by Randy Hardy
As I’ve noted my recent posts, most marketers try to reach their target audience by using multiple marketing channels to get their message through. And while new channels such as mobile and social media are getting a lot of attention, recent studies show that print continues to play an important role in the marketing mix.
A current survey conducted by Woodwing Software points out that 60 % of industry experts like marketers, publishers, and advertisers prefer a cross media mix to create their campaigns.
Interestingly, the Woodwing study also found that 21.6 % of the participants say that print is the most important channel for communications. Internet (5.6 %) and mobile devices (4.8 %) are not considered to be as important as the “classic” print channel.
Similar results can be seen from the consumer’s point of view in research done by the DMA. In that survey, 51 % of the participants say they prefer direct mail as the channel for receiving marketing from local shops or banks.
But even when print is preferred, marketers still must find ways to get their message through. They need to create print campaigns that create an emotional connection, provide information, and generate good response rates.
How to do all that in a print direct mail campaign? Personalize it! As 74 % of the participants in the DMA research tell us, personalization is the best to way to increase response rates in your campaign. Best of all, adding personalization doesn’t have to be difficult to be effective.
Let’s say you want to use a print campaign to promote a company’s branch offices to an audience living within close reach of these branches. First of all, you should address each recipient directly, integrating his or her name into the mail piece. You can also include a personalized image such as a personalized map to provide add an eye-catching element to the campaign.
Furthermore, your direct marketing effort can include vouchers or discounts the recipient can redeem in one of the advertised branches. Incentives such as these are easy to include in a print campaign, and provide a good incentive for the recipient to respond.
Including this type of personalization creates an emotional connection with the client that can lead to better engagement; better engagement leads to better sales. And no matter what channel you are using, better sales are what marketing is all about.
Randy Hardy is the North American Representative for locr, the world’s leading provider of personalized maps and geolocation services. He also serves as Chairman of the Xplor Association Board of Directors and was the Chair of the 2013 Xplor User Conference and Vendor Forum. He can be reached at us@locr.com. More information about locr can be found at www.maps.locr.com.
Connect with locr on Twitter @locrmaps and at these upcoming events:
2014 Dscoop Annual Conference March 6 – 8, 2014 Orlando, Florida USA.
You can visit the locr team at Ruby Partner Pavillion.
Xploration 14 March 25 – 27, 2014 Orlando, Florida, USA
You can visit the locr team at booth #119
Cross Media Production (IPEX) March 25 – 27, 2014 London, UK
You can visit the locr team at booth #C50, 4th floor, Maple House
PODi AppForum 2014 March 31 – April 2, 2014 Las Vegas, Nevada USA
One Response
A very informative blog post, Randy! I’ve found that, in regards to personalization, it also helps to put people into groups. For example, a company could put out a survey asking questions about issues companies are facing or things they would like help with. Then they can be grouped according to their answers and their mail personalized with ideas that will best help them.