Ring in the New Year With Change

What does change is technology and the ways it affects how people respond to offers. In this age of instant gratification, consumers are inclined to go to a website and place an order, or scan a QR code from their cell phone to view a product, or "Like" a company on Facebook to get a discount code.

So how can you combine your old tried and true direct mail methods with new marketing channels and ideas to appeal to a wider audience? Here are a few ideas to combine old techniques with new ones:

1.  Combine channels to layer your marketing message.
Put your web address, or better yet, the URL of a landing page specific to your offer, on your mailpiece. Go a step further and try a personalized URL (PURL). These are individualized landing pages, complete with your recipient's name, and perhaps city, or any other personalized information you have. Use database segmentation to sort your database into precise groups based on demographics and interests and taylor the PURL to your customer for a unique and personalized message.

Offer an incentive, such as a free gift, if they provide their email address and follow up with email messages that are consistent with the look and feel of your mailpiece so that they are familiar to the receipient. William's Sonoma uses address change requests to trigger an email promising a housewarming gift in the mail. Their customer receives a coupon in the mail for money off their next purchase. Of course, their email and the mailed coupon both contain the website in case the customer wants to browse online. Check out how this method paid off for them by reading one consumer's personal experience here.

2.  Make use of consumer purchase data to target your marketing.
Another truism comes to mind when it comes to marketing: Knowledge is Power. Obtaining information about people's buying habits can help determine your target market more specifically. That means you can narrow your marketing from an ocean of consumers to a small pool of people most likely to buy your product, and that will save lots of marketing dollars. Again, it's all about segmenting your data to reach a target market. But how do you know who to target? Ethical or not, lots of companies sell their consumer purchase data for just that purpose. Those product warranty "registration cards" you fill out with your age, income, family size, internet usage, and other information completely non-relevant to the warranty are really just tools to gather information about your buying habits. That info is stored and sold to marketers.

Consumer surveys with a sweepstakes or free gift incentive ask pointed questions about the types of products and offers that consumers respond to. These are more transparent, letting the cosumer know that their information may be sold for marketing purposes, and contain valuable insight for marketers. Experian is one company that culls consumer purchase data and rents it to marketers. Data from catalog subscribers can also be a valuable source of leads. This site contains some suggestions for targeted marketing to catalog subscribers: listsformarketing.com.

3.  Market to a younger generation.
In the US, the second most receptive demographic to direct mail are 15 to 24 year olds. These shoppers are likely to go to a website they are directed to from a mailpiece. What kind of things are they buying? Things they have to have, like car insurance, and things they'd like to have, like car loans and credit cards. Of course, they are also big purchasers of trendy items like band T-shirts, clothing, electronics, and phone accessories. The listsformarketing site has some good ideas for list sources for these younger consumers, such as Abercrombie and Fitch and Alloy catalog subscribers.

4.  Try a little humor in your message.
You have to be careful with this one, since what's funny to one person can fly completely over another's head, or worse, be offensive. But this article on using personalized cartoons in marketing got me to thinking. If you sell vitamins or weight loss products, for instance, what if you included a cartoon in your mailpiece that featured the recipient's name? Striving to be healthier, have more energy, lose weight, or fight off aging are shared human experiences and the reason comics and cartoons appeal to people is because they poke fun at common experiences. People relate to them. If you can make your recipient smile, then you've made that emotional connection that is critical to the decision to purchase. The cartoon would have to be funny, (what, I'm still not sure, but that's the cartoonist's job!) but if it's memorable enough, it would be something your recipient would save, leaving your product information in front of them for longer than a few seconds. It might be something interesting to test.

If you have some new marketing ideas for the new year that you'd like to share, please comment and let us know. Or if you have questions about how Atlantis can help you with your 2012 marketing strategy, or a new idea, we're happy to talk to you. Email us at news@dmisoft.com.

Add comment

Name (required)

E-mail

Website

Notify me of follow-up comments

Refresh

Send

Cancel