As an online retailer, it is understandable that you may have focused on digital marketing to reach and engage with new and previous customers. However, you mustn’t dismiss other marketing channels to grow your business.
One of them, direct mail marketing, can be an effective way to stand out from the competition and drive more traffic and sales to your online store. In fact, it’s so trusted as a marketing tool, the amount spent is expected to increase across the world.
As reported by Shopify, by the end of 2020, direct mail spend accounted for the largest portion of US local advertising at $38.5 billion and is forecasted to reach $43.3 billion in 2022.
Western Europe accounts for the largest direct mail market share and is expected to reach $66.28 billion in 2025.
Globally, the market is expected to reach $73.57 billion in 2026.
So, how can you get the most of direct mail marketing to grow you own online business? Here are some top tips.
Know your target audience
The first step in any successful marketing campaign is to understand your target audience.
Who are they? What are their interests, needs, and pain points? And what motivates them to make a purchase?
By answering these questions, you can tailor your messaging and offers to them, to increase the likelihood of converting them into customers.
Personalise
One of the benefits of direct mail marketing is being able to deliver a personal message to your target audience.
Use your customer data to create personalised offers and messaging that seemingly speak directly to each individual.
Address them by name, include personalized product recommendations, and offer exclusive discounts or promotions based on their purchase history or browsing behaviour.
Catch their eye
Your direct mail needs to stand out amongst the fast-food delivery leaflets and political campaign flyers on a crowded doormat.
Use eye-catching designs, on-brand colours, and graphics that grab the recipient's attention and make them want to open and read your mail.
Consider things like textured or unique paper stocks, bold typography, and striking imagery to create a memorable and impactful piece.
Include a clear call to action
Whatever you send out to your target audience, you want to make sure it doesn’t get read and thrown away, make sure you give them a call to action (CTA) that encourages them to at least visit your online store.
This could be to make a purchase, or even sign up for an online email list, whatever it is, make it easy and enticing.
Including a deadline or sense of urgency to create a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) also helps drive conversions and helps you track the success of your direct mailing campaign.
Track your results
Any good marketing campaign is only as good as its results. So, make sure you measure how effective your direct mailer has been.
A CTA, as mentioned before, can help with this by tracking hits to your website via a link or discount code only that campaign uses, or sign ups to your email since the mailer was sent out.
Make sure, however you track your results they are aligned with your goals, be they capturing people’s data, increasing hits to your site, or conversions to paying customers.
You can then use this data to optimize future campaigns and improve your overall marketing strategy.
Case study: Boden
Boden is an e-commerce fashion company for men, women and children in the UK, Germany, Austria and the USA.
Boden first approached Asendia in 1995 for UK direct mail campaign fulfilment, and in 2011 wanted to tap into the potentially lucrative French market. They required a reliable and cost-effective solution for mailing its direct mail and catalogues.
The services provided by Asendia included print personalisation, polywrapping and distribution.
This eventually expanded to Asendia sending 2000,000 catalogues a year to customers across the UK and around the world.
Through our network and experience, Asendia saved Boden £1000's against alternative postal services and through Asendia’s data cleansing service, Boden also saved thousands of pounds on wasted postage too.
The fact Boden expanded their direct mail activities so much illustrates that a significant Return On Investment was achieved.
It's clear direct mail marketing is still a powerful tool for growing an online retail ecommerce store.
By understanding your target audience, personalizing your mailings, using eye-catching designs, including a clear call to action, and tracking your results, you can create a successful direct mail campaign that drives more traffic and sales to your website.
To find out more about how Asendia could help you grow your business through international direct mail marketing, get in touch.
