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There are several factors to consider when creating a marketing strategy. Each campaign should be carefully planned, tested, and analyzed to get the best results. There’s one aspect in marketing, especially in direct mailiDirect mail is the act of using the postal service to deliver promotional marketing material direct to a customer based on demographic information such as age, location or income. Direct mail pieces can include postcards, catalogs and other promotional pieces enables one-on-one communication with your audience, so you can control who receives the message and when they rece... Read More, that we found crucial to every campaign which most businesses tend to overlook or forget: timing in the buyer’s journey process.
Timing plays a big part in your direct mail’s response rates. If you’re sending triggered direct mail, it helps to improve your conversions if you understand which stage of the buyer’s journey a prospect is in. This will help you determine the best direct mail timing for your campaign. Your direct mail piece should be customized for each stage as well as support other touchpointsiA touchpoint is any time a consumer comes in contact with your brand over the course of the buyer journey. Examples of common touchpoints are social media posts, website clicks, email messaging, search engine searches or even online reviews. Touchpoints are a very important aspect to consider when studying the customer journey to ensure that every possible interaction with... Read More.
Stages of the Buyer’s Journey
The buyer’s journey is a process or timeline wherein the consumer encounters a problem (pain point), considers and evaluates options, and makes a decision to purchase a product or avail a service.
There are three stages to a buyer’s journeyiThe customer journey is a customer’s path from discovery of your product or service to their decision to purchase. Did your customer click on an ad for a Caribbean vacation and then maybe look at additional photos of the islands? Maybe they Googled “best places to stay in the Caribbean” or asked friends on social media for feedback from their trips before returning t... Read More. The first stage is awareness where the buyer realizes they have a problem. Usually, it’s too early for businesses to address and provide solutions at this stage. Therefore, the best approach to take is to merely create brand awareness to let your target customers know you are available.
Direct mail has been proven effective in establishing brand awareness versus social media and paid digital ads. Make sure you add a little personalization in your mail and avoid sounding too pushy.
The next stage is consideration. This is when the customer acknowledges their problem and begins to find solutions for it. Direct mail is most effective in nurturing the leads and educating the consumers to help them make informed buying decisions.
Then comes the crucial stage which is decision. During this stage, your target customer already has all the information they need. Research is done and all that’s left is to decide the best solution to their pain point.
Through direct mail marketing, the added personalizationiPersonalization is when communication is tailored to an individual based on information a company has learned about that person through collected data and internet habits. Maybe a potential customer lives in the Arizona desert and loves long-distance running. A personalized marketing approach would be to use that data to send that consumer information about running in the ... Read More makes it easier to convince potential customers that your brand is the best choice. Not only does it help you stand out from the competition, direct mail also builds trust between you and your prospects.
Use direct mail to give them a personalized promotion that only they can take advantage of or an exclusive discount coupon. Don’t forget to highlight your solution and use testimonials for proof that your products are effective and why they shouldn’t pass on this opportunity.
Examples of Good Data and Good Timing
We’ve helped several businesses to boost their direct mail marketing efforts by providing them with consumer data that led to improved timing of their campaigns.
Mortgage company clients use direct mail with mortgage inquiry trigger data, putting their promotional mail in front of people we know are shopping for a mortgage.
A local car dealership company also made use of data to identify people who have four (4) payments left on their lease expiration. These are the target customers we know are in the market for a new car.
One windows and doors company has partnered up with us to find leads who are pulling permits for home improvement like solar panel installation or swimming pool remodeling permits. These are the best targets for their windows and doors products since the timing is right for the homeowner who is making home improvements.
By understanding and learning more about the consumer and where they are currently in the buyer’s journey process, we have helped these businesses find the right time to send direct mail, create personalized messaging that caters to their pain points, and improve their direct mail overall response rates.
