As the year comes to a close and marketers everywhere are working diligently to put a bow on their 2023 strategic plans, how much confidence do you have in your ability to connect with your target market and increase response rates?
Some Questions to Ask Yourself
Has your team identified the right channel mix for 2023? Are you leveraging your data to reach the prospects most likely to respond? Do you have the right content? Is your messaging compelling enough that the end recipient will take notice and allow you to convert that lead?
Everyone talks about the importance of the right content, at the right time, through the right channels.
But as a marketer, if you are creating content you arbitrarily believe your customer base might be interested in and pushing it out to a mass audience through your standard channels, you may want to take a deeper dive.
Digital channels have provided us great reach, with the ability to communicate to broad audiences at reasonable rates. But what do you really know about the people you are reaching, and are you developing any long-term allegiance?
Customers are savvy. They are brand loyalists. They want to feel valued and recognized by the companies they choose to patronize with their hard-earned dollars. The volatility with the current economy, increased prices in the marketplace, and elevated interest rates have impacted people’s spending power, and forced many to make difficult decisions in their spending habits. This impacts organizations as well as individuals.
Know Your Audience
This is where the importance of data and analytics comes into play. It’s not just about blanketing the universe with the messaging your organization wants to share, but understanding who you are speaking to, and what is most relevant to them. Understanding your data and using it appropriately is critical to increasing response rates. Segment your customers into smaller subsets based on demographic, behavioral, psychographic, and geographic information.
Understand How It Resonates
Consider what will truly be compelling to the audience(s) you are looking to reach. Astute consumers want to feel connected, seen, and appreciated by the brands they interact with. If you’ve spent time focusing on audience segmentation, consider how these various groups will respond differently to your message. To increase response rates, it’s critical to understand what type of offer or Call-to-Action (CTA) will motivate each group to respond.
Direct Mail Combats Digital Clutter to Increase Response Rates
As a marketer, you’ve heard over and over the importance of having a content marketing plan. But it’s not just about having a wealth of content that you want to push out to the world. Rather, ask yourself: do you have content relevant to your customers, content compelling enough to capture their attention? With so many digital channels pushing thousands of digital ads at consumers every day, your message may be getting lost in the shuffle, and you may want to consider direct mail. Adding direct mail to your media mix helps marketers break through the digital clutter to stand out and increase response rates. And it offers a great opportunity to add a personal touch.
Personalize, Personalize, Personalize
Once you have their attention, look for every opportunity to show your customers and prospects you know who they are, and what is important to them. The good news is consumers feel direct mail is more personal. According to the USPS, 69% of people find mail more personal than being bombarded by content served up via the internet. Advances in digital printing expand the ability to truly customize direct mail packages in a way that captures the recipient’s attention and allows for personalized messaging to drive response.
At IWCO Direct, our team has perfected the craft of leveraging all of our proprietary tools to provide our clients with direct mail packages that trigger action and provide a profitable Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI). And when combined with email and digital channels in a fully integrated marketing campaign supported by the right data sources and analytics, direct mail can make your 2023 marketing dollars work harder for your organization.
Need assistance putting together a multichannel marketing plan that drives response? Contact us. We’re here to help.
