When email came around, a lot of people thought, “Wow, is direct mail dead?” Now, it’s a fact that direct mail took a little bit of a hit when some of the virtual methods came around. But in my opinion, it's actually a benefit to direct mail because mailboxes aren't as full as they used to be. And frankly, for many people, especially during the pandemic, the highlight of their day is going to their mailbox and seeing what in the world they got in there. Here are some things you should pay attention to in order to ensure direct mail is working for you.
1. Build a Targeted Approach
You must have a targeted approach with direct mail. For example, you can use direct mail to target unsold leads. Many of us have experienced price increases during the past 18 months, so why not let these 1,462 unsold leads that the price is going up here soon if they're still in the market for a project and that now may be a good time to act. You can also use direct mail with your past customers. In your CRM, you can track what other types of projects the customer may need or want and send them direct mail related to those projects to keep your company top of mind.
2. Use a Smart Tech with Direct Mail
In MarketSharp, we have a feature called Smart Mail Plus. When you sell a job, the feature finds the closest 50-150 homes in the neighborhood and sends a direct mail piece a day or two after the project is completed through geotechnology. The postcard directs them to a website that's created that has a picture of the job you just finished and perhaps a quote from the homeowners. It’s really cool how some of the older technology direct mail marketing works so well when it's coupled with some of the newer tech that is out there.
3. Leverage Direct Mail to Connect With Clients, Relieve Inboxes
I can't say direct mail will never be obsolete, but I don't think it's going to happen anytime soon. Some consumers actually prefer being communicated with via direct mail over things like email because they can touch it, and it's not as irritating as having their inbox full of 500 emails in the last week. Direct mail has staying power for quite a long time. If you don't have direct mail as part of your marketing mix, you just might want to allocate a little bit of your budget to direct mail and see if you can learn some of these targeted approaches.