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The Power of Personal Connection: Building Customer Relationships Through Direct Mail

The Power of Personal Connection: Building Customer Relationships Through Direct Mail

Businesses today often rely on email marketing, social media, and online advertising to reach their target audience. While these methods have their merits, there’s one traditional yet effective approach that should not be overlooked – direct mail. Yes, that’s right – good old-fashioned snail mail. Modern Mail & Print Solutions of Tampa Bay examines the power of personal connection and how building customer relationships through direct mail can be a game-changer for your business.

1. Tangible Touchpoints

Unlike digital marketing, direct mail provides a tangible touchpoint for your customers. Receiving a physical piece of mail creates a sensory experience that cannot be replicated through an email or a social media post. When customers hold a well-designed and thoughtful direct mail piece in their hands, it conveys a sense of importance and personalization that fosters a deeper emotional connection.

2. Personalization and Customization

With advances in data analytics and printing technology, businesses can now personalize and customize direct mail pieces like never before. Addressing customers by their names, tailoring offers based on their past purchases, or even using variable images based on their preferences can make the recipient feel valued and understood. The effort put into personalization reflects positively on your brand, showing that you care about each customer as an individual.

3. Stand Out in the Digital Noise

We live in a world bombarded with digital advertisements and email clutter. It’s easy for your carefully crafted marketing emails to get lost in the shuffle or end up in the spam folder. Direct mail, on the other hand, cuts through the digital noise, capturing the recipient’s attention in a way that digital marketing cannot. By leveraging this physical medium, you can make a lasting impression on your customers and set your brand apart from the competition.

4. Emotional Impact

Direct mail has the power to evoke emotions in a way that digital marketing often struggles to do. Whether it’s through an aesthetically pleasing design, a heartfelt handwritten note, or a surprise gift, direct mail can tap into the emotional side of customers, creating a memorable experience that fosters loyalty and advocacy. Emotional connections play a crucial role in customer retention and long-term brand loyalty.

5. Enhanced Customer Trust

Building trust is essential for any successful business. Direct mail, when executed thoughtfully, can enhance customer trust by demonstrating authenticity and credibility. The physical nature of direct mail gives customers a sense of security, as they know your brand is real and tangible. Additionally, direct mail is less associated with spam or scams compared to some online marketing methods, which can further boost trust in your brand.

6. Targeted Marketing

Direct mail allows for highly targeted marketing efforts. By using data analytics and customer insights, you can identify the most relevant audience for your direct mail campaigns. Whether it’s a group of loyal customers, high-potential prospects, or individuals who have shown specific interests, targeted direct mail can yield higher response rates and conversion rates.

7. Follow-up and Retention

Direct mail is an effective way to follow up with customers after a purchase, express gratitude for their loyalty, or re-engage with dormant customers. Regularly sending well-crafted direct mail can keep your brand top-of-mind, leading to repeat business and increased customer retention rates.

Modern Mail & Print Solutions

Modern Mail & Print Solutions has provided industry-leading companies in the Tampa Bay area with the premiere direct marketing services for decades. We are their One-Stop-Shop for all their Direct Mail Marketing needs. We use our knowledge, experience and expertise to create and deliver high-impact marketing communications. From Graphic Design to Digital Printing a Fully-Complete Marketing Piece, we will take care of it all for you. Contact us today to get started!

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Don’t DIY: What to Look for In Direct Mail Marketing Companies

Don’t DIY: What to Look for In Direct Mail Marketing Companies

Did you know direct mail marketing companies can save you money on your mail advertising campaign? It’s true. Hiring the right company is cheaper than handling the campaign yourself.

But beware. Hiring the wrong company can actually increase the cost instead.

So how can you know what to look for in a direct mail marketing company? Just keep reading.

In this guide, we’ve listed all the factors of a great direct mail company. For a successful campaign, hire a direct mail provider that meets these criteria.

In-House Designers

As crucial as graphic design is to your direct mail campaign, it should be a standard feature of direct mail marketing companies. But it isn’t.

Many direct mail companies don’t offer design services at all. That leaves you to find and hire yet another company to design your mailers, in addition to the company you’re paying to mail them. What a waste of time and money!

