your direct mailings should include;1. One short headline to get the reader's attention2. A bulleted list with 3 or 4 major benefits3. A brief motivating offer or call to action4. An email address, website, phone number or other contact details to respond to the offer Direct mail advertising can be very rewarding with the proper preparation. If you are looking for a way to revive a dying marketing campaign, then you should give direct mail a try.
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