BHP Printing Blog

In business, every bit of marketing helps and every cent saved helps even more. When you are considering direct mail postcards, mailing printed brochures or mailing catalogs, don’t partake in the endeavor on your own.

With the technology in office printers, many small and medium sized businesses believe that they can create their marketing materials in house and mail them with purchased mailing lists. But from a budgetary standpoint this is not a good idea.

Professional printers understand how marketing materials should be developed. When you use a printing company for your marketing materials, you will get a better response, because they are more professional and they are designed right.

Professional printers also have mailing services that cut the cost of postage significantly. At Blue Hill Press, our in-house mailing department, CASS certifies your mailing list and applies bar-coded addresses, so you get the lowest postage rate for automated mailing.

If you don’t have a mailing list, don’t buy a generic, expensive list. Blue Hill Press can provide a mailing list for you based on your specific demographic parameters.

The costs involved with selling to an established customer is usually much lower than that of selling to a first-time customer. So, while direct mail is a powerful tool for acquiring customers, direct mail can also build customer loyalty.

Direct mail marketing strategies for building customer loyalty

Loyalty, means retaining and growing customers. Here are some strategies for attaining customer loyalty:

Use direct mail marketing to target your most-profitable customers. Send them special offers or discounts. Introduce new test items to them first. With tracking, you’ll soon learn which are your most frequent and profitable customers. Focusing on keeping and growing best customers is more affordable, and is likely to earn a greater return, than blanketing all customers.

Surprise and delight. Unexpected touches can work wonders. A simple thank-you note in the mail, for instance, is powerful. You increase that power by ensuring that it doesn’t look mass produced, through variable data printing.

Give special privileges. According special privileges is a proven way to enhance feelings of loyalty, often with greater effect than giving away freebies. That’s because, whether they admit it or not, most people love having a privilege when they know that others don’t have it.

Offer reward cards. Direct Mail reward cards track purchases until the customer has earned a freebie. If you use reward cards, however, track carefully. Sometimes instead of increasing frequency and loyalty, they simply lead to giving away what you might have sold anyway, and at full price.

A good loyalty program pays for itself. For help creating and printing your Direct Mail Piece, contact Blue Hill Press.

Deliver Magazine

• 98% of Americans bring in their mail the day it is delivered and 77% of those people sort through it immediately.

• 15% of consumers receiving a catalog and 12% of consumers receiving a letter, direct mail postcard or flyer from a company made a purchase on that company’s website.

• According to a survey of 6,400 online shoppers, households receiving print catalogs shop online more often and spend more meaningful time at retail websites. The results were confirmed regardless of age, income level, region or education level of the respondents.

• On average, those who receive at least a catalog spend 28% more and buy 28% more items than those who do not receive a catalog.

• Direct order B2B direct mail sales are projected to increase 5.3% over the next 3 years.  B2C purchases are forecast to grow by 7.2% and lead generation will increase by 5.2%.

• In 2010, catalogs had the lowest cost per lead.

Don’t believe the myth that Direct Mail Marketing does not produce. The statistics above prove the exact opposite. When direct mail, catalogs and flyers are done correctly, the results can bring an immense ROI to your business. For help in designing, printing and mailing the perfect marketing piece for your business, contact Blue Hill Press.