Other direct mail companies do offer design services, but not their own. With the money you pay for “their” design services, they outsource to a third party graphic design company anyway. You’re literally paying them to pay someone else to design your ads.

That means you don’t even have direct communication with the person who determines what your mail ads look like. This disorganized approach leaves way to much room for error.

Unless you already have a graphic designer on your payroll, never hire a direct mail company that doesn’t design.

Marketing Skills

Secondly, your direct mail company should also be experienced in marketing. Yet, surprisingly, many direct mail providers know very little about this.

They mostly just print and mail—how does that help you? You could do that yourself.

A good direct mail marketing company is one that has years of experience processing hundreds of campaigns for various industries. They’ll have the wisdom and insight to know the best type of direct mail advertising campaign for your business. This wisdom includes which postcard size is best and how to target, or retarget, the right audience.

Also, direct mail companies with marketing skills will be able to track the success of your campaign. One of the biggest benefits of direct mail marketing is how easily and accurately the results can be tracked. However, that won’t matter if your direct mail company knows nothing about tracking marketing metrics.

Mailing Lists

Furthermore, your marketing-savvy direct mail company will provide you with relevant mailing lists. Or, better yet, they’ll create a custom mailing list for you based on your company/campaign and their own extensive pool of resources.

To reiterate, that’s a list of qualified leads from an experienced direct mail marketing company in your local area. There is no better mailing list you could possibly wish for than that.

Pricing

The pricing of direct mail services depend on a lot more than the products and services you choose. Here are a few hidden costs to watch out for.

First, if you’re paying for design services, how much will it cost to revise a design you aren’t satisfied with? Some companies will allow a certain number of revisions for free, while others charge a fee.

 

Also, how much will the service save you on postage? Many long-established direct mail companies get special postage rates because of deals they’ve made with the postal service. This way, they can charge you less postage than you’d pay if you mailed your advertisements yourself.

Meanwhile, other companies charge you the same postage the post office would. Steer clear of these. There’s no reason you should have to pay full postage plus all the fees the direct mail provider charges you.

Know What to Look for In Direct Mail Marketing Companies

Don’t let the knowledge you’ve gained today go to waste. Bookmark or print out this page for reference. Then, use this checklist when comparing direct mail marketing companies to ensure a successful campaign.

Now, read How to Make a Direct Mail Marketing Budget.

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5 Brilliant Benefits of Marketing Through the Mail

We may live in the age of the Internet, but direct mail is still one of the most effective marketing methods out there. In fact, direct mail offers plenty of benefits that digital means can’t compete with.

It may sound strange, but we promise it’s true. Keep reading to learn about five of the biggest benefits of marketing via direct mail.

Beautiful american housewife checking mail box

1. Less Clutter Means Less Competition

Did you know that the average office worker gets 121 emails every day? Needless to say, there’s never enough time in the day to sort through each message.

While your mailbox may be full of advertisements and pamphlets, you’ll face considerably less competition by going physical. With less competition comes more of an opportunity to get your customers’ attention.

2. Direct Marketing Provides Hybrid Opportunities

Of course, there’s no reason that direct mail and online advertising have to be in direct competition with one another. In fact, they go hand-in-hand.

A direct mail campaign is a perfect complement to a strong digital presence. You can even implement QR and AR codes on your pamphlets, letters, and postcards to give customers an easy way to access your website.

3. Stronger Customization and Personalization

Looking for an easy way to increase brand awareness? Make it personal.

71% of people are more responsive to an advertisement that’s personalized to their tastes. Likewise, you can add warmth to your marketing by including the customer’s name.

Likewise, a customer seeing their name in a bolded or colored font is more likely to grab their attention than a simple, cut-and-dry ad.

So take a more direct approach to your next ad campaign. You’re sure to see an uptick in traffic, and your customers will love the personal touch.

4. Mail Campaigns Are Cost-Effective

Marketing through the mail doesn’t have to be an expensive endeavor. You control every aspect of the campaign, from your design to the type of material your ads get printed on.

Whether you’re spending a little or a lot, the ROI of direct mail speaks for itself. According to one survey, 56% of consumers make contact with a brand that suits their interest after receiving direct mail.

