Think Like a Marketer by Kate Colbert

Author:Kate Colbert [Colbert, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silver Tree Publishing
Published: 2019-06-16T04:00:00+00:00

Don’t Forget the “Tried and True” Tactics: Direct Mail as a Case in Point

I’d like to delve into one type of marketing tactic to demonstrate the quality of thought and planning that should go into your selection and execution of marketing tactics in general. Let’s talk about direct mail — the letters, brochures, flyers, postcards, catalogs, booklets and even gift baskets that brands produce and ship straight to a prospect or customer’s home or office. This chapter is all about trying new things when it comes to marketing tactics, and direct mail is an interesting case in point because it’s a tried-and-true, old-fashioned marketing tactic that might still be a new approach for you.

Direct Mail is Anything But Dead

If you could invest your marketing budget in a tactic that would yield a return on investment (ROI) of 1,245%, you would. And if you could get your customers to spend 28% more with your company, of course, you would. Because you’re a smart professional (and a newly minted Think Like a Marketer acolyte!), and you are dedicated to generating profitable growth.

So, why aren’t you executing smart, targeted direct mail campaigns for your brands?

Wait … let me guess. Because “direct mail is dead.” It’s not trendy anymore. Digital advertising seems so much more measurable, and it’s what your CEO wants you to focus on. Your colleagues consider digital advertising “free” (because the volume of email deployments you generate don’t hit an expense budget per se), but what’s the price of having customers opt out when they feel they are being pummeled with digital messages?

I’ve heard it all before from the biggest brands and the smartest marketers, founders and C-suite leaders. But I’m telling you that direct mail is anything but dead; that the advent of innovative and effective channels like social media advertising and retargeting (i.e., automatically serving up ads — here, there and everywhere — about your company to people who have visited your website) does not excuse you from executing tried-and-true tactics like direct mail. The savviest marketers and most successful companies are eating your lunch when it comes to direct mail strategy.

Direct mail, despite it not being new or particularly “high tech,” is a tactic that generates huge results for individuals and corporations that use it effectively. A few tidbits on direct mail results:

1,245% ROI. According to our friends at Modern Postcard (a firm we use for a great deal of our printing needs), each dollar spent on direct mail yields, on average, a return on investment of $12.45. Compare this to the average ROI of non-direct-mail advertising, which is typically $5.29. So, when executed well, direct mail can produce more than double the results produced by some of your other marketing tactics. For some companies, a doubling of results might mean millions in sales, hundreds or thousands of new customers or clients, or significant gains in their stock price. Yet, some of the hardest working marketing leaders in America are dismissing direct mail as “too expensive,” “passé,” or “not efficient enough.

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