BHP Printing Blog

Is your business still not taking advantage of the power of direct mail? Recent marketing surveys show the impact direct mail plays in the multi-media marketing mix.

The first study analyzed the performance of 260 marketing campaigns across all industry sectors. It found that combining direct mail with other channels increases campaign payback by up to 20%. The study also revealed that online and outdoor marketing channels achieved the highest rates of success when integrated with direct mail.

The second study found that nearly half of consumers then visit a company’s website because of direct mail they received. The survey found that 47% of consumers visited a website after receiving a promotional direct mail piece. The figure rises to 53 % for the 18-to-24 age group.

All of this should make the case for direct mail marketing. The findings certainly show that direct mail is still a powerful tool. Direct mailers play a pivotal role in any business’s efforts to contact consumers despite the increasing use of e-mail and regardless of how consumers make the purchase.

For information and assistance creating and printing an informative and creative direct mail piece, contact Blue Hill  Press.

Trish Witkowski is a marketing expert who teaches business owners about the many distinct and creative ways that they can bend, seal, crease and deliver their direct mailer.

“If you can pique someone’s interest with direct mail, you’re one step closer to getting a higher response rate and a bigger return on your investment,” Witkowski explains.

“You want the best chance to get the attention of the recipient and folding is one component that is underutilized. So many creative things can be done with direct mail, and I don’t think we, as an industry, are taking advantage of the opportunity.”

With Direct Mail an intricate fold or creative bend can make your next marketing piece all the more effective.

(click on images to enlarge)

In the next few weeks your business will be printing their holiday greeting cards. Your greeting cards can be personal and specific. With variable data printing each greeting can be personalized with your clients name. Your greeting’s image can even be holiday specific if necessary with variable image printing.

Show your customers or potential customers that you are thinking of them this holiday season. But with direct mail greetings, save your business time and effort. No more shopping for the ideal, yet generic holiday greeting, and no more hand addressing hundreds of cards.

Holiday direct mail marketing can serve two or more purposes. Inform potential clients or customers of your goods and services through direct mail and wish them a happy holiday season.

Direct mail postcards can help you promote your business easily, effectively and affordably. But to capitalize on these benefits, you need a reliable and efficient program in place. That's where Blue Hill Press postcard printing services come into the picture.

These days your potential customers are bombarded with messages. With e-mail, texting, connecting on social networking sites, hundreds of television channels, viewing online videos and listening to satellite radio, they see hundreds of product messages a day.

Marketers should understand that all mediums can work with direct mail in new and interesting ways that get results. By taking advantage of diversified channels, you can add impact, build engagement and strengthen your database.

For instance, catalogs drive more traffic to your websites and increases the amount people spend when they get there.

Likewise, you can use direct mail marketing to promote an upcoming store event. For a bigger impact send an e-mail soon after and promote the event on social networking sites. The day of the event, grow your database by gathering information from every attendee, then follow up with a custom direct mail piece to your newly expanded list.

3 ways direct mail integration can help gather customer data

Combining marketing channels can help you capture customer data in other ways, too.

• Direct mail can drive targets to a personalized URL where they can see customized information and fill out a profile.
• Mail and mobile can be combined.
• Social networking followers can be invited to join your mailing list to receive a free product sample or discount.

As your database gets stronger, you will begin to understand how your targets want to communicate with you and which mediums best complement your direct mail efforts.

By keeping the tone, look and feel of your message consistent across multiple media, you’ll also gain increased brand awareness. Contact Blue Hill Press for assistance with your direct mail campaign.

Original article – Deliver Magazine

You know what your brand stands for, now you want to spread the word. Direct mail is a powerful way to deliver a message right to your customers, and to bring more business to you.

Direct mail can strengthen your brand by keeping it visible and generating a response. Put your brand in the hands of your customers and prospects through direct mail.

Direct Mail marketing is also:

• Targeted. Mail lets you selectively target people most likely to respond.
• Personal. You can address your customers by name, speak to them individually and appeal to their interests.
• Flexible. From letters to brochures, there is a wide variety of inexpensive formats you can use for your direct mail campaign.
• Measurable. Mail lets you track the success of your campaign. It’s as simple as counting the inquiries you received or the number of coupons redeemed. By tracking and analyzing your results, you’ll see what’s working and can make adjustments to future mailings if needed.
• Easy. You don’t need a big budget to advertise with the mail. With the right printer who has experience in direct mail printing, you can create an effective and  professional direct mail piece.

Deliver Magazine

Direct mail is one of the most powerful ways to market your products and services, but it is easy to make mistakes and water down the effectivness. Here are 10 problems we often see:

1. Be sure to identify your audience. With mail you can target specific people, so take advantage of that and target the demographics that are most likely to respond.

2. Don’t use a bad mailing list. Sending direct mail marketing to those who don’t match your criteria is a waste of money and can be embarrassing. Blue Hill Press can help you find up-to-date lists that are tailored to your needs.

3. Relying on unclean data. Clean up your in house direct mail lists so you are sure you are not sending mailers to inaccurate addresses, those who are deceased, those who have asked to be taken off your list and people who have moved.

4. Have a compelling offer. Remember this direct mailer needs to motivate people to act. The opposite will happen if you don’t have the right offer. You can change your offer to appeal to different segments.

5. Be personal. Greeting prospect by name creates a personal relationship. This can make your prospects feel like you value them individually and understand their needs and interests.

6. Have a call to action. Be specific on how people can take advantage of your offer. Also, create a sense of urgency so they’ll act fast.

7. Be creative. Your direct mail marketing needs to be engaging and relevant. Professional copywriters and graphic designers can help you best communicate your message.

8. Continuously test. Your campaign can always improve, but you’ll never know how if you don’t conduct small tests of variables like your list, offer, format and colors.

9. Be sure you can track the offer. You need to know how well the marketing piece performed. You can do this with QR codes on coupons and creating a special phone number.

10. Follow-up. Be sure you can quickly fulfill any orders or requests created by your direct mail piece. You don’t want to disappoint new prospects by dropping the ball.

Contact Blue Hill Press for your direct mail piece, we are experts in what works.