Do you know how many emails are estimated to be sent every day? 293 billion! So do you want to compete in that noisy, crowded space, or would it be smarter to rely on old faithfuls to help you be heard?
In an age where so much is digital it’s easy to overlook traditional marketing channels like print. Direct mail can be dismissed as old-fashioned, but we think that’s foolish, especially now, when many people are at home.
Lockdown has created an audience who are ready and waiting for your message to drop through the door. In the age of Zoom calls and Microsoft teams, people may well be craving more analogue means of communication as an escape from screen time.
When you think about all those emails flying about in cyber space, it’s no surprise that many marketing messages can get lost or drowned out. By contrast, mail quite literally puts your brand in your potential customers’ hands.
Print stimulates the senses in ways other channels can’t, combining sight, smell, touch, sound and even taste to create a beautifully evocative brand experience. This helps your audience connect with your brand in an emotive way, making mail the more memorable medium.
Research backs this up. Personally addressed direct mail has a 96% engagement rate and makes consumers 35% more likely to purchase your product.
Print also has greater longevity. JICMAIL data shows 56% of mailed marketing materials will remain in the home 28 days after delivery. Its physical presence in the home makes it more likely to be read and re-read, as well as seen by other household members. An email can quickly get buried, pushed down by the avalanche of communications we all receive daily. It may have received a cursory glance during a busy day, but then it’s quickly forgotten or deleted.
Print as a way to build trust
In a world where phishing is rife, there’s also a big trust barrier to overcome. People are wise to online dangers, and any email that was not expected, or appears potentially fraudulent, will be deleted without ever being opened. Or it could be screened out by email filters, never actually making it into the inbox of the intended recipient. Mail by contrast is more trusted, and 70% of consumers say it makes them feel valued.
That’s not to say there isn’t a place for digital marketing, far from it. Campaigns work best when there are multiple opportunities to see consistent brand messages – on printed literature, email campaigns, social, and outdoor advertising.
The best of both worlds
New technology also means digital tools can take printed materials to a whole new level. You can use QR codes or even augmented reality in clever print pieces, and messages in print can help push traffic to your website too.
Automated marketing campaign platforms can help marketers deliver a multi-channel campaign at the touch of a button, delivering coordinated online and offline elements simultaneously. Sounds easy doesn’t it? But there’s a lot of campaign planning and market segmentation required beforehand to make a campaign land well. Could lockdown be the ideal time to review your marketing strategy?
While everyone is at home, dreaming of a life after lockdown, when we can shop, go on holiday, and socialise again, there is pent up consumer demand waiting to be unleashed. (Mike wrote about this in his recent LinkedIn article.) Are you using all the channels available to you, including print, to maximise this huge opportunity? If not, now is the perfect time to bring print into the mix, build trust in your brand and get ahead of the competition.
So, what are you waiting for? Give one of the friendly PMG team a call to make the most of the time you have now. Getting your print campaign ready to go well before you need it means you can move quickly when the time comes. Let’s get cracking!
