Sales Strategy
Harnessing the Power of Retail Direct Mail for Optimal Growth in 2023 July 18, 2023 (0 comments)
Philadelphia, PA--For over a century, dating back to 1872 with Aaron Montgomery Ward's ground-breaking mail-order venture, the retail sphere has experienced the impact of direct mail. This humble one-page 'catalog' sparked an evolution in retail marketing that is still influential today, with 76% of retailers leveraging mail marketing to bolster new and returning customer purchases.
[Image via Creative Commons]
According to an article published by Total Retail, the rising costs of digital advertising prompt more retail brands to elevate their mail investment. Direct mail is a powerful tool to deliver personalized, relevant messages to consumers, akin to top-performing digital channels. Indeed, 2023's path to success entails improving customer experience and fostering continued engagement.
The article noted that while established retailers have successfully utilized mail marketing for years, innovation and evolution should be considered. Retailers should harness and adapt various direct mail strategies to leave a lasting impression on their audience and boost performance.
In this highly tangible medium, even the physical handling of a mail piece can command attention and influence consumers' purchasing choices. Although regular mail dispatches can enhance sales performance, optimization for scale requires continuous experimentation and refinement of targeting, creative, and offer strategies.
The article highlighted that effective retail direct mail targeting entails exploring fresh data modeling approaches and data sources to meet campaign objectives. Custom models that rely on quality offline data sources and first-party customer data can reveal and engage more prospects. Geographical targeting within defined areas and carrier route targeting can offer cost-effective ways to reach similar demographic groups and save on postage.
The challenge of data append and retrieval, preparation, and modeling can strain many in-house marketing teams. However, a partnership with a direct marketing agency can enhance quality during data processing and integration, which is crucial for campaign performance.
As per the article, for creative strategies, it's critical to design mailers that are engaging, informative, and strategy-aligned. The size of a mailer plays a key role in campaign success, with smaller postcards often performing better. Other creative strategies could include tracking methods, such as promos, coupons, and QR codes integrated with point-of-purchase systems.
The goal of the campaign defines the offer strategies. Whether aiming to drive traffic, generate sales, introduce a new location, or boost brand awareness, offers should incentivize desired behaviors and feel exclusive to the direct mail audience.
Direct mail continues to prove a powerful tool for retailers to increase sales and customer loyalty. Regular testing is critical to securing reliable results. Retailers can effectively optimize their direct mail campaigns by testing offers, refining targeting, and improving creative strategies.
Learn more in the entire Total Retail article.