5. Direct Mail Has More Staying Power Than Digital Ads

It’s impossible to deny how powerful digital marketing has become. But at the same time, it’s important to think about the ways we use the Internet.

You likely see hundreds of advertisements online each day. How many of those ads do you actually remember?

Most users hop from website to website without a second thought. As a result, they pay less attention to banner ads and pop-ups.

Direct mail, however, isn’t as easy to forget. An ad may sit on a customer’s dining room table for weeks before they throw it away. Yet each time they sit at that table, they’ll see your ad and your message gets refreshed in their mind.

Experience the Benefits of Marketing Through Mail Firsthand

There’s no doubt about it, direct marketing is far from dead and these five facts prove that there are plenty of benefits of marketing via mail.

Want to learn how your business can take advantage of direct marketing? Then fill out a contact form today and let us answer any questions you may have!

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Principle of Postcard Design! Our Top 5 Tips

Are you looking for an efficient way to strengthen your advertising? Postcards might be just what you’re looking for.

52% of people are more likely to look at a postcard than take the time to open an envelope.

With that said, your postcard needs to stand out with a postcard design that is eye-popping and exciting.

Keep reading for five tips that’ll help you design better postcards.

  1. Prioritize Pictures

When it comes to grabbing your audience’s attention, your best bet is to show, not tell. Therefore, you’ll need to choose high-quality images that are sure to catch readers’ eyes.

Once you’ve found the perfect image(s) that speak to your audience, you’ll need to make sure they look professional when enlarged. Fuzzy and grainy photos come across as unprofessional, and not just any photo will do.

Your best bet is to stick with vector graphics, as they appear sharper and less pixelated.

  1. Keep It Short and Sweet

Though a picture is worth 1,000 words, you’ll still need to include at least some text on your postcard but keep it short and to the point.  The shorter your message, the likelier recipients are to read it.

Get in, deliver your message, and get out.

Not only will your message stick in readers’ minds, but less text often results in lower costs.

  1. Find a Font That Meshes with Your Message

Since you’ll need to include text on your postcard, it’s your job to find the right font for the job. Your company is special, so not just any font will do.

Think about your company and what it represents, then look for a font that meshes with those ideals. It might sound strange, but an appropriate font makes all the difference.

Say you’re creating an event postcard to advertise an upcoming antique sale. You’re not going to want a cartoonish font like Wingdings, and Times New Roman is just boring. You’ll want to go with something as sleek and elegant as your event.

  1. Highlight the Most Important Info

Studies show that our eyes naturally gravitate toward certain colors, especially when it comes to advertising. Not only that, but color plays a central role in how we perceive a message.

Red, for instance, can mean anything from danger to passion and romance. Blue, in contrast, can symbolize calm and quiet.

Using colored fonts to highlight your message may, in turn, strengthen the overall power of your message.

  1. Include a Strong Call to Action

If you’ve visited our site before, you know how important this step is.

Whether your postcard contains a paragraph of text or a sentence, it needs to include a strong indicator of what steps recipients should take next.

How should customers get ahold of you and what should they do when they reach out? Don’t forget to add contact information, including a phone number, email address, or website.

Great Postcard Design Translates to Stronger Sales

Direct mail marketing is still alive and thriving. And while less competition means increased attention, you’ll need to create a postcard design worthy of your brand.

So follow these tips to create a beautiful, professional postcard!

And if you’re looking for help with your direct mail marketing campaign, get in touch today.

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The Backbone of Your Marketing Campaign: Creating Direct Mail Lists

Your direct mailing campaign is only as good as the list you’re sending it to.

You could build your own direct mail lists. Or, you could use brokers, compilers, and expert services. Either way, you’ll want a list that’s hot, hot, hot and responsive to your campaigns.

How do you go about getting and/or building a list for your direct mail campaigns? Try some of these strategies!

Use the Data You Have

Look no further than your customer list when building your direct mailing list.

Your customer list would include:

  • Names
  • Addresses
  • Purchases

These three data points provide enough to launch a campaign. You know they’re acquainted with your brand. Plus, they’ve bought from you before. You’re nudging them to repeat business versus going after them cold! In addition, studies have shown the highest response rates from direct mail come from your current and past customer lists. They know your business best and welcome receiving new offers and information.

