A mailshot is an effective way of marketing to your customers in a way which is clear, efficient and cost-effective.
Despite being a time-honoured and traditional means of marketing, a mailshot is still one of the most popular means of communication with customers who describe preferring to receive a tangible piece of mail rather than an electronic message.
However, there are some steps you can take to help your mailshot marketing campaign be a real success; here are a few practical considerations.
Research has repeatedly shown that mailshots are received well by customers who prefer receiving information via this channel more than more modern methods such as email.
When taken in isolation mailshots produce far superior results compared to email, and time and again demonstrate a far better level of engagement.
However if you want to really achieve the best possible ROI, combining your mailshot with other types of communication can make your campaign really successful.
When asked in a survey, a mailshot was found to be one of the most memorable methods of marketing. However when combined with either a radio or TV advertisement, the results were even more long-lasting.
Having direct mail to support other types of marketing has shown to be an extremely effective way of reinforcing the method and making sure the customer really gets the message.
Although a mailshot is often chosen as the preferred method of communication, there still remains the difficult issue of personalisation. If you’re not set up for bulk printing this job can seem almost impossible, squeezing both practical resources and staffing levels.
Personalisation can take lots of different forms, starting with simply adding individual names and addresses rather than leaving mail without a named greeting, or worse, something generic. The majority of householders indicated that they had a strong preference for receiving personalised mail so it’s something worth taking seriously.
In addition to changing the names and addresses, you can tailor the content of your mailshot to take into account previous preferences. This may require you to print your mailshot in sections, but means that your recommendations or information that you supply will be more relevant to the customer.
Although mailshots have been around for many decades, the way they are used has evolved and changed.
Rather than simply containing plain text, mailshots can now include the use of the latest printing technology which allows customers to go online to retrieve information or to use coupons or money-off deals.
QR codes can be printed directly within mailshots which can then be used to retrieve further information online.
Near Field Communication (NFC) offers a really exciting way to embed digital technology into a mailshot. The customer just needs to click on the chip contained in the correspondence and information is then stored on their smartphone. When they visit the shop or retail unit they can then retrieve the data to qualify for special discounts and offers, as well as being able to access information. This allows the mailshot to be targeted directly towards the customer’s specific needs and past history.
Another option is augmented reality which similar to NFC fuses state of the art technology and traditional methods. The customer only needs to hover over the image contained within the mailshot before seeing it brought more fully to life using their digital device.
Successful marketing is all about ROI and every good campaign needs to balance expenditure against the potential gains.
Direct mail offers a superior ROI compared to other channels, but it’s possible to enhance this even further by carrying out a data cleansing exercise prior to the campaign.
The cost for direct mail can be driven up unnecessarily by including individuals who are deceased as well as those who have moved address. Millions of individuals move house every year so if you don’t check your records regularly, you could be wasting your time and your marketing budget sending a mailshot out to individuals who no longer live there.
Data cleansing can help you to save money on your mailshot marketing campaign, but will also ensure that you get far more accurate statistics, thus allowing you to complete a more precise analysis. This is critical in order to help plan future campaigns more effectively.
Here at Baker Goodchild we can help with everything from data cleansing to print management, and can organise as much or as little of your mailshot marketing campaign as you would like. Get in touch with us today and find out how much you could save without having to compromise on quality.
