In the marketing
world, it’s common to be inundated with notifications about the
so-called-next-big-thing. Every day, there’s a new social media app, a new
digital fad and a new startup with a name ending in “-ly”. So, imagine my
surprise when I noticed an email from Canada Post, calling on brands to
consider reverting to good old-fashioned snail mail marketing.
I have to say, it
reminded me a little of text messages I would get from my parents while I was
in college, letting me know the house was feeling a little empty and to maybe
consider coming home for Thanksgiving.
At Sherpa, digital is
our bread and butter. A lot of the value we bring to our clients is thanks to
our company-wide obsession with jumping on new digital trends and analyzing results
to the finest detail to optimize our efforts. But even as “plugged-in” as we
are, we still do our fair share of strategic direct mail campaigns.
The keyword there is
“strategic”. In fact, the keyword for any kind of marketing effort is
“strategic”, and that means different things for different media. In the
showdown between direct mail and e-blast marketing, there is no undisputed
winner. The winner depends on your specific objectives. Review the following
tips to see which one makes sense for your brand’s goal.
Money is Money
Every transaction,
from your morning coffee to your daily commute, starts with a cost-benefit
analysis. Stick with my usual $2 cuppa joe or splurge on the $5 autumnal latte?
Jump in the car and fight for parking or call a cab and coast?
With both e-blasts and
direct mail, there is a way to do it cheaply, and a way to do it well. The two
seldom co-exist. Direct mail comes with the unescapable costs of bulk shipping
and materials. The choices you make in terms of what you produce directly
impact the effectiveness of the tactic, as well as the cost of your investment.
Generally, your goal
should always be to appeal to your target’s senses and sensibilities. Will you
send them a blank white envelope with your call-to-action printed in Times New
Roman on Xerox paper, or invest in higher-quality materials and a designer’s
touch? It’s true that people like receiving letters more than emails, but
that’s only because they’re highly personalized. If your direct mailer arrives
at its destination camouflaged between bills and flyers, you might as well be
writing a letter to your local waste management professional.
...And Money Talks
The same principle
applies for e-blasts, but your up-front investment is infinitely easier to manage
since the costs stay pretty much the same whether your audience is 10 or 10,000
people. For the cost of a few hours of a talented designer’s time, it’s
possible to create a
beautiful and compelling message. Your
challenge, however, is enticing your audience to read it. The keys to an
attention-grabbing subject line are based in psychology, so you really need to
consider how your audience consumes information and speak to their interests.
Fashion and cosmetic
brands Fashion Nova and ColourPop have had huge success producing e-blasts that
their customers want to open. If you have a look at their typical daily emails,
the subject lines are littered with slang and emojis. Inside, the graphics and
copy glow with a carefree, youthful energy. But make no mistake—just like Elle
Woods, this is seriously smart strategy disguised with furry stilettos and
pearlescent lip balm. These brands work overtime listening to their audience on
social media, learning how they talk, what styles they like, the colours they
love and the other brands and influencers they follow. Their e-blast strategy
works because they’ve used social listening both to develop products their
audience want and tell them about it in their own language.
Be Goal-Oriented
So, let’s say you’ve
done the heavy lifting and you’ve got a perfect direct mail piece hot off the
printer. Who are you sending it to? The only wrong answer to this question is
“everyone”. The worst thing you can do is negate all the conversions you get
from your tactic with explosive production and shipping costs, not to mention
the environmental impact. For a successful direct mail campaign, it’s
incredibly important to use
goal-oriented targeting for your recipients.
At Sherpa, we
painstakingly examine which postal codes fit the demographic for our clients’
target audiences. A flyer for canola seed looks a bit out of place on the
granite countertops in your kid nephew’s downtown bachelor pad. Avoid the
temptation to believe your recipients will pass on your flyer to a more
appropriate audience. Remember that cost-benefit analysis also extends to
people’s energy, and if the effort required to act exceeds the offer’s value to
that person, you can count on poor results. That’s why we Sherpas strongly
value the principle of delivering the RIGHT message, to the RIGHT person, at
the RIGHT time.
Set Yourself Up for Success
Even though e-blasts
don’t come with the same budgetary restraints, you are generally competing with
a much fuller mailbox than the analog kind. A common trap is to send every
e-mail address you acquire every piece of communication you produce. You don’t
want to be the business who cried wolf, where your audience misses messages
that apply to them because they’ve learned to filter out the ones that don’t.
Set yourself up to
avoid this pitfall by strategizing where you’re pulling those emails. If you
engage in e-commerce, the order confirmation system is chock full of useful
information about your customers’ purchasing trends. If you’ve been shipping
Sally Hotmail two cases of cat food per month, she might want to hear about
your rewards program, or your sale on pet stain remover. On the other hand, if
you’ve been shipping Ricardo Gmail a monthly copy of Aquarium magazine and a
can of fish pellets, he may have marked you as a Junk sender after your tenth offer
for BOGO freeze-dried sardines.
Also, Be Attractive
I don’t mean that way,
but don’t worry, darling—you sparkle. When it comes to messaging, whether you
go snail mail or email, make it good. Use language that gets to the point of
why your offer is the bomb-dot-com. Sound excited. Look alive. Energy attracts
energy, and people are easily influenced by messages that are confident and
cheerful. Think of your communication as an invitation. Personally, I’m
unlikely to RSVP if the invite seems lukewarm. Your race isn’t against your
brand’s competitors in this game, it’s against the other fifty senders
wrestling for attention. Step in the ring with your most brilliant,
lovingly-crafted luchador suit and
steal the show.
Good Luck!
Whichever medium you
choose, always mix with equal parts strategy, planning and pizzazz. If you’re
feeling out of your element with these complex marketing terms, like
“targeting” and “luchador”, don’t be
shy. Shoot us an email. No pearlescent lip balm required.
Thanks for reading!
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