Set Up Lead Funnels

Funnels attract and collect visitor information — build them using forms like:

  • Website contact
  • Service request
  • Live Chat
  • Click-to-call
  • Directory listings
  • Contests

Use a two-stage confirmation when people sign up or exchange information. It involves sending a follow-up to confirm their info and agree to the mailing terms. This ensures they are open to you mailing them and makes the leads “hot” since they’re responsive.

Use Lead Magnets

You can improve the effectiveness and reach of list building efforts by using a lead magnet. A lead magnet is a freebie or resource enticing info exchange. It may also include tangible or non-tangible items.

Lead magnets could include items like:

  • eBook or online course
  • Stickers, t-shirts, or cups
  • Coupons or freebies

You get the idea, right? Give away something of value in exchange for their information. Then, validate the information by sending a test campaign. Those who respond goes into the final direct mailing list.

Seek List Brokers or Compilers

Buying or renting a list is a quick and efficient solution to assist in finding new prospects.  The best prospecting list is one that looks like your current customers.  You want to find like people, so profile your client base first and try to find like people.   You have the ability to target a specific type of prospect by…

  • Demographic Information
  • Geographic location
  • Lifestyle Interest
  • Business type
  • New Homeowner

The lists are compiled from all sorts of data bases but mainly credit bureaus, warranty responses and public records.  It’s important to inquire about what type of guarantee the list vendor has on the accuracy of their data and how frequently they clean and update their files with the National Change Of Address.  You want to make sure any list you purchase is cleaned within 30 days of your purchase.

Mailing lists are never 100% accurate from any source but do your due diligence before investing tons of money into a list source.

Clean your List

Keep your list Clean.

It is important to keep up with your mailing list and prune those that are unresponsive.  When doing a direct mailing, your mail house should be NCOAing and CASS Certifying your data file every time you do a mailing to help you in this process but you need to be sure to get those moves that were updated in your mailing so you can update your database.  If you don’t, after a certain period of time those records will not get flagged and you will be mailing to the wrong prospect.  You should also be removing any undeliverable pieces you receive back, along with outdated users.

You could also include a call-to-action with a campaign to help your manage your data base.  Those who respond go into a new hitter list for a specific type of follow up mailing and those that don’t respond, get into a cold file that receive a different type of offer in the next mailing.  Having your offers match your mailing list is key to generating a higher response rate.

We Can Help Build Your Direct Mail Lists

Over 45 years of experience in print and direct mailing makes us experts. We’ve helped countless businesses build and launch successful campaigns.

Above all, we’d love to work hand-in-hand building your direct mail lists. In addition,, help you see success through this powerful form of advertising and marketing.

Browse our mailing services. Then, call us at 888-430-6245 for a quote.

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What Is The Difference Between Direct Mail and Email Marketing?

Do you know the difference between direct mail and email marketing? Have you ever received a coupon, discount offer, or information on an upcoming sale in your mailbox? Or perhaps you prefer finding out about discounts via email promotions. In either case, you were the target of a marketing campaign designed to get you in the store. Today, email marketing and direct mail are two of the most popular forms of consumer marketing. Yet, many people don’t really understand these techniques. In this post, we will explain how these marketing methods work and how they might benefit you.

a graphic representing the different between direct mail and email marketing

Difference Between Direct Mail and Email Marketing:

What is Direct Mail and Email Marketing?

Direct mail encompasses a wide variety of marketing materials, including brochures, catalogs, postcards, newsletters, print services, and sales letters.  This marketing mean goes out via the postal system targeting either current customers, past customers or potential prospects that would utilize your services. The most effective direct-mail pieces often feature discounts and coupons for consumers.
Email marketing involves sending a mass commercial message, usually to a group of people that have shopped for your service before, using email. Email marketing includes using email to send advertisements, request business, or solicit sales or donations.

