Stone Age Marketing in the 21st Century: Direct Mail

A great deal of research has gone into showing that word of mouth is still and always will be the primary method of getting the word out about your business or products. However, entrepreneurs in the 21st century are now becoming more creative than ever in their quest to market to target audiences, due to the opportunities to utilize a variety of social media and e-marketing outlets.

Many will assume that with the new wave of the century, direct mail marketing no longer has any relevance and does not produce effective direct mail solutions. While this may be true in some instances, it will all depend on a few key factors:

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1. Target Audience: Who are you trying to reach? This will make a tremendous difference in the way that you send out information. If your audience is a crowd that does not typically use email or internet, then it is not best to ask them to go online to enroll in order to receive special offers. If on the other end, your audience, for example, is a group that may potentially use the internet and/or even social media, it is a good idea to offer special perks for logging on to a specific site or social media outlet to receive a discount or incentive for their efforts.

You could even include a small 2-3 multiple choice questionnaire to gauge their preferences better for future mailings. Knowing your audience will save you time and money in the long run.

2. Design and Layout: In order to obtain effective direct mail solutions regardless of what audience it is being sent to, does the mailing capture the individuals attention? Is it interesting? Is it easy to read and understand? These are questions that are always necessary and will directly affect the outcome of whether one will immediately consider it junk mail or relevant.

3. Frequency: If this is the only means to how a specific target audience receives their information about your business or product, remember that more is not always better. The goal is to simply have your product or business in their mind when convenient for them to utilize your specific services. Therefore, be strategic about how often you send things out. While it may work to send out mailings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for example, every month, think about the uniqueness of your business and the timing of when the customer may be more willing to become a buyer. With so many people being bombarded by junk mail and “spam” these days, this is one of the most essential things to remember when utilizing direct mail marketing in the 21st Century.

To sum it up, direct mail marketing can still have relevance in today’s digital society as long as the three key factors mentioned above are taking into serious consideration and application. It is also imperative as an entrepreneur to never forget to measure the success rate of whether something is working for your business of not. Follow-up and follow-through, will help you to determine if its the right fit for you in achieving your strategic goals.

This post comes from Aew, a recent MBA graduate and marketing professional. She has been experimenting with both email marketing and direct mail marketing, employing the services of SEMA Group. She had found that traditional marketing techniques still have a place in the fast moving world of digital marketing, and intends to continue with direct mail in some form or another for a while to come.