While a large number of companies have switched to entirely using the Internet to communicate with their consumers, direct marketing tactics should not be ignored as they still have real potential for businesses looking to use promotional advertising.
Sending out emails with links to products or launching Facebook campaigns to gain awareness for new products are great ways to digitally spread a company’s mission, but putting physical items in the hands of the consumer could lead to a more concrete display of a business’s brand. Companies may fear that sending out direct mail is a waste of money since the majority of people throw out promotional materials, but there are a number of more creative tactics that have been successful in piquing the interest of potential customers.
Intrigue your consumers
Instead of sending a generic flier with coupons, consider investing in more artistic tactics that will force the reader to seek information about the company. Businesses have myriad options when exploring unconventional strategies, from intriguing recipients with little text to sending materials that are too eye-popping to ignore. Joe Apfelbaum, CEO and co-founder of Ajax Union Online Marketing SEO company, explained to Small Business Trends how important creativity can be when directly sending materials to a person.
“Last week, someone mailed me a message in a bottle,” Apfelbaum said. “The message was about the company changes the business planned to instill in the new year, and the idea was so well put out that I called them immediately. Here’s the key: Send a more creative message to less people. It’s about quality, not quantity.”
For companies that prefer sticking with paper mail, Design Shack compiled a list of the most creative ways in which businesses incorporated innovation in their promotional pieces. IKEA, for example, included small pieces of cardboard that could be used to construct a small table, leaving consumers with a tiny table and newly found desire to assemble a much bigger piece of furniture.
Give them something useful
Businesses can send out materials that consumers would be able to use in their everyday lives that would promote a company brand every time the person used it in public, whether they’re using a logo tote bag they received in the mail or carrying around an imprinted pen they found on the property. When they are seeking to use direct mail marketing to send items to customers, Logan Lenz, founder of Endagon Enterprises, told Small Business Trends that useful items were more likely to last much longer than traditional flyers sent through the mail.