Direct mail vs. Email marketing

We typically look at a new email for just two seconds. Because of the sheer volume of emails in our inbox and advertisements on the web, digital messages can be slightly less memorable than print messages. Brand recall directly after seeing a digital ad is just 44%, in comparison to direct mail which has a brand recall of 75%. Although the US Post Office has increased postage costs over recent years, there are Drop Ship services available to save on bulk mailings that make direct mail very cost effective. Plus Print Services and Mail Services have dropped throughout the past few years due to advancements in presses and efficiencies making direct mail more affordable.  Email marketing might be cheaper to facilitate and might get a higher response rate of opens. But direct mail has proven to generate a larger return on investment.

Benefits of Direct Mail marketing

Direct Mail is the only marketing mean that allows businesses to target a specific type of prospect and hit them at their home or business with a marketing message knowing that it has been received. Other Marketing means like Radio, TV and Email marketing are all effective marketing methods but there is never a guarantee that your prospect will see your message, hear it or open it due to SPAM filters and full inboxes.  In fact, Direct Mail has the perception of a more personal form of marketing. While email has the perception to be rapid and informal. Research suggests that Direct Mail is better for generating new customers. In fact, 13.8 billion letters are sent every year, 12,098,60 a day are direct mail messages created by print services. In addition, the average lifespan of direct mail is 17 days.

Benefits of Email Marketing

The average return on investment for an email is $38 for every $1 spent. Each year, 74 trillion emails are sent, and the average lifespan of an email is two seconds. Email is better for generating profit fast with Flash Sales or huger offers. Email marketing is significantly cheaper and faster than traditional mail. It can reach a very broad network of prospects, but with SPAM filters and the majority of retailors sending daily emails, a lot of them go unopened or seen.
How do you decide between direct mail print services and email marketing?  There are benefits to each and they both should be a part of your marketing strategy.  But keep in mind when sending an offer or coupon to a potential prospect, research has found that 66% of consumers are more likely to remember to use a voucher if they have a physical copy of a coupon verses an email copy.  Hopefully this cleared up many concerns when it comes to the difference between direct mail and email marketing.

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Trends of Millennials: Examining the Marketing and Shopping

It’s no secret that our world is becoming more digital and technology-oriented every single day. These changes have altered the way people communicate with each other. It’s more important than ever before to understand the trends of millennials. Direct digital printing used to be the primary way to send and receive documents. Some even say that it’s slowly but surely becoming obsolete and unnecessary. Is that true?

representing Trends of Millennials

A whole 39% of customers say they try a business for the first time because of direct-mail advertising. That’s great but how many of those people are part of the older generation and how many are millennials? The statistics may surprise you.

Trends of Millennials

Many people are under the impression that millennials are too tech-savvy to concern themselves with anything but their mobile devices. That’s why marketers have altered the way they get millennials’ attention. They’re skipping direct mail and opting for emails and social media promotions. Since the Internet is an indispensable part of many people’s lives for nearly 20 years, businesses have had to change the way they conduct operations. An flyer advertisement in the mail is now sent as an email or even text promotion.

Catch with Millennials

But here’s the catch — direct marketing and digital marketing are not mutually exclusive. Businesses often use both methods as a means of reaching out to different audiences, and rightfully so, because they both drive sales to a certain degree.

The thing is millennials’ shopping habits are equally split between online and in-store shopping. However, there’s no denying the advantages of being able to see certain products in the store before committing to buying them. The younger generations do prefer to have the option of shopping in a store and on-line.

Ultimately, research indicates that direct mail may not be the only form to reach an audience anymore. Even if it’s still preferred by a good portion of the population, including millennials. The future of direct mail is unknown, but for now, businesses are doing their best to integrate both direct mail and digital marketing into one brand-driven customer experience.

For more information about mail and wholesale printing services, contact Modern Mail and Print Solutions.

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Marty Lyons Foundation host 7th Annual Golf Tournament

The Marty Lyons Foundation Event:

The Marty Lyons Foundation is hosting their 7th Annual, John Brogle Golf Outing. Event date is on Monday October 8th, 2012 at the Westchase Golf Club in Tampa.
Modern Mail & Print Solutions, a proud sponsor of the Marty Lyons Foundation and all the work they do for children with life threatening diseases, is
this year’s Print Sponsor providing all the printing needs for the golf tournament. For more information about this wonderful charity and how you can help
the cause, please visit www.martylyonsfoundation.org

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