The holiday season is a busy time in the marketing world! Consumers are constantly looking for items to buy and sales to shop, so it’s essential that your marketing message stands out.
With today’s technology, many marketers are focusing on digital marketing efforts. While digital solutions are effective with the rise of social media, it’s important not to forget about target direct mail marketing.
According to a study done by Epsilon, direct mail influences holiday purchases for 77 percent of shoppers. This means that targeted direct mail has a high chance of increasing brand awareness and sales.
Build long-lasting customer relationships and generate holiday buzz by implementing a targeted direct mail campaign today.
Here are 5 targeted direct mail strategies for holiday marketing:
1. Create over-sized direct mail
During this exciting time of year, making your business stand out is everything! Sending out over-sized direct mail to your target audience can be a game-changer for your marketing goals.
Plenty of competitors in the community might be sending out postcards, but sending larger ones will draw attention to yours.
In addition to sizing, make sure you use fun colors and eye-catching graphics. You can also add texture to your mailing to make it stand out.
Welcomemat’s Perfect Match Postcards are great for your marketing needs. Our jumbo mailings are trackable and unique to your brand.
2. Target the best audience for your business
It’s important to target the right customers. Knowing who to gear your sales and messages toward is extremely important. You should have an idea of the audience or geographic area you want to focus on. This will increase your chances of a response.
If you already have a list of loyal customers, aim your marketing toward them. This is a nice way to show your current customers that you care and appreciate them.
Editing your messaging to apply to these customers reinforces your brand’s reputation and continues to build lasting relationships.
Reaching out to customers who have already shopped with you can increase your business’ ROI. If a customer has a good experience somewhere they will most likely return, especially if there is some sort of incentive.
If you have a specific audience in mind but need help with the targeting, we have a solution for you! Welcomemat’s highly segmented Perfect Match Postcard Program can help you reach the right customers with targeted and trackable postcards.
Using 15+ years of proprietary data, our program offers complimentary customization and premium selection options. If your business wants to reach a specific demographic, it can do so by selecting the consumers’ gender, income and age.
Our premium selections go a step further than most direct mail companies, allowing you to choose options such as political party, pet interest, presence of children, education level, marital status and more.
If your business is interested in growing its customer base with new consumers in the neighborhood, our New Mover Marketing Program is also a great targeted direct mail marketing solution.
Welcomemat’s trackable and cost-effective direct mail strategies can help your business thrive this holiday season and all year long!
3. Get the messaging right
Your mailing should be attention-grabbing, yet thoughtful. Targeted direct mail allows businesses to reach their customers on a more personalized level, so make sure your messaging does just that.
It’s important that your message is compelling and personal. This builds trust and credibility within the community. Make sure your text is professional, fun, on-brand, festive and colorful.
Using holiday colors in the text can make your mail piece stand out among other mail and competitors. If you want your customer to keep your mailing on the counter or hang it on the fridge for future use, make it eye-catching!
Make sure the messaging is emphasized and has a call to action, such as, “SHOP NOW, FREE, ON SALE, BEST DEAL!”
In addition to bold words, create an emotion-driven mail piece. Consumers act on impulse and mood, so make sure your mailing is sentimental.
For example, you can give back to the community this holiday season by offering a percentage of proceeds to a local charity. It’s a great way to give back, and it also reinforces your brand’s reputation.
4. Combine digital and targeted direct mail marketing
Utilizing targeted direct mail and digital marketing at the same time is important to get your message out. People are more likely to act on something if they see it more than once. Therefore, blending both direct mail and digital channels is a great way to increase your response rate.
Using both strategies can increase brand awareness and help you reach your intended customers. Some consumers are more receptive to email than mail. If you fail to use both platforms, you are missing out on customers who prefer one over the other.
Sending an email with the same information and more is sure to increase response rate. Adding links that redirect the recipient to your website can increase exposure and foot traffic into your business.
5. Advertise for post-holiday shopping
According to the National Retail Federation, more than two-thirds (68%) of holiday shoppers say they plan to continue browsing and buying in the week after December 25, and more than three-quarters (77%) say they are likely to make additional purchases at a retailer or brand while they’re processing a return.
Many businesses forget to focus on post-holiday marketing. This is a huge mistake because countless shoppers go back to stores after the holidays are over to exchange or return gifts.
Customers are also eager to spend the gift cards they received during the holiday, so the days after Christmas are extremely important for any business.
Having deals and promotions after the holidays can bring customers in to spend even more. Continuing to build relationships by having returning customers come in is a major marketing goal.
New Year marketing is also a great way to encourage new customers to visit your local business. Send out a mailing that offers a free gift with purchase or provide a percentage off of the total.
Get in touch with us today for help with your targeted direct mail marketing!
