The tables have turned
Direct mail is a conventional form of communication, so when the new technology of email and app communication with new gTLDs like the .APP domain came along, snail mail was bumped aside and email enthusiastically embraced. Today, the roles of email and direct mail have begun to switch again. We used to associate mail with the place we would get bills, hundreds of offers to things we don’t care about, and birthday cards from family members and friends. Now that bills are paperless and come digitally, people are actually excited to see what’s coming in the mail and ironically enough, our email boxes are the ones flooded with spam.
p.s. here’s how you can avoid getting email spam after registering a domain name.
When we open our inboxes we are bombarded with cold sales emails, webinar sign-ups, diet pill supplement junk email and more. We get so many emails every day, most people are hardly ever caught up. Our mail, on the other hand, is lighter than ever and filled with more relevant pieces that are creating a stronger and lasting brand impression.
Direct mail trends
Marketing is all about trying things, failing, making adjustments and trying again. We are always inspired by innovative marketing trends we see and want to share some of our favorites for you to use as inspiration. Here are 4 ways you can get direct mail campaigns to work for you.
1. Turn a warm lead into a hot lead
The way in which we would define a warm lead is someone who exchanged their contact information for your knowledge whether it be in the form of a case study, infographic, webinar, email newsletter sign-up, white paper, etc. knowing you would follow up with them. Hot leads are the 2-5% of these leads that you actually convert into a sale.
Try: Direct mail campaigns with automated email follow up. Think of using the content you deliver throughout the sales cycle and instead physically delivering it to their office as a welcome kit. Once you received delivery notification of the direct mail you can wait a day or so and follow-up with an email or a phone call and then track it back into your CRM platform.
2. Stay top of mind
You lose around 10% of your customers every year. It’s not enough to make the sale, companies need to work on customer retention as much as they focus on acquiring new customers.
Try: Have your sales, marketing, and support teams send hand-written and personalized thank you notes to customers. Handwritten notes are rare nowadays and customers will be pleasantly surprised and appreciative of the human touch. Thank you notes have a great chance of gaining traction on social media because they are so shareworthy!
3. Reach key decision makers
It’s not always easy to get past the gatekeepers and in touch with the key decision makers and influencers. If you can find the right contact and the place of business, nothing is stronger than having a physical presence in a customer’s office. A physical object and message has a longer shelf life than an email and creates a conversation.
Try: Send a large infographic in a tube mailer, a mini projector that displays your content, or a video card. The cost per item on these are higher so they should be saved for customers who share the same qualities as your top ten most profitable and best customers.
4. Land a meeting
Even more challenging than getting in touch with the key influencers, is getting them to take a meeting with you. In today’s world creativity is heavily valued so don’t be afraid to take a chance and do something bold.
Try: Send a bottle of your favorite drink. Include a lock on the bottle where the client has to reach out to you and set a time to meet to get the combination code. Most people aren’t going to waste a nice bottle and will be humored by it all.
The more technologically advanced we become, the more dependent we are on human interaction and experiences. Direct mail is making a comeback and when combined with email automation and tech products it’s stronger than ever.
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